How do I get rid of a rat?!?!

[USMCbaby]

I live in an area where there is a lot of construction going on and my neighbor had 2 rats in her house in a week. Looks like one came over here and I don't know how to get rid of it!! It is somewhere around the stove and drives me nuts at night because I can hear it. I put down a glue trap last night but nothing was on it in the morning.

I am not able to sleep at night because of the stupid rat. I woke up at 1:00 am and hoped it was my cat making noise. Nope, the rat is in the kitchen. So I am surfing the net and decided to turn the oven on as high as it will go and maybe it will go away.

If I call an exterminator, what will they do? I don't want a bunch of chemicals or poison put down, but I can't handle this.

[wednesday]

You can get battery-powered "zappers" at Lowe's...they are more humane than a glue trap because the rodent is killed immediately. It is a trap that you put bait in and then dump the critter in the trash after it is triggered. I think it's safer than poison but obviously still you want to place it out of access by your child.

[USMCbaby]

Thanks! I will look for the battery powered traps. I didn't buy glue traps, my neighbor gave them to me. They didn't work last night, so I have to try something else anyway. :

[srain]

You could try a live trap, too. And try to figure out how they got in your house, so you can stop them from coming in. There may be space behind your cabinets they're using to move around that you might want to close off.

[BabyBumblebee]

If you do find any gaps where the pesky rodents may be getting in, you can fill them with wire wool and caulking - they won't gnaw through that....don't ask me how I know :

[USMCbaby]

I think we figured it out. My neighbor came over and pulled the stove away from the wall. Looked behind and underneath. No droppings.

There is a floor vent right next to the stove. That must be why it sounds like the rat is in the kitchen. We opened up the vent and put a trap underneath. I hope I catch something in the next few days because my neighbor is moving. I won't be sticking my hand down there to get it out. ::shiver::

I looked a t quite a few websites this morning for tips and there are some sick people who think this is a fun hobby. Get a life.