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  1. #1
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Emergency! I found a rat.

    And it's fat. It might be pregnant. I saw something on the porch a couple of weeks ago but hoped it was a slow moving squirrel. Just saw it again and it's a rat. It looks like an enormous mouse but that has to be a rat.

    Never before have I had to deal with a rat. Does peppermint oil really work? I have peppermint planted all over the front yard. What's the difference? I raided the baking cabinet and dumped all of the peppermint extract I had next to the house just in case.

    I can't have a rat. I just can't. Didn't even realize that this would freak me out until just now. We have wildlife everywhere but this just bugs the crap out of me. I can't even imagine what it's eating.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog
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    I've found that peppermint oil works only if it's REALLY strong. I have diffuser reeds stuck directly into peppermint oil essential oil bottles in our sheds and it works fairly well. I'd tried cotton balls saturated with the stuff and that didn't seem to work (smell diffused too quickly and didn't hang around...the reeds are slow and steady and don't have to be refreshed till the bottle is empty). I don't know about use with rats, we have mice.

    Don't bother with the little packages of "stuff" that are supposed to be wonderful....they smell like mint and contain some kind of filler....our mice love those...they shred the outer part to carry away and poop on the filler.

    Despite the peppermint oil, I still have successful traps in those sheds...just not as many mice caught as frequently.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to SunDance For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (11-20-2014)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog sheltieluver's Avatar
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    Get a cat :P I would be freaking out too. I freaked out when a field mouse got in our house. I have 6 cats sucker didn't stand a chance.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to sheltieluver For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (11-20-2014)

  6. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Oil of peppermint is much stronger than the plant, just like most spices. Worked for us to keep squirrels out of planters. A full grown rat would be a challenge for a cat. I think you need a JRT.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to Snowshoe For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (11-20-2014)

 



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