Dealing with RATS at this time of year...

[Tim]

In response to a post made by Lydia, I thought I'd create a separate thread on dealing with rats... since this is now the time of year rats and mice start to move in from the fields and set up home for the winter.

Personally, I use an electric rat trap - but I had to modify this to use a power supply instead of batteries since the batteries only lasted a week or so, you can't get it wet and it takes a good while to encourage the rats to go into it.

I now use a little poison in conjunction with the trap - young rats will go into the electric trap, the older rats are more cautious. Usually the rats die underground in their runs so you won't have to deal with many but I keep the poison in a tube like trap in a place where the dogs can't go and behind a compost bin with a sheet of plastic leaning against the back so it's very difficult to get to..

I wrote an article on Rats last year on the pk site if you want to have a read?

Rats Article

I look forward to hearing how you deal with rats... I think it's something you always need to keep on top of when you have chickens as they are always around when there's food and water about.

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that Tim,very helpfull.

 

[snifter]

Our way was to use a chainsaw (or whatever it was type motor) with an exhaust tube fitted in place and then to smoke them out. Usually got lots this way.

Once we had that clear out we would put down poison, in out of the way places as Tim said, in animal proof bait boxes.

 

[Tim]

I've heard of that before - so do you have to put nets around the exit points?

I have an air rifle too and have been known to sit there waiting for a Rat to dare touch my feeders! It's no serious way to control large numbers though.

Tim

 

[snifter]

I've heard of that before - so do you have to put nets around the exit points?

Er no. You block of as many exit points as you can. Then leave 2 or 3 for them to come out of. Then sit and wait with terriers (or other good ratting dog) and a shovel or some such to hand by the exit points. If the terriers don't get them a good whack with a shovel does. Of course the terriers are well used to ratting and get on with it quickly.

Usually when they come up from being fumed out they are not as quick as usual and they can be knocked on the head fine. Mind you saying that, the last time we didn't need to finish a single one off as the dogs got them all.

Sounds harsh but tbh in a setting like a yard with lots of inhabitants, ratting this way really does work and is effective and quick.

 

[Tim]

OK - that's interesting. I was thinking you'd have to net the exits to catch them, then whack them over the head

Tim

 

[snifter]

You could have nets sure, in fact it'd probably be a good thing to as they can still run fast. We've never used them though. We had 2 terriers and my little lurcher and between them they did just fine. We had two definate exits and sat over them. Plus people keeping an eye around in case there was another one we didn't know about. They don't all come out at once so the dogs have time to do their thing. Mind you, I guess that also depends on how big an area they call home and the fumes to infiltrate down into it.

I have put down poison before and found rats out in our garden dying. So as they were slow I just went and got the shovel and finished them off. I remember I got about 5 in one day that way last summer

 

[Tim]

Yes, I had a bit of a rat problem near one of my chicken runs last year and I caught 8 in my electric rat trap and shot 2 .... once they get used to my trap, one goes in the others follow. So far, we seem rat free but some of the poison has been taken so I know they are around the compost heaps.

 

[Anonymous]

Dogs are great for rats,there was a rat problem where I live a few years back.One day,a rat came into my lounge whilst I was sat here through the open door.It hid where some videos were,I was frantically pulling videos out,8 dogs stood waiting,the rat dashed out,I was trying to bash it with my shoe(kept missing ) and the dogs got it .They all had a chomp and spat it out for nxt dog to chomp .

After that,my neighbour and I put traps in both our gardens,we used to check with each other how many we'd got,often had over ten dead rats between us.After a few weeks we stopped catching any,we carried on putting the traps in place for a while to make sure.
Since then there hasn't been a rat problem that is obvious.

 

[Anonymous]

We have three feral cats from the Cats Protection league on the payroll. We do feed them, and I'm not sure if they ever catch anything, but since we have had them we haven't seen a Rat. The cats live outside all year and are very friendly especially at feeding time. We also lifted all the houses so that the cats can walk underneath.

Now Badgers! that's a bigger problem altogether, and we have lost quite a few hens to these night time vandals.

 

[Tim]

Hmmm Badgers - yes, I was reading earlier today on a Badger Website that Badgers always get accused of taking chickens when in fact it is the fox..

