Sundance:
Cunning plan.
Put something deliciously attractive to rats (my curry comes to mind) OUTSIDE of the house, near the location, and lace it with rat poison. Make sure you don't get the neighbours dog interested

Some form of container that a dog can't reach i.e a pipe . Don't worry about cats unless it's Beluga Caviar, which my cat is partial to, along with fresh tuna which is all she condescends to eat these days.
Z