Rat infestation in the run

bevis

Songster
9 Years
Apr 9, 2014
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I have a real problem thats developed.
See the pic from the camera thats in the run. It was taken last night.


I have know i had a problem with a couple of rats but i had no idea it had come to this.
I have caught a couple of them with a no kill trap but they have wised up to it and its of no use now.
It looks like im going to have to build a water kill trap with a barrel / bucket or something.

I have now been taking the food out of the run when the girls go into the coop.
I feel them from a low wall hanging goat trough and i have see that trough FULL of rats
on the camera at night. Its time for drastic measures.

So, has anyone tried and succeeded with a trap in the run that is truly effective ?


This pic is horrifying to me. And its not all of them. I think there is close to 20 or so.
They actually drank one of the hanging waterers dry last night.

As a side note, they have been building out here and knocking down wooded lots to build houses.
When they started doing that, my rat problem came to be.

 
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Good morning.

Wow, that is a real problem. Besides being free loaders they can spread disease in their urine such as leptospirosis. Especially since they are likely urinating in the feed while in there.

I collect my feed every night for that reason, to avoid attracting unwanted visitors of any sort.

I have seen people use the water bucket with a spinning can of peanut butter with success.

Good luck!
fl.gif
 
Wild rats are not our friends, for sure. In my experience, you will only get one or maybe two in any trap; they are very smart! Only poison will work, sorry. Lock your animals up and set out rat bait stations. If you can find broudificon, it's much safer than bromothelin, in case of accidental exposure. Mary
 
When I lived in the city they had a vector abatement team. They would come out and set bait stations. Not sure what they used. But they said that if the chicken or even a cat got a hold of the rat and ate the whole thing that it would not be enough poison to effect them. Of course getting a hold of the bait itself may have been a different story.

Rats are definitely not dummies and have even been shown to have empathy for another rat. One study I watched, the rat that got free and had a treat to eat, went to help set the other rat free and then shared the treat!

In their own space I would let them be. But at my place where their presence threatens the life of my livestock, even dogs, and ultimately family... they MUST be dealt with by WHATEVER means necessary!

ETA: Wonder what one of those cams would look like at my house.
 
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ETA: Wonder what one of those cams would look like at my house.

you might be surprised !
i have one in the run and one in the hen house
they are pan and tilt wireless
 
ETA: Wonder what one of those cams would look like at my house.

you might be surprised !
i have one in the run and one in the hen house
they are pan and tilt wireless
I have no doubt that it would be much worse than I expect. Maybe even exciting. I am in wildlife central... we have bear, fox, coyote, raccoon, opossum, gopher, mole, squirrel, cats, mountain lion... the list goes on and on. Actually, I do find dead rats sometimes. Because that feral cat that I usually give warning to before letting my dogs out is a great mouser/ratter! My chickens don't care about the cat, the walk right past it.

I think the dogs *help* keep things at bay. But I am such an OCD type person that I inspect for droppings and usually notice when something has been present. I think they get a buffet at my neighbors house who probably leaves feed out all the time and doesn't even close his door. Yes he has lost 3 birds this past year. Maybe that helps some to. Oh, and another neighbor had squatters so they had trash piled for a while. I don't keep any piles of wood on the ground for them to nest in, which is a good tip. Make it inconvenient and they will move on to the next place.

I know that I am in NO WAY immune.
 
im on the east coast of central florida so this is wildlife central too.
 
I keep tamper proof chunx bait stations right in the run 24/7. Not a rodent problem since I've been using them and have proved completely safe.

They look like this:

BG-Rodent-Bait-Station_large.jpg

That white plastic is a push in key that you keep separate and has metal rods inside you place the chunx on.
 
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I keep tamper proof chunx bait stations right in the run 24/7. Not a rodent problem since I've been using them and have proved completely safe.

They look like this:

BG-Rodent-Bait-Station_large.jpg

That white plastic is a push in key that you keep separate and has metal rods inside you place the chunx on.

Any issues with your chickens getting to a dead or dying rat / mouse ?
 

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