Rats have moved in to my chicken area. Food availability i guess. Burrows appearing everywhere. Anyone know how to get rid of them without wiping out the chickens and other nice wildlife? My humane trap is next to hopeless (2 rats and 2 hedgehogs in a month)
Rats
- Thread starter steve
- Start date
daniel1005
New member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2012
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 0
There's a number of things you can do: for example I take my food and water out overnight as both of them attract vermin. Usually, the only way to get rid of them quickly is the traditional rat traps which aren't the most humane. I would not leave poison as this can affect other animals; and also the rat will suffer a long death and if a predator eats the rat it could also die of the poison. Unfortunately there's not really a way of doing it humanely. Although rat traps are a quick death.
I use both bait and fen traps for rats. Bait is the most effective means of control for me, but as Daniel1005 points out, it can be lethal for other animals. I use wax block bait as opposed to laced grain, as it's less appealing to other wildlife, and I supply it in purpose built and home made bait-boxes that prevent pets access to it. Most poisons available are multi feed killers, which means the rat has to dine on it several times before it kills them. At first all you will find is your bait vanishing and very little else, but after several days you will start picking up dead bodies or finding dopey rats near death. These dopey rats are usually easy to kill with a spade or stout stick, then incinerate the cadavers. Not particularly pleasant I know, but it is the most effective control.
If your local council provides a vermin control service, either free or at cost, they will bait with one feed poisons that will kill the rat after one helping.
Fen traps are also useful, but must be set so other animals cannot get to them. Look for where the rats run, and set the traps in their path. Rats usually like to travel close to walls or other protective cover, so you can often cover the traps, creating a tunnel, by leaning a board or such like against the wall. That or create tunnels over more open runs by using bricks, board or whatever is to hand. not all trapped rats are killed outright, sometimes they are caught by a leg or their hind quarters, and will need to be dispatched as quickly as possible, so check traps regularly. Live traps can be useful, but then you have the dilemma of how to dispose of the incarcerated creature! Old timers used to submerge the entire cage in troughs of water or water butts and drown the contents! but with todays more precious approach to vermin control, other means of disposal will probably be favoured! release of the captive is NOT an option!!!
Another method of control that works well, particularly in more open situations, is smoking or flooding the burrow systems, thereby flushing the rats into the jaws of waiting Terriers! I have two JRT's that particularly enjoy this approach! A word to your local Gamekeeper, Vermin control man or Working Terrier enthusiast will probably see an eager team turn up keen for the sport, and at the same time rid you of your problem! just remember to keep your birds shut in! Not ALL Terriers are trustworthy with chickens!
If your local council provides a vermin control service, either free or at cost, they will bait with one feed poisons that will kill the rat after one helping.
Fen traps are also useful, but must be set so other animals cannot get to them. Look for where the rats run, and set the traps in their path. Rats usually like to travel close to walls or other protective cover, so you can often cover the traps, creating a tunnel, by leaning a board or such like against the wall. That or create tunnels over more open runs by using bricks, board or whatever is to hand. not all trapped rats are killed outright, sometimes they are caught by a leg or their hind quarters, and will need to be dispatched as quickly as possible, so check traps regularly. Live traps can be useful, but then you have the dilemma of how to dispose of the incarcerated creature! Old timers used to submerge the entire cage in troughs of water or water butts and drown the contents! but with todays more precious approach to vermin control, other means of disposal will probably be favoured! release of the captive is NOT an option!!!
Another method of control that works well, particularly in more open situations, is smoking or flooding the burrow systems, thereby flushing the rats into the jaws of waiting Terriers! I have two JRT's that particularly enjoy this approach! A word to your local Gamekeeper, Vermin control man or Working Terrier enthusiast will probably see an eager team turn up keen for the sport, and at the same time rid you of your problem! just remember to keep your birds shut in! Not ALL Terriers are trustworthy with chickens!
chrismahon
Well-known member
All great advice there Steve. We use Fenn 4's covered over with ridge tiles which are heavy and can't be moved. Less than 50% of rats caught are dead and have to be killed. We use a .22 Crosman PCP 'ratter'. It uses a disposable gas canister and is cheap at £60. Drowning rats is now illegal after a prosecution by the RSPCA of a man who drowned a squirrel -not a humane method apparently. We also use a humane rabbit trap baited with apple and shoot them in there.
