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We are currently facing an issue with rodents, most likely mice or rats, having taken up residency in our flat roof. The space itself is inaccessible for us or our cats, so they can't take care of this issue.

While we don't mind them per se and they do provide some entertainment for the cats with the noise they make in the night, they are apparently tearing up insulation while rearranging their residence and pose a fire hazard if they were to chew into electrical wiring, so we can't leave them there.

Lethal options, as in poison, are out of scope here, obviously due to the cats and local birds of prey potentially ingesting the victims, and we would very much like to avoid killing them.

Live traps are not really a solution either, as we live right next to a field, which comes with a truly massive population of rodents, so chances are we will mostly be trapping innocent bystanders.

I've been doing some research into noisemaker devices to scare them away, ultrasonic or audible spectrum, vibration, etc. The problem here is I couldn't find reliable information if using these would stress out the cats, manufacturers seem mostly concerned with the effect on the unwanted guests.

What I am looking for here would be:

  • reliable information regarding noisemaker options being stressful for cats
  • potential other non-lethal deterrents that are safe for cats
bgse
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I am pleased that you do not want to use poison. Thank you for this! I have found that daily application of peppermint oil deters rats as they have a very sensitive sense of smell. It will not hurt them. They simply do not like the smell. The key is this--it's a lot of work!! as you must apply the oil profusely morning and night, but it works. I did this for years until I adopted a cat, then he took care of the rats!!

SharonAzar
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