Sometimes it happens that a rat has escaped from its cage. The animal can also get lost in the room when it is let out for a walk. As a rule, this happens with a young rat or an adult that has found itself in a new space.
A rat's escape can cause big problems - not only for the owner, but also for the pet itself. The animal may die, for example, by getting stuck between a cabinet and the floor. At first, until the rat gets comfortable at home, you need to keep an eye on it. Before placing an animal in your home, you need to prepare the following:
- put electrical wires into corrugated tubes,
- seal the cracks in the floor,
- free up as much space as possible so that the pet can be easily found if it runs away.
Why does a rat escape from its cage?
No owner is immune from the escape of a beloved pet. Animals have different personalities - you probably have a tireless researcher who wants to explore every nook and cranny of the apartment.
Escape from the cell can also occur for another reason - due to stress. Tamed rats know how to empathize, feel sorry for their owner when he is sad, and even drink away his tears.
But small rodents also need support. If you just bought a pet or moved with it to a new apartment, be extremely careful and attentive.
A frightened animal may hide in a hard-to-reach place if it does not feel safe in its house.
Where to place the trap?
It is necessary to install devices for catching rats in the following places:
- near a residential pest hole;
- in closets, basements or cellars;
- in garages and attics;
- near the kitchen trash can;
- in the far corner of the bathroom.
Before setting a trap near a hole, you need to find out whether it is inhabitable. The simplest way is to crumple up several sheets of paper and place them near the entrance. If after some time they are scattered, the hole is inhabited.
Favorite places for rats to visit are food storage areas. If you have a pantry, basement or cellar with supplies, it is worth placing several traps there at once.
Garages and attics attract gray visitors with a large number of old things and the rare presence of people. During the “rat hunt” period, the amount of trash can be artificially increased (to attract more rodents).
When placing a trap in the kitchen or bathroom, extreme caution must be used. If there are small children or pets in the house, it is better to avoid using traps and adhesive devices.
Worth taking note! Any devices for catching rats must be installed against their movement. It is also important to take into account such a feature of their behavior as moving along walls in the dark.
How to find an escaped rat in an apartment?
Escape from a cage is a headache for the owner. Therefore, it is better to prevent a problem than to solve it later. The first time after moving, it is better to darken the cage - just put the old clothes you wore on it.
Under natural conditions, animals prefer dark burrows hidden from prying eyes. With this simple trick, the rat will quickly get used to the new environment and your smell.
However, even the most attentive and caring owners may encounter the escape of their pet. The main thing is not to panic. The success of the operation to return the rodent to its home depends on your confident, calm and timely actions.
Favorite places for a rat to hide
If you are just preparing for the first meeting of a new tenant, then you need to prepare thoroughly. It's not just about a darkened cage and suitable food. Now is the time to fix holes in the floor or walls that you've never gotten around to.
Keep it clean and tidy; scattered things not only make your home look unkempt, but are also good for hiding. After inconsolable searches in the most unusual places, you may suddenly find an animal among them.
Experienced owners advise looking at your apartment through the eyes of a rodent. What secluded place will you choose in case of danger if you are the size of your palm?
You need to start the search operation from your pets’ favorite places:
- Between the wall and furniture.
- In newspapers and magazines.
- In plastic bags.
- In the closet with clothes.
Do not forget that the choice of place often depends on the nature of the animal and its habits. If a decorative rat fearlessly crawls under the ceiling with the grace of a circus performer, then first of all check the mezzanines and upper shelves of the closet.
Calm lovers of cozy houses can be found between the pillows in the bed or on the sofa. Knowing the character of the animal, catching a domestic rat will not be difficult.
Baits for rodents
When traps are used to catch rodents, it is very important to use bait that can attract the attention of these animals. This could be: cereals, butter, cheese, meat, lard, baked goods, sausage, etc. In fact, rodents don’t really pick at their food; what they find is what they eat. Often they even grind wood if there is nothing to eat, rendering everyday items made of wood unusable. Mice, for example, do not disdain even plastic, gnawing the insulation on wires, as well as destroying foam-based insulation.
It is very important to equip the trap so that no human scent remains, otherwise the rat will not approach the trap. Rodents are usually caught on lard skins or sausage, but they will not refuse fried seeds.
How not to harm an animal?