E-hum. I nearly emailed them to object :evil: They can be a real pain in some parts of the country if you have chooks.

If anyone has (or gets in the future) any photos of Badger Damage, it would be great as I'm hoping to put an article together on Badgers as predators to Chickens and photos speak a thousand words as they say...

Cats are great as a deterant, even if they don't catch anything. We had our first Rat problem immediately after our old cat died - and he hadn't caught anything in years!

So far I've only caught mice this year but the rats are very cautious of my electric rat trap.

 

[Anonymous]

So far I've only caught mice this year but the rats are very cautious of my electric rat trap.

Perfect reasoning for me to get a cat then,well,a kitten.......Although the only reason we haven't got a cat is the road that goes through our hamlet.I'm right on the corner of it and because of traffic volume i've never got a cat/kitten.

As for mice and rats Tim,if you've got mice,you shouldn't have rats.They don't mix,hate each other.If rats move in the mice will move out or be killed.

 

[Tim]

As for mice and rats Tim,if you've got mice,you shouldn't have rats.They don't mix,hate each other.If rats move in the mice will move out or be killed.

Really? I never new that. Come to think of it I don't remember having both at the same time.

I have caught the usual dozen or so mice around this year but have seen some Rat activity around the compost heap. Nothing recently though. I don't like using poison but have to keep one bait box just in case - It was emptied a few weeks ago - but since refilling it, nothing. Fingers crossed...

They (rats) love piles of logs and if they are anywhere it's there and usually causes the dog to go mat sniffing them out!

 

[Anonymous]

We have lots of piles of logs. I think they are described as Beetle banks. I guess the rats would live there but for the constant patrols of the cats.

The badger was back last night. Luckily there was some corn left in the bottom of the Duck's water bowls so he ate that.

We know the previous problem was with a Badger as after ripping a hole through the chicken wire, he left tell tale black and white hairs on the edge as he pushed through.

A neighbour shut a Badger in his hen house one night! Didn't realise until opening the door the next day and the Badger shot out. He thought the hens were unusually quite when he went to let them out.

 

[Anonymous]

Thing is Tim,would be lovely to have neither.I can never decide which is the lesser of two evils.I guess rats do more damage,and are bigger,but mice can spoil food and still spread germs.
Rats do love log piles,I can understand your dislike of using poison.If I do get a problem with rats or mice,I will just have to re-train my Manchester Terrier to do the job.Manchester Terriers' were the original ratting terrier,used around the cotton mills in Manchester.Laurie's pictures of Manchester always have a Manchester Terrier in them and Queen Victoria's favourite was called Black jack and ratted Buckingham Palace for her.They were also used in the holds of ships which is why their conformation is designed for work in an enclosed space.A Manchester Terrier holds the record for the most rats killed in a minute.
A lot of ratters now use jack russell types,I suspect because they are cheaper to buy and also do an excellent job.

Your neighbour Earthly must have had a shock,hadn't the badger killed any chooks? A very lucky neighbour and his hens if it didn't.

 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately it had killed the hens, and unfortunately for the keeper he was looking after his wife's precious collection of rare breed hens for the weekend whilst she was away on a course.

He had fallen asleep in front of the telly. Woken, remembered to shut the house, but didn't think to look inside when he did.

I think he may have had to move into the hen house when his wife got home!

 

[Tim]

Oh dear, I bet he was very popular :roll:

Poor ol chooks though.

I've just noticed the Amazon book suggestions on this page is all about Rats :lol: Stupid thing - I put in keeping chickens, keeping ducks and keeping geese so it 'should' be heavily biased towards those. It takes a while before it scans the page but then it makes a choice based on the keywords it sees on the page and these preferences... supposedly!

 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately it had killed the hens, and unfortunately for the keeper he was looking after his wife's precious collection of rare breed hens for the weekend whilst she was away on a course.

is he still alive??????

 

[podstable]

-------I agree with Earthly---badgers have caused more damage and problems to my chickens and accomodation than any other predators!Ros

 

[Anonymous]

I bought some poison. I mixed a bole of corn bread and wheat and dumped the powder poison in. Never seen a rat or mice since.