If you’ve done all this and you still hear scratching at 3 AM, call a professional. An exterminator will do the dirty work, often with poison (which I don’t love—dead rats can smell like a dead body in your walls). But sometimes, you need a pro. No shame. You fought the fight.
How Rats Are Getting in Your House & What You Can Do About It | Simple Pest
And listen—you are not a failure if you call a pro. Rats are nature’s ultimate game of hide-and-go-seek. They hide; you seek; it’s exhausting. Just know your limit.