During the search, it is important not to harm the defenseless pet, so be extremely careful. First of all, analyze what dangers a rodent may encounter in the apartment.
Turn off all electrical appliances and the stove, remove hot food, cover pots of water and the toilet lid. Move furniture with caution, as any sudden movement can cause pain to your pet or even cause its death.
Check each item before sitting or standing on it.
You can harm the animal even after the fugitive is found. Sometimes the owners grab the animal by the tail and hold it upside down. This behavior is unacceptable. The rodent will be comfortable if you carefully take it by the body, place it in your palm, and then take it to the cage.
Fishing rules
Rats are quite cunning and intelligent animals, so catching them in traps can be difficult. In order for rodent extermination measures to be effective, it is necessary to adhere to the following rules:
- Before you start fishing, you need to block access to the pests’ natural food sources. To do this, you need to carefully check all cabinets and pantries for holes, transfer cereals and flour into sealed containers, remove leftover food from the table and do not leave any food in the public domain. In addition, you need to maintain a good level of hygiene in your home or apartment and regularly take out the trash. Rodents deprived of their usual food and forced to search for food are much more likely to fall for the bait.
- It is necessary to place traps correctly. To do this, you need to know the approximate location of the pests. The best places for traps are the entrances to burrows and the space between them, as well as the area near the walls. It also makes sense to place bait in areas where there is a large amount of rat feces. Traps in open spaces, such as the center of a room, are ineffective because rodents prefer to hide, stay close to walls, and move vertically.
- Rats are animals with a very delicate sense of smell, so traps for them must be clean. Devices for catching rodents must be thoroughly disinfected and washed before each use, getting rid of the smell of previously caught animals and human hands. For the same reason, you need to wear rubber gloves when making a trap.
- To catch the pest, you need to choose the right bait. It should be a product with a strong odor - smoked or fresh meat, slightly burnt lard, sausage, minced meat, fish, bread soaked in vegetable oil. Cheese is not always effective. The bait must be changed periodically to ensure it remains attractive to rats.
- You need to choose traps of appropriate quality. This is especially true in cases where a rat is caught alive - then products made from materials that it can easily chew through will be ineffective. If part of the trap is adjacent to a wall or floor, care must also be taken to ensure that the rodent does not damage them. When catching large rats, you should choose traps from which this rather large animal will not be able to escape and which it will not be able to throw.
It is also worth noting that in any contact with rats it is worth taking care of safety and personal hygiene. You can only remove a living or dead rodent from a trap while wearing rubber gloves. This must be done as carefully as possible to avoid bites and scratches. Even the smallest wounds caused by a rat can cause serious infections, so they must be immediately disinfected and washed.
You also need to pay attention to the safety of your household and pets. It is advisable not to allow pets and children into the room with traps. Some modern devices are completely safe for everyone except rats, but ordinary traps and mousetraps can cause serious injury to a cat, dog or even a person.
Search algorithm
When unplanned events happen, it can be easy to feel lost. What to do if the rat runs away and you suddenly find an empty cage?
- The most important thing is to calm down. Think about where in the apartment the baby could get hurt, immediately turn off electrical appliances and hide anything that could burn him.
- Limit your search area. Close doors and windows carefully.
- Check out your pet's favorite spots.
- Continue searching in places that may interest the animal. Decorative rats, of course, are not chameleons, but rodents are excellent at “merging” with surrounding objects. The owners note that sometimes they can be detected only by touch - they can camouflage themselves so professionally.
- Listen carefully to every sound. Turn off the TV and radio, let the silence in the apartment be ideal during the search. There was a rustling sound - immediately look for the source of the sound.
Tips and tricks
To prevent mice, and especially rats, from getting into the house, you need to create unfavorable conditions to increase their population. This means keeping living, livestock and storage areas in perfect order. Food and fodder supplies must be stored in specially designated areas. Do not litter the local area with dry branches, leaves and other debris, as this is an ideal breeding ground for rats.
Important point! No house will have a rodent if the foundation is laid to a depth of 70 cm or more and there is no space under the floor. Ventilation, sewer and other openings are covered with special metal mesh.
How to quickly catch a decorative rat?
Regular searches can take a long time and be fruitless. There are other ways to detect a traveler - experienced hosts offer many options.
