In the 17 years we have lived on this street in this townhouse, we have NEVER had to deal with rats or mice in the house, until these past 3 late fall/winter months!
It horrifies me to admit we have a mouse and rat problem, and I am not the only one on my street to deal with these vermin, besides. People who have lived here longer assure me this is a bad year, a cycle of rodent infiltration that happens every 10 or so years, a kind of explosive rat population issue, by their longer experience living here.
Because our 6 unit townhouse complexes are not separated by a concrete wall, the rats who reside between the walls are able to invade residences on either side of the wood frame partitions. If one house is invaded, within a few weeks all six units are dealing with this mouse and rat infestation. Some penetrate the townhouses on either side of us through the basement walls, some though main level walls, and even some by way of attic space.
It is alarming and frustrating, trying to trap and kill all these "unwanted guests", who can do great damage to walls, furniture, cupboards, and stored food in the kitchen cupboards and basement, as per our embarrassing experience.
It is un-nerving, to hear them scampering in the walls separating our homes, chewing at the wall supports and drywall, until they break through into our kitchens, bedrooms, basement and storage areas. They are extraordinarily bold and destructive, and must be trapped and disposed of.
We tried various traps we bought in the hardware stores, but NONE do the job as well as this particular brand of rat trap, which is VERY well constructed, and which is fairly-priced, for its efficacy.
The traps are very sturdily made, and can be used over and over again, unlike the traps we bought at local hardware stores that often broke or fell apart after only one or two "captures", and had to be thrown away.
When strategically placed, with a small piece of cheese and dollop of peanut butter, these traps are nabbing mice and rats at a rate of one per day! They appear to kill the rats and mice instantly, which is comforting, morally-speaking. Today our kitchen trap caught and killed an obviously VERY pregnant female rat, sparing us an even bigger infestation.
My neighbours assure me that the rodents usually vacate the house and return to the outdoors, when the weather becomes warmer, but this is only mid January, and that means we could be contending with this infestation of vermin for a few more months, yet!
This can be very alarming and upsetting, but as long as we are trapping rodents daily, we seem to be accomplishing something, to reduce the damage they incur. In my 66 years I have never had to contend with such an infestation, and I am grateful for these traps to cull the herd. My neighbour 4 doors down hired a team of exterminators at great cost, to safeguard her townhouse which has children living in it, but within a couple weeks, the mice and rats were back, in greater numbers. Money wasted!
I have high expectations for these traps, but they ARE doing the job, so long as we maintain the traps and check and empty them daily. Still, it IS very unnerving, and a sign of hard times, for humans AND rodents!
RECOMMENDED!
| Manufacturer | Woodstream Corporation |
|---|---|
| Item model number | M144B |
| Product Dimensions | 13.82 x 7.62 x 6.83 cm; 141 g |
| ASIN | B0CCWPCCSM |
