Anybody who uses those glue boards for rodents is a sick son of a cunt if there ever was one and there is a special place in hell for fuckers like that.
I am so sorry, but smoking Cannabis (among other things) has made me so at peace with the other critters of the world (not so much the other human scum fuckers of the world), I wouldn't even kill a spider. Especially not a spider because spiders eat other bugs. Mice\rats eat bugs often, too.
Poisoning rodents is in most instances ineffective. We've been doing it for millennia with a plethora of different substances\methods and why do they remain? They certainly have a social hierarchy as Doobius1 pointed out. Also, A single female rat can have some 5-24 babies per litter. She can do this up to 8 times per year. You do the math.
Trapping is also useless if more can get back in. That would be the key right there: don't allow entry. Repair any cracks and holes (larger than a dime) anywhere along the foundation. Use 'Great-Stuff' expanding foam\sealant to do this. Use chicken-wire and a fine mesh screen on all vents, windows, etc. Prune the trees on your property. Don't let tree limbs or branches get too close to the house, they shouldn't be near or touching the roof or any walls.
God forbid people use their brains or have any compassion whatsoever for other life which may be 'smaller' than them, yet which they take for granted every day. Rats and other rodents have given us a LOT. We've learned a lot about ourselves from rodents. Mice and rats are extremely important model organisms and medicine, especially, has and continues to use them extensively. Rats are intelligent, and they have even been trained to detect land mines!
By the way, and it is interesting the ignorance common society oozes, because while rats can certainly transmit diseases (just like cats, dogs, birds, and...humans) rabies is virtually never found in rats\mice. Same goes for squirrels. Same goes for all rodents. Scientists aren't exactly sure why but rodents, unlike other mammals, are apparently resistant to rabies infection. There have been no reported cases of a person contracting rabies from a rat, at least not in the United States. In modern times only a couple people annually are dying from rabies at all.
Bats on the other hand, are known vectors for rabies. Nevertheless, if you have bats in your attic it would likely be illegal to kill them. Bats are a highly beneficial 'nuisance' and some species are federally protected.
Interesting about the mint, Bigby. I know they sell some natural rodent repellents based on the concept. Perhaps there is a certain concentration\source of essential oils? Or you have a unique rat.
