If you are seriously considering a Jack Russell as a ratter, I urge you to look here and educate yourself about the breed. They are wonderful dogs (I have two,) but are not for everyone. In the left hand column is an interactive profiler that will give you some idea as to whether a JRT is a good fit for you.
And, if you do decide to get one, *please *consider rescuing one. You can access Russell Rescue from that site as well.
Feel free to PM or e-mail me if you want more information.
I mis-read the title in the OP and had this vision of rodents lowering themselves by ropes from the ceiling.
Couldn’t resist, I have never seen a wild rat. I live in alberta, canada where we are rat free. We actually have a rat patrol that runs around the border killing rats. As a kid i always wanted to see one but so far (and Im ol’) I’ve only seen pet ones in BC.
BTW my wife (from another province) didnt believe me for years until it as in the local newspaper.
vic
I think I may get a few “Rat Zappers”. There’s a couple models listed on Amazon, and they all have really good reviews. And the prospect of having to just dump out a box is a lot more appealing than having to empty a snap trap and scrub blood off the floor every morning.
Do you know what the upkeep is on retractable adamantium claws? 
I am in possession of scatological evidence that suggests this hypothesis is false.
No truth to it whatsoever. You will often find mice where there are no rats, but it is very rare to find a house with a rat problem that doesn’t also have mice.
That may in fact be the source of the myth. When people have rats they tend to attribute everthing to rats and overlook the signs of mice. When the rats are eleminated the mouse populaton will expand and people will notice them, thus assuming that the rats left because the mice arrived or that the mice were kept away by the rats.
Not even close. Rats consider mice just another food source. This is not a whoosh.
Call Vector Control, then a Pro. I also suggest you might visit the farm and dairy, and ask what they do about *their *rat problem- which is becoming your rat problem. Mention “Vector Control” (or whatever the local name for it is) offhand, like “I am thinking about calling Vector Control.” You never know but they might just volunteer to help you out. (No dairy or organic farm likes the Vector control dudes sniffing around, too much chance of a health code write-up. They likely already have a Pro exterminator on contract so having him swing by and handle your place too might not even cost them anything. Even if not they will know the very best dude to call.)
Then get a couple of cats. Large or fast breeds, like Maine Coon or Bengals. But rescues or shelter cats are fine, I am not saying go out and buy expensive pure breds, just look for those breeds. Get a pair of littermates if they have them. Rats will avoid places that smell like cat. Cats will kill mice and sometimes rats- and even large bugs.
Cite? Reputabe cite? The idea isn’t totally implausible as stated but the standard for “avoid” would have to be set awfully low. Presumably it means that if you give a rat a choice between feeding in a room smelling of cat and one that doesn’t it makes the predictable choice. In the real world of course that is useless information because rats don’t have that choice.
Well, it all depends doesn’t it? I mean there’s a farm and a dairy, full of warm places to sleep and lots of food. Rats are pretty damn smart and if all other things are equal, the place with fewer predators is the place any smart prey will choose. Now, sure, both places may have predators too, of course.
So I guess that means you have absolutely no evidence for the claim?
But not if the rats in Sanders’ house are there because there’s a population explosion across the way at the farm and the dairy, and they’re only in Sanders’ house because there’s nowhere else for them to go, i.e. they’re exploring new territory out of necessity. Sure, they’d probably prefer to be in a nice warm dairy full of spilled grain, but it’s possible the dairy is full-up.
So that all other things may NOT be equal, IOW.
Googling idly around under “rat repellent”, I find that fox and bobcat odor are touted for this–but not house cat.
http://www.critter-repellent.com/rat/rat-problems.php
And these folks, who claim to have lab testing results, go straight for the “naphthalene and sulfur”, not even “cat” at all.
http://www.pestproducts.com/rat_scat.htm
And it’s worthwhile to point out that their product is very carefully billed as only a “deterrent”, and that their tests only “reduced” the number of rodents entering the building–you’re always gonna have rats who don’t mind the smell of mothballs and rotten egg.
And an actual .edu site says:
It would seem to me that if the “odor of a cat” kept rats away, that the UC’s Pest Management Program would have heard about it.
