anyone know of a metal conduit that can be installed over existing wiring ?

[SeanB]

Ultrasonic thingies only work if you have the amplitude high enough that your ears bleed.



What to do with them if you shoot them......

[free_electron]

i wonder how corrugated flexible tubing would hold up. that looks like a good solution as well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-8-Heavy-Duty-Split-Conduit-Tubing-50-feet-/360508499189?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53effb24f5

[SeanB]

i wonder how corrugated flexible tubing would hold up. that looks like a good solution as well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-8-Heavy-Duty-Split-Conduit-Tubing-50-feet-/360508499189?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53effb24f5

Rats love that stuff, they chew it to pieces here. they seem to be attracted to the plasticiser inside the PVC itself.

[pickle9000]

For rats go buy a case or three of Finale wax blocks ( the stuff the bait stations use)  and place them around. For the furry tailed rats place them in a feeder coated with some peanut butter ( cheapest one you can get, it really makes no difference if it is going to make them fat) and give them some water to drink. That can be a dish in the attic with the blocks, and next to it a cat water bowl with Finale liquid inside. Works for rats, mice and bats........

MDS here, you will have to find it in the USA, probably from Amazon........

http://www.bayer.co.za/ebbsc/export/sites/za_internet/en/BMS/MSDS/Finale_Rat_and_Mouse_Wax_Blocks_MSDS_updated_July_2014.pdf

Hombre™ Mini Blocks are what I use. Same active ingredient.

I can get it from a local hardware store or farm supply (Co-op).

Although the camera on the bait stations seems silly it really does help. Rodents are attracted to particular locations and food types. For example I am about 100 meters from a large river. A farmer said to put some salmon skin (dried) in with the bait to get them started. Sure enough they went for it and that group was gone another said fatty bacon, shrimp, peanut butter and so on. I found it very annoying that you could get one group gone and other would happily walk over the bait because it preferred other food. Removing other food sources is good. An insect bomb in the attic is one of the things I did.

I really hate these things.

[SeanB]

Get the liquid with the active ingredient in it. That is liked as a drink, and they all drink it.

[orion242]

It makes me worry how many of my neighbours also have rats in their attic. What if the place burns down ?

I would be, good chance if the little bastards are getting in.

i am pissed off how such things are possible. Simply running wires in pipe would prevent this kind of misery.
Electric pipe costs next to nothing ( 1.5 $ for 10 feet ! )  with 50$ if piping you can do the whole damn attic. That is nothing on the cost of the entire house (700K$)
Construction companies should be sued for negligence.

Labor would be 2-3x to install, conduit is cheap in comparison.  Condos and developments...everything is price driven.  The only thing they talk about after the job, is how fast they got it done.

[pickle9000]

Get the liquid with the active ingredient in it. That is liked as a drink, and they all drink it.

In Canada (and probably the US) additives are strictly controlled and require a licensed professional. Would have been nice though.

[SeanB]

I get it from our pest control company as a syrup that you mix to strength with water. Very effective in a roof as they will be thirsty and the sugar in it attracts them. Placed a bowl in a roof and within 3 minutes heard the scrabbling of little feet. It was dry next day, so refilled. Third day it was still there half empty. After a week we smelt drying rat, but that went away after the weekend. we found the dry skins a year later under the water heater.

[cosmicray]

like a split conduit that can be snapped or screwed shut.  ( like a u-shaped conduit with lid )
i have Squirrels in my attic and they have been eating the wiring. HVAC controls, coax, ethernet cable, power lines. they eat everything.

I've seen squirrels chew on the ends of scrap sch-40 PVC, just for the fun of it. Another solution may be to drive them off. A wildlife biologist once told me that they have very sensitive noses, and do not like the smell of pepper spray. She advised me to take an old rag outside, hose it down a bit with pepper spray, then let it air out for a while. When it was down to gently annoying, then stuff it where you want the squirrels not to go. I cannot swear this will stop them, but it seems like the best method I have heard of to date.

[Dave Turner]

Properly installed metal conduit and/or trunking is the only practical solution where rodents are involved. In my experience rodents love plastics.

Given your problem as described then trunking is probably the way to go. At least in the UK there is still the option to install electrics oneself provided an accredited electrician checks the installation before it is connected to the supply.

