You can include Owsley Stanley amongst the naysayers. While its hard to imagine billions of humans and their herds not farting up the globe dissent and criticism are always a good thing.
I don't know how well this applies to where you live but the rats that nest in our house are vegetarians and bring in their own food (acorns). Before we bought the house it had obviously been the home for many generations of rats. In my ongoing war I only began to edge ahead of their rate of reproduction and discovery of new ways in by following the advice in a manual distributed by local authorities. Vertically mounting the old-style Victor wooden traps on walls or other paths has had a 100% kill rate for me. When they stop going off the colony is either dead or gone. When I hear them back I look for pathways and setup new traps. Eventually I would like every thing closed in under our house but that will take a while. Check out this guide: http://www.msmosquito.com/pdf/Rat.pdf
Steel wool works great unless its a hole through the floor with a copper pipe. Don't put steel wool on copper. The best guide I have ever read is here: http://www.msmosquito.com/pdf/Rat.pdf I basically followed the advice here (especially how and where to mount traps) and have mitigated an ongoing problem. Until I get all the footings closed in and the pampass grass out around the house I know there will be rats. I don't use poison since the neighbors cats regularly hunt around our house. I have had them chew threw almost everything and as soon as one entry is blocked they start looking (and finding) new ways in to nest.
I thought it was the Jesus acid I took at a Dead show in Eugene that never quite seemed to wear off. Now I know its just my hopeless espresso dependency. Three years ago I got my own machine. Two years ago Peet's opened up a few blocks away. Its the Marin Methadone clinic, once Peet's gets its hooks in you are done. I need a miracle, triple espresso, everyday.