Call by name
Taming a decorative rat will not be difficult. A warm attitude is important. Give him a nickname right away and teach him the name - during feeding, repeat it affectionately over and over again. Soon the rodent will react immediately to familiar sounds by running out to you. This pet skill will work in your favor if the rat goes on the run.
Lure with a tasty treat
If the pet does not respond to its name, then you can try another effective method. Remember the fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel, who were looking for their way home with the help of bread crumbs? Try catching your favorite rodent in your apartment using this method. Lay out a trail of your favorite treats and watch carefully to see if the fugitive comes out of hiding.
Place a cage nearby
After a long walk and new impressions, the pet will sooner or later get hungry. If you find a place where a rodent is hiding, but you can’t get it out yourself, then you can move the cage with treats inside. Keep an eye on the rat from its hiding place so as not to scare away the brave traveler.
Important! The food in the cage must be liquid, otherwise the pet may grab the treat and run away from the house again.
Using a bucket
If the usual methods do not work, then you can adopt unusual ideas. The ingenuity of rodent owners is enviable. Many ways have been invented to catch a pet rat using a bucket; the activity is easy to carry out at home. For example, you can place a ruler on the edge of a stool and secure it.
The other edge is pulled forward over the bucket and a small bait is placed on it. The rat follows the smell and runs down. It is important that the pet is not injured if it falls, so you need to put something soft and bulky at the bottom of the bucket.
Special equipment
Currently, the industry produces mice control products, which include: powders, sprays, pastes and various briquettes.
Poison is an effective remedy for rodents in the house
The following tools have proven themselves well:
- Storm. After eating food, the mouse does not decompose, does not develop an unpleasant odor, and does not develop pathogenic bacteria. Produced in briquette form. Please read the included instructions before use. Suitable for use in private homes.
- Nutcracker. The mouse repellent consists of a green homogeneous mass, the main action is as bait. If swallowed, the active substance affects the blood and breathing, the rodent suffocates and dies.
- Rat death. The death of rodents when using the product occurs after 7-10 days. It is produced in the form of a dense mass with an attractive, pleasant aroma. It has a bad effect on the rat's breathing, the animal suffocates and dies.
- Tsunami. Available in the form of pink tablets. The product does not pose a danger to humans or domestic animals. Acts on the cardiac and circulatory system of rats and mice, has a cumulative effect. This is the best mouse repellent.
Special means include:
- Golyf. A potent remedy, usually used by sanitary services. The death of a rodent usually occurs within 2-3 days. The animal experiences a lack of oxygen, it crawls out into the street and dies outside.
- Krysid. Can be used if there are pets in the house. The product is added to food as a bait. The main disadvantage is the development of immunity to this drug. After a few months, the use of this drug should be repeated.
- Mortorad. The drug contains a poison that mummifies the corpses of animals after their death, which eliminates the appearance of an unpleasant odor. The product is located indoors. The death of the animal occurs after a few days.
Physical impact
The main type of physical influence is a mousetrap. You can make a mousetrap yourself, or you can buy it in a store. The principle of operation is to lure a rodent, then the mechanism is triggered and the animal dies.
Note!
The inconvenience of using a mousetrap is the need to control it so that the dead animal does not begin to decompose.
Repellers
They are used in domestic conditions to scare away animals by exposing mice and rats to low acoustic vibrations of various frequencies. They are used in warehouses, granaries, as well as in offices and homes. The device is based on a generator that changes ultrasonic frequencies. Additionally, a lighting effect can be applied. This method paralyzes the animal, causes it to feel fear and anxiety, and the rodent leaves the premises.
The device is powered from the mains or additional power sources. Can be used in two modes “Day” and “Night”. The installation site should not be covered by large objects.
Recommendation!
It should be used for about 3-4 weeks so that the rats do not lay new offspring, and the ones already laid have time to grow up and leave the territory under the influence of the repeller.
Fluffy pets
Nowadays there are fewer and fewer cats left to catch mice. They have become pets and they are not familiar with fighting mice in the house. But there are animals that still have the hunting instinct.
Often cats catch mice just out of curiosity. She will not eat it, but will only play with it. Generally, barn cats are better at catching rodents than others. This can be explained by the fact that they do this because they are hungry. It is believed that smooth-haired species are the most dexterous, since their fur is less odorous and does not repel mice.
Also, the cat should have an invisible color. And based on my grandmother’s advice, hunting animals have longer mustaches and are considered the most successful in hunting.