Not wanting to go into a hijack, here are some cites:
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~w3psy/index_files/04-05/PSY398/Wallace_uncon%20fear.pdf
"The odor from the fur of cats has been used as an unconditioned, ecologically fear stimulus for rats (eg R. J. Blanchard & Blanchard 1989, Zangrossi & File 1992… There are other predator odors… that elicit avoidance responses similar to those seen with presentation of a cat or cat odors"
http://64.233.179.104/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:AHnEZF9XEQoJ:www.neurodome.psc.br/pbupl/PUBLIC/cue_%2520and_conditioning_of_defensive_behavior.pdf+rattus+predator+avoidance+odor
Abstract
*Exposure of rats to a cat odor block in a previously familiarized situation was followed by three extinction days to the same or a different
situation, and with or without an identical but odor-free block, and, testing in the original apparatus with an odor-free block (cue). Initial
exposure produced risk assessment (stretch attend), avoidance of the block, and crouch/freeze with snif®ng/head movements. Avoidance
continued during extinction, but context-only exposed rats showed predominantly crouch/freeze with sniff/head movements, while rats
exposed to the context 1 cue showed higher levels of stretch attend. During the test day, rats exposed to the cue during extinction showed
reduced defensive responding compared to those not extinguished with the cue, but context extinction had less effect, possibly due in part to
initial familiarization with the situation.These data indicate that both cue and context conditioning to cat odor did occur, and that the type of
conditioned stimulus (context-only vs. context 1 cue) in¯uenced the type of defensive behaviors elicited by this stimulus, although the all
animals received the same conditioning protocol. Particular behaviors disappeared at different rates during extinction, with avoidance the
most persistent. However, in this context there was no incentive for approach behaviors inconsistent with avoidance, and stretch attend
behaviors could and did occur while subjects were located far from the block or the area in which it had been encountered. In addition,
immobile crouch/freeze did not occur at higher than control levels, while the crouch/freeze activities that did increase incorporated sensory
sampling in a relevant modality (snif®ng/head movements). Thus, the behaviors seen to the conditioned stimulus appeared to re¯ect
combinations of different defense strategies, appropriate to the type of conditioned stimulus and responsive to its extinction. Differences
between these data and those from studies using fecal predator odorants suggest that the latter may not elicit a complete range of conditioned
defenses. q 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: Cat odor; Predator odor; Rat; Defense; Defensive behavior; Risk assessment; Crouch; Freeze; Sniff; Aversive conditioning
*
http://64.233.179.104/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:agm1Vi8LyNEJ:www.neurodome.psc.br/pbupl/PUBLIC/Conditioning_and_residual_emotionality_effects_of_predator_stimuli.pdf+rattus+predator+avoidance+odor+Blanchard+1989
Abstract
*The advantages of using predator-related odor stimuli to study emotional responses in laboratory tests depend on whether such stimuli do
elicit a relatively complete pattern of emotionality. This has been confirmed for cat fur/skin odor stimuli, which elicit a range of defensive
behaviors in rats that may be reduced by anxiolytic drugs, produce residual anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze and support rapid
aversive conditioning to the context in which they were encountered. Although the synthetic fox fecal odor, trimethylthiazoline (TMT), elicits
avoidance similar to that seen in response to cat fur/skin odor, this avoidance does not respond to anxiolytic drugs. In addition, TMT does not
produce residual anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze, nor does it support conditioning.
As natural cat feces also elicit avoidance but fail to support conditioning, it is possible that the ability of a predator-related odor to serve as
an effective unconditioned stimulus (US) relates to its predictive status with reference to the actual presence of the predator. Avoidance per se
may reflect that a stimulus is aversive but not necessarily capable of eliciting an emotional response. *
http://www.springerlink.com/content/t2w7774hg2662mg8/
“Abstract We evaluated eight synthetic predator odors and mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) feces for eliciting avoidance responses and/or reduced feeding by wild captured Hawaiian roof rats (Rattus rattus). In a bioassay arena, we recorded: (1) time until each rat entered the arena, (2) time elapsed until first eating bout, (3) time spent in each half of the arena, (4) number of eating bouts, and (5) consumption. Rats displayed a response to the predator odors in terms of increased elapsed time before initial arena entry and initial eating bout, a lower number of eating bouts, and less food consumption than in the respective control groups. The odor that produced the greatest differences in response relative to the control group was 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-dithiolane [from red fox (Vulpes vulpes) feces and mustelid anal scent gland]. Mongoose fecal odor produced different responses in four of the five variables measured while (E,Z)-2,4,5-trimethyl-Delta3-thiazoIine (red fox feces) and 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (red fox urine and feces) odors were different from the control group in three of the five variables measured. These laboratory responses suggest that wild Hawaiian roof rats avoid predator odors.”
