How to relocate a rat?

**Sarabi** · Jul 12th, 2009, 12:06 AM

I live in a house with six other college students... We have a visitor in our porch enclosure, who's been there for a few days. The visitor has been named Little Templeton. Little Templeton is kind of young, not a big rat.

So the question is .... what's an easy way to relocate Little Templeton outside? I need to find a way before someone else does because the day LT was discovered, I walked into the kitchen to find my housemates and human visitors all talking about poison and killing... I told them that we couldn't kill the rat! They looked pretty interested in their own ideas and not much in mine.

Help Little Templeton!!

**matt35mm** · Jul 12th, 2009, 12:38 AM

There are homemade traps such as this:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Simp...l_-Mouse-Trap/

Or you can buy a trap here:

http://www.veganessentials.com/catal...-mousetrap.htm

**Sarabi** · Jul 12th, 2009, 12:46 AM

Whoa! Thanks, matt. I like the first one. The second one is also an option. Do you know if there might be any local stores that sell no-kill traps?

**matt35mm** · Jul 12th, 2009, 01:12 AM

I don't, sorry. If the first one works then you won't need to buy one!

I convinced my landlord last year to order that second one. I got to see it, and it looked like it would work. I was moving out, though, so I never found out whether it worked or not.

**Blue moon** · Jul 27th, 2009, 02:02 PM

In a similar vein to this, anyone know how to relocate whole families of mice? I have them in my house, at first I didn't mind, but the place is getting overrun to the point I almost expect them to start rearranging the place to suit themselves! How do I get them to move away somewhere else without hurting them?

**Marrers** · Jul 27th, 2009, 03:46 PM

Sarabi

Whoa! Thanks, matt. I like the first one.

My friend followed her cat who was chasing a rat last week, the cat cornered the rat in the garden and the rat jumped over a 5 foot fence (she said she wouldn't believe it if she didn't witness it) so make sure your receptacle is as tall as possible.

Humane traps don't seem suitable for your problem Blue Moon as you have so many and afaik the humane traps catch them one at a time. Perhaps you can hold them all somewhere til you have them all together but any holding area is sure to be stressful for wild animals. Let us know if you find a solution. (Apparently peanut butter is good to attract mice into a trap, I have tried it successfully myself.)

**Blue moon** · Jul 28th, 2009, 09:01 AM

Yeah, the trouble is if I catch them in traps, what if I get a parent and a litter is left alone.... and then where to relocate them, poor things wouldn't know the area would they, and they might be in bad territory....
also I don't know how I'd get them all. I've looked into those sound repeller things, but apparently they don't go through walls - and it's in between the walls I hear them scampering about!

Does anyone know, can mice do any lasting damage? I do worry they'll bite through wires and one day the place will catch fire!

**harpy** · Jul 28th, 2009, 01:24 PM

The best way to get rid of mice IMO is to put all food away in mouse-proof containers or in the fridge, and then they will just go somewhere else with better pickings. This has worked for us and for friends too. You have to be quite thorough though and make sure you put everything away, and I suppose it won't work instantly if they have a family to move as well.

**Sarabi** · Aug 4th, 2009, 04:19 PM

Thanks, everyone. We actually didn't have to relocate Little Templeton, as the little one kind of disappeared, probably through the hole in the door from whence s/he came.

**Charlotte** · Apr 22nd, 2010, 06:38 PM

I'd like to relocate the one that is in my parents' garden. Any tips? They want him gone sooner rather later and the humane trap has to be kept in the garden for a few days for the rat to get used to it.

My parents think I'm mad suggesting we get a neighbour's dog to wee/get his smell in our garden to scare him off. Would that possibly work?

**Charlotte** · May 1st, 2010, 10:03 PM

Well the neighbours poisoned him. Was last seen staggering around

Poor little guy.

**danaeonyx** · Jun 10th, 2010, 02:59 PM

Some pet stores sell humane traps. Ask them, 'cos if they don't, they sometimes know where you can buy them

You just have to make sure you keep checking the trap. Awful way to die if left -_-

**Sarah_** · Jul 27th, 2010, 12:37 AM

I know it's late, but I saw this thing on TV today that I'm super stoked about. It's this Solar powered thing that emits this noise animals find annoying and it keeps them away. People can't hear it, but the animals can and they stay out. Maybe that can help you? it's called the Bell & Howell Solar Animal Repeller.