How to manage rats in tight spaces and high ceilings
Rats are extremely difficult to manage when they are located in areas where you can barely walk or at the literal highest point of a house. This inaccessible placement stops people from using direct mitigation strategies, like vacuuming them up, because they lack tall ladders, scaffolds, or rented scissor lifts.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Remove any edible items
- 2Setting traps
- 3spraying insecticide into the sealed room and hoping it dies
- 4spraying water on the bug to knock it down and step on it
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I would vacuum them up in a heartbeat but they are at the literal highest point of my house and I don't have a ladder or scaffold.”source ↗
“Any help on ID and mitigation strategy ideally without renting a scissor lift?”source ↗
“What would be the best way to manage rats when I can barely walk around in there?”source ↗
“a cockroach got into my room and disappeared into a narrow gap in the air conditioner.”source ↗
“it’s 3 am and i can’t reach it. what’s the safest thing to do right now to get it out or deal with it?”source ↗
“i don’t want to spray anything into the unit or take it apart and risk damaging it.”source ↗
“yes, i could spray it with water, but i’m scared that when i do, it’ll fly at me (it’s one of the kinds that can fly).”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 12How to stop chipmunks from digging holes near your foundation
- 16How do I find where pests are getting into my house?