I don’t get why you are questioning why a very smart prey animal would avoid an area with a predator in comparison to areas without predators?
Duck Duck Goose "
But not if the rats in Sanders’ house are there because there’s a population explosion across the way at the farm and the dairy, and they’re only in Sanders’ house because there’s nowhere else for them to go, i.e. they’re exploring new territory out of necessity. Sure, they’d probably prefer to be in a nice warm dairy full of spilled grain, but it’s possible the dairy is full-up." Yes, population pressure will cause rats to migrate, but they can live pretty damn cheek-by-jowl, and if a dairy or a farm had that many rats, it’d be very very obvious and very very closed down. Now another more likely reason is that the Dairy is using very effective control methods.
I was in charge of the Lab Rats at both my colleges, ran experiments with them ect. One was a maze expeiment, where some used cat litter was placed on the rats usual routes. Those rats very clearly exibited “avoidance” behavior.
Or you could tell them that there’s a Highwayman with a working fuel cell regulator in your basement.
Sanders - I had rats in the attic of my 160 year old farmhouse when I bought it. It’d been vacant for a couple years, and the opportunistic creatures moved in. I tried my cats uo there, then my airedale (thinking a terrier is a natural ratter). Nothing worked until I put lots and lots of poisoned bait out. The bait was not where the pets could reach it, and although I didn’t like the thought of my dogs and cats getting at the retty corpses, I just couldn’t live like that. It didn’t take long for them to be gone, and they’ve stayed gone.
I’d board up and block where you can. I understand you don’t have a kitchen sink, etc., but nailing plywood down over the biggest access points could only help, and will keep you warmer in the coming winter.
StG
I’ve used them, and they do work well. Much better than having to get the rat out of one of those giant sprint-loaded traps. You can even get one with a remote device that will light up when the trap is sprung. I actually used rat poison as bait, since they seem to simply love the stuff.
But you have to plug up any holes in the house, or you’ll just get new ones coming in all the time.
< hijack > I mis-read the thread title as “rappelling rats” and wondered how you got them into the teeny-weeny harnesses. < / hijack>
We’re not questioning the fact that rats might instinctively avoid the odor of cat–what we’re questioning is whether it’s useful to advocate “the odor of a cat” as a regular rat repellent. The UC says not.
And as the UC points out, rats soon become acclimated to deterrent odors, and it wouldn’t take long before these “very smart” animals would soon figure out exactly how to evade whatever Maine coon cat happens to be in residence.
For starters, they can simply run around inside the walls, where the cat can’t get at them.
And the cat can’t be everywhere at once, and rats breed fast (I found one factoid on the web that says that a single pair can produce 2000 offspring in a single year, dunno about the math, my head will explode, but…), so unless you find a cat that’s going to be a hell-for-leather righteous ratter, you’re not going to get total deterrent value out of him; he’s not going to eliminate your rat problem; you’re still going to have rats.
Well, again, they may have exhibited avoidance behavior at first–but how many repetitions of the maze did it take them before they learned to ignore the kitty litter and just went around it? Or did you not test for that, once you had your “Yep, they avoid the scent of cat urine” data point?
I bought my Rat Terrier from people who raised Airdales and Greyhounds. They had rats from all the dog food, plus they lived on a farm. The hounds would kill any cats (they had tried cats to get rid of the rats), so they got a breeding pair of Rat Terriers.
That got rid of the rats. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a Rat Terrier on rats. They have huge ears like bats and can hear rats and will not rest until the rats are dispatched.
I know it might make some people skeevy, talking about animal-on-animal slaughter, and I bought mine just as a pet (and he’s an absolutely wonderful pet), but I’ve seen him in action vs rats and it’s just no contest.