When you have rats in your house the best way to get rid of the rats is to set out some snap traps for the rats that are bigger than mouse traps.
Or sitting out some glue traps or even rat poison to kill the rats.
I usually like to try the traps first such as the snap traps or the glue traps to get the rats without having to wait on them to die and get the smell I have to deal with.
But sometimes the only option is to set out some rat poison and let the rats eat the poison and then die later.
Sometimes I end up with some rat smell under my house but it goes away within a week and at least the rat is gone.
If you have rats in your house make sure to look around the outside of your house for holes that rats can crawl through to get into your house.
Those holes could be where pipes or wires go into your house or they could be coming into your house through the floor where there could be holes that you don't see.
So seal up any entry points that the rats could be coming in at or even an attic vent where the rats could be coming in at.
Check all those areas and inspect your attic as well.
Also rats hate the scent of peppermint oil so if you soak some cotton balls in peppermint oil and put it where the rats are coming in at or hanging out at the rats will stay away.
Also make sure to clean up any food crumbs and put away any dog food or cat food at night or when the animal is done eating.
Keep dog food or cat food in sealed containers as well and keep food off the counter where rats will be coming in too eat.