chrismahon
Well-known member
I just thought I would share my experiences as it is that time of year again when rats become hungrier and start raiding the hens food. I leave mice alone generally as they are not so destructive, until they nest in my horticultural fleece that is! This isn't a subject for the squeamish and I hope I don't upset anyone. Remember rats carry very serious disease and must not be handled.
After 4 years I think I now have the rat population under control. I have tried various methods apart from poison, which I think is indiscriminatory and inhumain. Obviously the food is put away at night but they come out to eat the bits spilled and will dig into the storage bins if very hungry. Living alongside a canal doesn't help.
Airgun. Occasionally they are brave enough to come out in daylight and eat at the feeders and a good air rifle is needed. At dusk a rifle with a 30mm light tube telesight deals with them. For close work I tried an air pistol but they are too fast and open sights can't be aligned in bad light. Will try a red dot sight this year.
Cage traps. Small rat traps are fine but they have a very powerful spring door so have to be well away from chickens. I bait them with fruit on the hook, or sweetcorn, and stale feed scattering. Most I've had is 6 at once and had 24 in one week when I first started. Problem is drowning is now illegal after a test case by the RSPCA over a squirrel. So I have had to stop using that trap and split the problem. Largest rats are caught in a rabbit trap which has a soft close door so chickens can go in and be caught without harm -Daisy has been caught three times until she learned. The rats are despatched with a .22 PCP air pistol.
Snap traps. Small ones can be caught in plastic rat snap traps baited with peanut butter and are killed outright by the snap usually. The traps are drilled through and anchored to the ground with fishing line to a hook so that the rat doesn't take the trap -furthest one has got is 30 yards before that. Big ones are more problematic. I use 4" fenn snap traps which will break your fingers if you don't cock them carefully. These are buried in rat runs and covered with a small piece of black fleece before a thin layer of soil. This stops rain washing soil into the mechanism or exposing them. By law they must be covered over with a tunnel and checked every day. Rats are usually killed outright but live ones are despatched as above.
If anyone wants more info or has alternatives?
After 4 years I think I now have the rat population under control. I have tried various methods apart from poison, which I think is indiscriminatory and inhumain. Obviously the food is put away at night but they come out to eat the bits spilled and will dig into the storage bins if very hungry. Living alongside a canal doesn't help.
Airgun. Occasionally they are brave enough to come out in daylight and eat at the feeders and a good air rifle is needed. At dusk a rifle with a 30mm light tube telesight deals with them. For close work I tried an air pistol but they are too fast and open sights can't be aligned in bad light. Will try a red dot sight this year.
Cage traps. Small rat traps are fine but they have a very powerful spring door so have to be well away from chickens. I bait them with fruit on the hook, or sweetcorn, and stale feed scattering. Most I've had is 6 at once and had 24 in one week when I first started. Problem is drowning is now illegal after a test case by the RSPCA over a squirrel. So I have had to stop using that trap and split the problem. Largest rats are caught in a rabbit trap which has a soft close door so chickens can go in and be caught without harm -Daisy has been caught three times until she learned. The rats are despatched with a .22 PCP air pistol.
Snap traps. Small ones can be caught in plastic rat snap traps baited with peanut butter and are killed outright by the snap usually. The traps are drilled through and anchored to the ground with fishing line to a hook so that the rat doesn't take the trap -furthest one has got is 30 yards before that. Big ones are more problematic. I use 4" fenn snap traps which will break your fingers if you don't cock them carefully. These are buried in rat runs and covered with a small piece of black fleece before a thin layer of soil. This stops rain washing soil into the mechanism or exposing them. By law they must be covered over with a tunnel and checked every day. Rats are usually killed outright but live ones are despatched as above.
If anyone wants more info or has alternatives?
