put some mothballs under the shed. in a confined area the smell will run them off.

or put traps around the shed during times you know no one will be outside.

the most effective method would be to leave the cat out there by the shed, it will catch and kill most all of them.

We used a have a heart trap and relocated the little bugger. Once he was gone, we backfilled around the shed better. Be aware that now is spring/summer and there could be a litter under there also.

--Candace

I've used sticky traps. it's a shallow tray of a sticky substance that once they step in the material, they can't get out. It's a lot safer than poison but the rat is still alive and you will need to determine how to dispose of (re-locate or .....well, you get the picture)

Not sure if I could use the sticky traps, seeing the little buggers stuck there might be too much for me. I am going to try the moth balls.

lol davidandkasie- you would think my cat would be a good solution, but she is pretty lazy!

Also, has anyone tried the fox/bobcat smell (saw this online) supposedly would deter the little guys. I really don't want to hurt the rats, I just want them to move out before they decide to move into my house. One problem is that we have koi pond, so they have a water source right there.

Just trap them....best solution.

Traps are cheap and, if necessary, you can throw out trap with rat in it!

Main thing to do is to make sure you seal up entry points....

I had mice problems when I lived in an apartment building and we used, moth balls, dryer sheets (bounce, etc..), the v-traps, electronic traps (worked good) and also steel wool in any holes because they do not like the feel of it. I personally would use poison just under the shed because if a rat came out, it could bite the dog or children so that would not be good either. But try the other options. I never would use sticky traps because they chew there own arms and legs off to be free. If you r gonna get a trap, rats are to big for the v-traps so try a electronic one if there is one the size of rats around.Good luck. Kim

Sticky traps are illegal in many jurisdictions because they are not a humane way to trap pest animals.

How about a snake? They're much more diligent about eating rats than housecats.

Don't worry about 'relocating' them. They're rats. Vermin. Non-native. And they carry disease, including plague.

After a while, struggling to get rid of them, you won't care if the method is humane or not! Your kids and pets are your priority, and you don't want these critters around them.

I finally found out WHY I have rats in my yard. Because of my neighbors! My very irresponsible neighbors were stashing a bunch of trash behind their shed near a the small swamp at the end of the dead end... Recently we were all issued new garbage cans (a big giant one for trash, and two other large ones for recycling) from the city. Apparently this one appartment didn't receive their new cans, so their solution? Just dump all their trash near the swamp! When my husband found out about this, he was LIVID! Because of their negligence, we have a rat problem. Although I did try this synthetic bobcat/fox urine powder, and filled in their holes, and haven't seen any evidence of the little suckers in a few days. Hopefully they moved out. But if I see more of them, we are going to get some traps, like posters have said, I don't really care if the rat-removal is humane anymore, I just want them gone. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

These work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ratzapper

POISON IS NOT THE ANSWER, YOUR DOG WILL EAT THE POISONED
RAT AND EITHER DIE OR A HELL OF A VET BILL.MOTH BALLS DO NOT WORK NOR DO THE ELECTONIC BALONEY THATS OUT THERE.SNAP TRAPS WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND GO TO WWW.UNEXCO,COM AND READ THEIR RAT PAGE

What are the rats eating.. possibly bird seed? Feeding the birds can lead to rats/mice and other unwanted vermin.
Bird feed lovers will always disagree, but rats and mice will eat more seed then you can possibley believe.

Lovelycherry

My mom has mice/rats underneath her shed. The only thing stored in there are hurricane shutters, which are metal. We don’t know how to get rid of them! Any suggestions,please!!

There are some useful tips here about getting rid of them . How to trap rats