is it any less likely that i'm going to get the thing to eat bleach than baking soda?
i don't want to feed it. i've seen the signs; DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. they get aggressive when you do that, and associate you with food. i'd like to keep all of my toes, thanks. and my nose.
and my eyes.
if i give them baking soda or bleach or plaster and it doesn't work, they'll come back looking for more food. that's the worst outcome possible. i've succeeded in getting them out of this unit, but they remain in the ceiling, and are eating out of upstairs.
but i have a literal window into one of their nests. one of the property managers (the owner employs several) around here just ripped a part of the wall out to get at some plumbing a few weeks ago, and i covered it up temporarily with translucent tape. i can actually see them come in and out of there. i can get into the nest by opening it with an exacto knife and taping it back up.
i've put a few things in there. they drag them out or around.
i have taken an apple sauce container i got at the food bank and loaded it to the top with bleach. there's about a quarter cup of clorox in there.
now, rats are blind (all three of them) and rely on their noses. they follow their noses. so maybe the bleach just chases them out of there. great.
but if they decide they don't want to lose the nest and try to drag the bleach out because it smells awful, they're going to spill it, and it's going to get all over them. all over their fur, all over their skin.
and what will they do then?
they will lick it off. as filthy as rats are, they clean their fur fairly regularly. bingo.
any amount of bleach in their stomach will drop like an iron balloon, and kaboom. but, if they can survive that, it will convert to salt and poison them.
the better outcome is that they just get chased off by the smell, but if they try to move it, and they ingest any in the process, it will hopefully kill them, without feeding them.
*curls fingers*
*pets imaginary cat*