We've been overtaken by rats and mice for a long time now, and I've tried many tricks to get rid of them (starting with the obvious one of removing as many food sources as possible). I used the big sticky pad traps, three kinds of snapping traps, even tried mashed potato flakes, but caught not a thing. I tried spraying my garbage and the area around the coops with a strong peppermint and tea tree oil spray as I'd heard that's a repellent to them. Nothing has shown the least bit of a sign of slowing them down. In fact, they're more plentiful, and fatter.
So, I'm afraid to say, in a moment of frustration I resorted to the poison. I didn't put any near the coop of course, just inside the laundry room where they'd gotten, and in the place where I store feed. A week or more passed and I was resigned to the fact that we obviously have some VERY intelligent rodents around here if not even the poison gets them.
Well last night I started smelling dead animal. Today, after a day of temps in the upper 80's, its foul around here. I found one dead one behind the trash cans, realllllly dead, another one freshly dead in with the feed, and one more in there too, obviously going to die before the night's out. The repercussions of my foolish choice are starting to hit me. The odor is the least of it. There's the huge problem of what is going to eat the dead poisoned rats (owls, neighbor's dogs, MY dog, coyotes), there's the awful feeling of never knowing if I'm going to go out to do some laundry and find another dead one in there. I can't believe I did this. Word to the wise: there's always a better way!
So, I'm afraid to say, in a moment of frustration I resorted to the poison. I didn't put any near the coop of course, just inside the laundry room where they'd gotten, and in the place where I store feed. A week or more passed and I was resigned to the fact that we obviously have some VERY intelligent rodents around here if not even the poison gets them.
Well last night I started smelling dead animal. Today, after a day of temps in the upper 80's, its foul around here. I found one dead one behind the trash cans, realllllly dead, another one freshly dead in with the feed, and one more in there too, obviously going to die before the night's out. The repercussions of my foolish choice are starting to hit me. The odor is the least of it. There's the huge problem of what is going to eat the dead poisoned rats (owls, neighbor's dogs, MY dog, coyotes), there's the awful feeling of never knowing if I'm going to go out to do some laundry and find another dead one in there. I can't believe I did this. Word to the wise: there's always a better way!
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