A freaking RAT fell on me!!!

I was standing in my kitchen by the stove, taking my vitamins while ago and a huge RAT jumped out from somewhere and landed on my foot and took off!!! Its body was the size of my hand! I screamed and it took off running into my living room and my bedroom door was open and it was so fast that I couldn't tell whether it ran into my bedroom or under my couch in the living room. I'm terrified to go to bed and am wide awake and plan on sleeping with the lights on!
I am pretty sure it's living in my stove or behind refrigerator, but I have pulled both of those appliances out and patched holes and sprayed peppermint, put glue traps and rat pellets but they are too smart to go near them. I have also had pest control come out and they did the same thing too. I can't figure out where they are coming in. I live in a rural country city and there's all kinds of wildlife around. I came home from work the other day and there was a monster possum waddling across my driveway. I have put traps out for the rats and they grab a stick and trip the traps and eat the food out of it.
I can't deal with it much longer.

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UnderLockDown · M

Be nice to the possum, they hunt rats. Consider adopting a barn cat, or encourage a few stray cats to hang out around your house. A friend (in the same area) battled rats for 15 years, kept trying to trap them but could never get the population under control. I gave him a kitten, and the problem was solved in about 2 weeks. The area we live in is rolling hills with lots of brush. Rabbits, gophers, squirrels, mice, rats, and snakes overtake the area when there are no cats. Can't have a garden or anything. You don't have to have inside cats, just attract a few feral cats from a local colony and feed them. Cats are very aware of schedules, meaning you can feed them at the same time every day and avoid leaving any food out overnight.
Many areas are lacking native predators, cats can fill the void. Southern cali actually had a native ferret, but they are extremely rare, and have been for many years.

Mardrae · 61-69, F

@UnderLockDown unfortunately I am already feeding about 10 feral cats that live outside but won't let me touch them. They have not touched the rats at all, or maybe the rats are just too good at hiding from them. I'm pretty sure the rats are living in my stove, but I have pulled it out, cleaned the shelf out, etc and found lots of turds. I put poison in there but it didn't work.

Pinkstarburst · F

@Mardrae Don’t feed the cats and they will start getting the rats. Why look for food when it’s freely supplied?

Mardrae · 61-69, F

@Pinkstarburst I rarely feed them anymore, but a rguy who rents a room from me is obsessed with them and feeds them twice a day. I have told him not to, but he keeps on.