It's still expensive but not too extortionate.

[Stonent]

I was thinking something along the lines of one of those electric fly swatters from Harbor Freight.  Take it apart and use some fine mesh chicken wire to make something they'd have to stand or climb on that would shock them.

Maybe get some jumbo marshmallows and inject them with arsenic or other rat poison, or a nice tasty bowl of Prestone.

Some commercial rat poisons contain warfarin which is an anti-clotting agent.  A few weeks after ingestion the rats tend to die from internal bleeding from their blood vessels leaking.

[pickle9000]

I was thinking something along the lines of one of those electric fly swatters from Harbor Freight.  Take it apart and use some fine mesh chicken wire to make something they'd have to stand or climb on that would shock them.

Maybe get some jumbo marshmallows and inject them with arsenic or other rat poison, or a nice tasty bowl of Prestone.

Some commercial rat poisons contain warfarin which is an anti-clotting agent.  A few weeks after ingestion the rats tend to die from internal bleeding from their blood vessels leaking.

I have an electric fen rig and connected it into some of the mesh. It does work but unless you reduce the population they just find another way in. I had holes dug under the footings, through walls and so on.

Blood thinners are found in most baits. If the animal has any injury (cut) even a minimal dose will do them in. The problem with the original Warfarin is that it has such a short half life (a few days) in the body. The longer lasting thinners are much more effective. 

[aroby]

The electrical code varies in the US. Here in Chicago and some of the surrounding areas, everything has to be in conduit, or cable armour.  I've heard rumours that that's because the unions pressed for it (takes longer to install, so more money for them).  Personally, I like it, even though it's a pain to install.  I'd hate to have to trace runs of Romex cable, let alone have to pull new cables. 

[free_electron]

the electrician is coming today. they will replace the damaged runs with MC and metal junction boxes.
the undamaged runs will be protected by stapling a 'tunnel' made from zinc coated steel mesh (1/4 inch by 1/4 inch maze ) over the wires.
i went and bought a big roll of that stuff. cut it in strips and rolled around a 1 inch diameter water pipe. i'll have a handyman come and install it.

the pest control company is here and they found another entry point. they use an uv torch to look for stains ( rats are incontinent and dribble pee continuously )
so where it flares up the most is where they get in and out. two days ago we installed mesh wherever we could see light , but there was one concealed one. it makes a dog-leg and you don't really see light, but there was an opening.

they also put 10 traps with a bait rats simply can't resist. They will come back next week to inspect the traps. According to them : withing 3 days we should have a trap if they can still get in.  Rats are weary of 'new' things. even if it smells good they will shun it for a few days but eventually they can't resist. It's plastic insulation, wood or something tasty ... there is nothing else in the attic.

we'll see.

Squirrels are out. that is for sure. they could not find any squirrel droppings anymore. they did find rat droppings ( rattus rattus : roof rat )

bloody vermin. ' oh but they are so cute' . sure read up on filariasis or hanta and you will think differently ...

[SeanB]

Here is what you can do with them....

[photon]

Here's what a terrier does with them.

[pickle9000]

If there was ever a case for evolution then rat's are it.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Sort of related....
a few years I did some work for a large pest-control company that were investigating new tech for rat & mice elimination.
They were working on a plastic trap which, when the rodent entered, it would shut a door behind it, then release a co2 gas cylinder to suffocate it (otherwise it would eat its way out), then send a radio signal.
The idea was it would save the time taken for people to come out and check the traps, they could monitor it all remotely.
Another benfit was they didn't need any toxic bait, so didn't need to worry about accidentally poisoning anything too big for the trap, or poison getting washed out
 
Not sure if it ever went into production (or the radio-equipped toilet roll holders we did at the same time...)

[miguelvp]

Not a great movie but:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Unknown_Origin

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086036/

[helius]

R.O.U.S.es? I don't think they exist.

[miguelvp]

The thing about the movie "of unknown origins" was that the rat had 24/7 time to deal with the human, but that's not the case the other way around.

[pickle9000]

And then there was Ben and Willard.

[Zucca]

Since I watched this



I always wanted to be in yours or similar situation free_electron.
Be(e) patience at 2:00 it takes off...

It's my yard...

God bless USA!We all know you will win!