Many counties in So. CA have a vector control district. If that's true with your county, call that agency.

Another agency to talk to is your County Agricultural Commission.

If the rats are also eating avocadoes somewhere in the neighborhood, the Vitamin K in the fruits counteracts the d-con.

Place a section of vent pipe (the kind that comes flat) around the trunk to keewp them out of the tree ... they will get hungry enough to eat the bait.

The vent pipe idea sounds good but I am not sure which kind to get. Is it for a dryer or plumbing of some kind?

you might check to see if you have any wires or other avenues the rats may be using to access the tree that would not require them to be on the ground where your bait is. you might also try tieing the bait blocks to the limbs of the tree where you see the most oily smudges.

I hung a wooden rat trap on the trunk of the tree last night and this morning had a rat. Used a small piece of Snickers candy bar and he went for it. No takers on the electronic trap with the same bait.

Trying for a second one this evening.

Got another one today. Snickers as bait again.

try peanut butter (or peanut but i find peanut butter more appetizing and apparently so do rats) m&ms and oversized glue traps as another alternative thats cheaper and you can nail them right to the tree or hang them using a holepunch and some twine. do it in bulk and clear em all out ASAP

I have been noticing that my parsley that was thriving on the front porch was being eaten. There is now nothing left except short stems. Then I noticed that all my succulents have been eaten in the same way. Nothing left but stems. This is not the work of snails. There are no slime tracks and the plants have been eaten by something with a big mouth. We have a lot of rats due to my bird feeders and I noticed rat(I think) droppings next to one of the succulents. I also have squirrels. Does anyone know if rats or squirrels eat plants? If so, this is a first for me. If rats eat tangerine perhaps salad is also on their menu.
Thanks for any help.

little ebe,

Yes, rats will eat the stuff in your garden. I fabriccated rat bait stations from 3 inch PVC pipe. They stopped eating the plants and started eating the bait. Took about a month to stop all the activity.

Bob

So guess the rats are what are eating my succulents. Thanks to everyone who replied. However, I was horrified to see that folks are using poison! Raptors(Hawks and owls) and other critters eat the poisoned rats and then they die. It is one of the most common causes of raptor death in the world. I am willing to sacrifice my succulents(or raise them indoors) in order to save a bird. I hope you all consider other methods and thank you for responding. I am sure that if I removed my many bird feeders, I would have less of a problem. This is what you get when you interfere with Mother Nature. I guess I was hoping for a non-lethal solution and should have made that clear.

@little ebe

Poisoning of rodent predators really depends on the chemical used. The active ingredient in the most common rodent baits used in pest control carry zero risk of secondary poisoning (the rodent metabolizes the poison prior to death, so the eagles or house cats that eat a poisoned rat don't die). I'm not perfectly sure about DCon, but in my experience rodents know to avoid DCon.

To the OP: I'd see if a local pest control company will cut you a deal on a rodent-control only program; they'll put out bait boxes and refill them regularly.