Rebelodicus
New member
10 You HAVE got to be having a laugh ....... 11 . C'mon ... tell me you're joking.....It is legal to give a Rat a poison that kills it by hemeroeging and a slow death .... And then goes on to kill any scavengers that naturaly feed on the corpse (BTW ... this will be your hens if the rat dies in the coup)..... and drowning a rat is Ilegal ?
It is legal to terify them and then beat them /shoot them/stab them ... or not ? This is like taking a funny drug and waking in a nightmare..... Are we going down the road of "Re habilitating" Rats now ?
Good job there is little way to enforce such folly.... There are chooks out there attacked by these blighters ... it's war. (
09 ) Especialy if their home has a hedge or cover near it. A Cockeral attacks to kill ... It is traumatic for both rat and him ... rest assured. Did I mention the hens ?Please find me a link to the evidence....
19I feel a rant coming on
(j/K)*Reb wanders off to the shower to rant while having a good scrub *
chrismahon
Well-known member
Sorry Reb it's perfectly true and we ceased any contributions to the RSPCA immediately we heard about it. I even questioned one of my customers who used to be, before retirement, an RSPCA Officer. He admitted that the prosecution of the chap who drowned the squirrel (rat with a fluffy tail) in a water butt was a PR disaster! He also went on to say that one shot to the head is OK, but if it isn't dead and you need another that is also illegal -causing unnecessary suffering of wildlife.
Sorry I haven't got a link -it made local paper headlines though.
Sorry I haven't got a link -it made local paper headlines though.
Rebelodicus
New member
OMG !
That goes beyond reason ... I suspect that not only will it be making people feel they need to buy guns they cant aford and take lessons they cant get to, but (I imagine) It will carry on just as much but with the "Rat killer" ... having a nervous tick and lots of looking over the shoulder ..... or will it ?
It occurs to me there is a strong argument that a squirrel is a whole different rodent. It is a pest (If Grey) and a wrecker of crops etc, but is most definatley is not a scavanging carrion eater, carnivore/omniv. that intrudes into homes and the like carrying the Black death on its back (02 ) I am prety sure a squirrel wont swim through drains to come up your W.C.
Therefore I believe a challenge would stand a chance in court ..... We don't even want to get started on how some people cull their other animals.... there's a lot of injustice, maliciousness and downright ignorance enough. When a "Fluffy bunny" attitude goes beyond the bounds of the individual and comes into public policy it becomes just as dangerous and the stuff it is reacting against "at it's worst".19
(I am pointedly ignoring the "causing unnecessary suffering of wildlife" afixation. We allow humans to suffer more than our wildlife .... that is a fact !)
I tell you what ... I'm going to file this under the "Stupid and try to enforce it" heading. Allong with Press ganging in the Royal Navy being legal along with shooting Welshmen in colchester after midnight with your longbow.
:lol:01 :roll:
That goes beyond reason ... I suspect that not only will it be making people feel they need to buy guns they cant aford and take lessons they cant get to, but (I imagine) It will carry on just as much but with the "Rat killer" ... having a nervous tick and lots of looking over the shoulder ..... or will it ?
It occurs to me there is a strong argument that a squirrel is a whole different rodent. It is a pest (If Grey) and a wrecker of crops etc, but is most definatley is not a scavanging carrion eater, carnivore/omniv. that intrudes into homes and the like carrying the Black death on its back (
02 ) I am prety sure a squirrel wont swim through drains to come up your W.C. Therefore I believe a challenge would stand a chance in court ..... We don't even want to get started on how some people cull their other animals.... there's a lot of injustice, maliciousness and downright ignorance enough. When a "Fluffy bunny" attitude goes beyond the bounds of the individual and comes into public policy it becomes just as dangerous and the stuff it is reacting against "at it's worst".
19 (I am pointedly ignoring the "causing unnecessary suffering of wildlife" afixation. We allow humans to suffer more than our wildlife .... that is a fact !)
I tell you what ... I'm going to file this under the "Stupid and try to enforce it" heading. Allong with Press ganging in the Royal Navy being legal along with shooting Welshmen in colchester after midnight with your longbow.
:lol:
01 :roll:
