Rat on Ceiling - Few Option Left

I have a rat that is living on the ceiling tiles of a drop ceiling. I've had a snap trap baited with peanut butter on the ceiling for a few weeks now and it is just not going for it, the peanut butter is still untouched. I suspect it's going outside for food and then coming back in, and avoiding the suspicious looking trap. This is leaving me with not much hope. Before you say to seal all entry points around the house, that will not be possible as I'm a renter and the home owner has made it clear that this old house would be too expensive for such an undertaking.

This only leaves me with a few options, what I haven't tried yet is the glue/sticky board idea, I also haven't tried any ultrasonic repellents or any noise making device that produces a cat's meow or dog bark. Something tells me this intelligent critter wouldn't be fooled so easily anyway. I could try posion, but again, this rat seems to be too smart, and even if it did work, there would be the task of finding it before it stinks up the whole house. Any ideas?

 

As a renter you have rights and the owner has a responsibility to maintain the premises. Contact your local building code enforcer and a lawyer.
And most likely start looking for a new place to live.

 

I never liked glue boards for rats. If/when it gets stuck, you'll have a loud, angry rat to get out of the drop ceiling. Not an inviting prospect to me. The sonic repellers don't work. Don't trust anything that sounds easy like that.

Rats are neophobic, meaning they shy away from new things in their area unlike mice that don't care. Sometimes the younger rats are not so neophobic, but it sounds like you've got a smart, mature rat(s).

I think you need a more appealing bait in the snap trap. Try bacon, but don't actually set the trap at first. Let him eat some bacon with the unset trap, so he gets over his fears, then set the traps. Multiple traps increase chances. Your chance of success goes up. Are you sure there is enough room above the drop ceiling for the full range of the trap?

I believe that you are correct in that it is finding food elsewhere but finding harborage in your house.

Are there any exterior dogs/animals outside as that would be a food/water source? If so, maybe the food could be stored/handled better so that it puts a little hunger stress on the rat, increasing the chance of trapping.

Keep us posted.

 

What fellow forum member PAbugman says is good advice, but that only treats the symptoms and not the cause. I'm afraid you will have this problem on a regular basis. The premises need to be sealed. The way I read the tone of your post, your landlord will not cooperate and you will need to take legal action. This will most likely be a drawn out procedure. You can also contact your public health organization in your area.

 

@Norm201 - Thank you for the advice, contacting help will definitely remain an option to consider.


@PAbugman - The space on top of the ceiling varies due to insulation and beams running both ways but there are some spots that give just enough clearance for the trap to swing freely. AFAIK there are no outside food/water sources. When you say bacon in the trap, do you mean cooked or raw?

 

Cooked or raw: that's a good question but I don't think it will matter much. I'd go with raw at first, I think. Rats/mice are commensal, meaning that they like to live close to humans, and they like much of the same things we do.
I would suggest that your hands don't have chemical odors such as fuel, oil, etc on them as that does make rats nervous. The human scent won't, but chemical scents will.

 

I've tried peanut butter and bacon. Didn't catch a rat (or attract Elvis, either).

What has worked every time: melt a bit of butter, add brown sugar, and coat a half pecan.
Wire the pecan firmly to a big rat trap. Wear gloves while handling trap and bait.

This apparently is an offer rats cannot refuse.

 

thanks for the tips, I'll let you know if anything comes of it