[RatQueen]

I'm moving to a friends house and it's located in a wooded area. I'm very worried that my girls might get impregnated by the wild rats and I need some tips on how to prevent that from happening. Oh and keeping them inside wont make much of a difference because the wild rats can get in and out as they please. :roll: So if you have any tips or ideas please share them asap!!! (I'm moving within the next 3 weeks.)

 

[Forensic]

If there's no way to keep them out, get the girls spayed.

 

[RatQueen]

I ment they can get in and out of the house. They shouldn't be able to get into the cages.

 

[AlexzRose]

Yea but some rats have been known to mate even through the bars of cages. You should just get your girls spayed.

 

[RatQueen]

It's to expensive! And I just plain don't wan't to spend money needlessly like that if I can do something easier physichaly and money wise.

 

[Hippy]

Then there is nothing that can be done but to look around the room where your rats are staying, make sure there are no already made entries by the rats and if so, plug them up.
If you think the rats can get through the bars somehow, who knows how, then get a thin mesh so they cant get in.
Supervise all free play time.
Maybe have the rats sleep in your room because I don't know if the wild rats will be curious enough to want to be in a room with you, even when your sleeping.

[oh god, the thought of wild rats running around in a room I'm in, gah, makes me queezy.]

Try not to have anything in the room that your rats are in, that the wild rats may find welcoming, ect, food, snacks, treats.

Umm, this is me just thinking really.. Hope it helps?

 

[Mana]

If you're that worried about wild rats getting to them, spaying wouldn't be a needless expense. I don't know how many girls you have, but even one litter can end up costing more than a spay. I'm not sure about this, but if your girls are spayed, then the wild ones might not have any interest at all in them - which would be good, because I would be concerned about possible fighting, injuries, not to mention the diseases wild rats might transmit to your girls.

This doesn't sound like a very good situation for your rats, with no real solution if there's no way at all to keep the wild ones out of the house and away from them... :?

 

[simbakitten]

like mana said, its not a needless expense if your afraid of the wild rats gettin your girlies pregnant. also if the can get them pregnant they might give them diseases. and maybe keeping your rats in a high traffic are might scare off the wild rats

 

[A1APassion]

if wild things can get inside then that means that the tame things can get out

also by the wild things coming in you have a very unhealthy thing happening inside that house for both you, your friend & the pets

these wild things can bring in illness & their droppings are going to create toxins that are very unhealthy to breath

 

[dreadhead]

get a cat... ours kills anything that steps foot in "her" yard. :roll: she loves our rats though.

 

[ration1802]

I would worry less about the chance of your rats getting bonked by a rogue rat, and more around what lurgies the wildies can bring in.

Letting your rats run around where wild rats could possibly have been running, urinating etc can put them (and you) in danger of catching some real nasties

 

[g0tink87]

well one solution that might work wich im sure everyone will disagree....i would set up traps or poison somewhere that your rats wont get into. If you have wild rats running around where you live...like actually coming in and out as they please, well then thats a problem. A pretty unhealthy and unsanitary problem.

I dont want anyone to take it the wrong way. I love animals but, I dont care what it is...a rat, mouse, squirell, racoon, bugs, cats, birds or even a human. If your in my house and your unwanted...your considered a pest. Theres only one solution for pests...extermination. Its sometimes sad but it has to be done.

 

[ration1802]

I see where you're coming from, but considering that rats are the pets AND problem - the risks of one of the PET rats accidentally nibbling on a lovely looking poison pellet is too high

Especially as pet rats are so curious and have the 'oh, i see something, let me put it in my mouth' outlook on life. Wild rats are much more likely to ignore the poison/trap

 

[dimlights]

Someone else beat me to it...get a cat. Even if it's a mostly-outdoor cat, mine certainly cleared my barn/acreage of mouse+rat presence easily enough. I only ever saw 'em when miss kitty wanted to give me a present.

 

[rat_ratscal]

thats mean!!!!!

 

[Sparker]

I would worry less about the chance of your rats getting bonked by a rogue rat

HAHA!

 

[Schmea]

Personally, I'd be looking to keep the rats out permanently. Yes, you could probably come up with some solution to just keep your girls from getting pregnant, (i.e. housing them in a slightly smaller cage inside a larger one) but again, these wild rats might be carrying diseases that your girls aren't conditioned to, and you could lose them. Beyond that, if the rats can get in, your rats can get out... they'll find those exits, and explore them quickly enough.

My personal thought would be to pick up a few square feet of thick (thick enough so as to not be chewed through,) chicken wire, some wire cutters, and a staple gun. If you're moving in, the place should be pretty empty when you arrive, so very thoroughly inspecting the whole place, including "hidden" places (i.e. under the fridge/stove, and the like), and cutting and stapling the chicken wire over every hole, no matter how small. Open up any vents (i.e. dryer vent, air intake etc.) to the outside, and do the same thing: air will still flow through the chicken wire, but the rats will not. Rats are not magic, and their gaining entrance means there is, simply, an entrance for them.

Personally I'd see this as a positive thing for living arrangements period: keeping out wild animals can only be a good thing for your home.

 

[RatQueen]

Some of you don't understand what I'm asking.... I want IDEAS not statements! Oh and the rats (wild & pet) can NOT get in or out of the cage. The wild rats can only get in the house. The owners live in the house next to us (less then 30 ft) and they have THREE cats that are good hunters. But no number of cats can eleminate the rats in the whole neiborhood. (Our side of the hill.) Oh and btw do you know how much vets charge to even LOOK at a rat in the Santa Cruz county?! O.O And don't even try to find a good vet that likes rats! If I wanted to get my five girls spayed it would add up to at LEAST $1000!!!!! O.O So if you have any ideas that will not be as costly money wise and physichaly please do share! Oh and again I've not moved in yet but will be moving in within the next two weeks.

 

[AlexzRose]

LoL... sounded like they were giving you lots of ideas on how to keep the wild rats out.

Your post above confuses me. Are you not willing to atleast find how the rats are getting into the house and sealing it off? Seems like the easiest thing to do about it.

 

[Hippy]

Rats. living in your house. bring in horrible things, bad for you and your rats. Find out how they are getting in and stop it. Thats an idea. And I believe my whole reply to you was filled with ideas.

The matter is, are you going to try our ideas or just keep asking?