So you have a problem with rats, don't you? I promised to help you with this on Monday, and so am I.

First, take action by tidying up your space. Get rid of any trash that is lying around. A dense soil like ivy is a perfect home for rats. If you can't remove everything, at least remove it from the surrounding structures.

Rats don't like to travel far in the open air, so they need to be evacuated as far as possible. If they can't walk around your yard without exposing themselves, they are unlikely to visit them or move around.

Eliminate food sources. Keep the bin tightly closed. Use mesh and rat fences around your fruits and vegetables and keep fallen fruits collected. Store loose food, birdseed and dry pet food in metal cans with tightly fitting lids. Don't leave pet food. Collect spilled bird food, use trays under bird feeders to catch the spill, use chilli-infused seeds, or consider carrying birdhouses for a while.

The next step is to protect your home. Rats can pass through openings the size of a quarter. Seal any potential entrances with concrete, metal, steel, or copper wool - things that are difficult for rats to chew. Install weather strips or other devices under the doors to keep rats out. Cut the vegetation as far away from the structures as possible.

Check your roof for possible attic entrances. Rooftop rats prefer attics, while Norwegian rats like garages better, but both take what they can.

Seek help in nature. A family of five owls, two adults, and three babies can eat up to 3,000 rodents during the breeding season. A neighborhood owl hunt, of course, benefits everyone except the rats. Before installing an owl crate, however, make sure none of your neighbors are using rat poison, even those some companies consider "harmless".

For more information on installing owls, visit hungrigowls.org .

If rats come into the house, use trap traps. You then need to let the rats into your own yard for this to work you need to make sure they cannot enter.

If you've done your best and still want to use deadly methods, don't use rat poisons or sticky traps. They cruelly kill and often kill other animals. Rat poisons also poison any animal that eats a dead or dying rat.

Glue traps often catch birds, lizards, snakes, and even pets. Any animal caught in the glue will have a hard time breaking free, peeling off its skin and breaking bones. The struggle for release often fails and the animal dies persistently and painfully from its injuries or starvation.

Rat traps and zappers kill quickly, but the traps can fail and cause damage to the rat. If you do set traps, check them regularly to make sure the rat is not in pain. Rat zappers kill instantly with a surge of electricity, but cannot be used outdoors.

Rat traps can be dangerous to other animals, so they should be used in closed protective boxes, which are usually sold with the traps.

Do you have a question for Joan?

Use this form to submit questions. Photos should be sent separately to jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com.