re: How do you get rid of a rat in the attic?

Set traps baited with peanut butter. If you resort to using poison, chances are one will die in your attic or inside a wall and smell up your house for at least a couple weeks.

Once the traps are set, tie them off so if the rat is not killed immediately, they can't drag it off. I usually tie a piece of nylon twine around the little looped area where the arm for the trap is secured to the wood base and tie off to a wire or pipe in the attic.

I have a woodworking shop and see the occasional rat and set the traps baited with peanut butter. They will ignore it for a while, but eventually they will take the bait and be killed.