Rat living under duck house

[EmilyP]

We have a rat living under our duck house, we will have babies in about a week. We have tried to deter it as much as possible, cleaning out the nest, spraying with the hose etc. but it is under the dog (duck) house in the duck coop only about 3 inches off the ground. The ducks cannot get under it but i am worried about putting poison under it incase he pulls it out where the ducks could get to it. There isn't enough clearance for a snap trap. I need to get rid of him before we have babies!!! He hasn't bothered the ducks but has free access to their food :-(

 

[eggbert420]

Shoot it with a pellet gun.

 

[Mdm Cluck Cluck]

Can't you rig up a rat proof feeder?? We use Grandpa feeders for our hens which are vermin proof. Also you need to put in a bait box somewhere the rat goes regularly. Ducks won't be able to get at it in a bait box.

 

[EmilyP]

Quote:
One of our ducks is injured and can only lay and eat so we have to keep the bowl on the ground for him to be able to eat :-/ I'll have to look for a bait box big enough for him, i know we have one in the shed where we keep all the food but it is too small for this rat.

 

[aart]

We have a rat living under our duck house, we will have babies in about a week. We have tried to deter it as much as possible, cleaning out the nest, spraying with the hose etc. but it is under the dog (duck) house in the duck coop only about 3 inches off the ground. The ducks cannot get under it but i am worried about putting poison under it incase he pulls it out where the ducks could get to it. There isn't enough clearance for a snap trap. I need to get rid of him before we have babies!!! He hasn't bothered the ducks but has free access to their food :-(

Maybe put the dog/duck house up on blocks/legs so it's not so cozy for the rat and you can reach under there?
And/or keep the feed put up at night?

 

[EmilyP]

Quote:
Its already up on bricks but my husband thinks it is actually living under an outbuilding up the hill and just coming down for the food. Hes going to put poison out under that building today. I can put the food up at night but all the times I've seen the rat is during the day so I'm not sure putting it up at night would make a difference.

 

[Hillaire]

time to get a barn cat lol

 

[SueT]

At night, when the ducks are asleep you can set a rat sized snap trap. Do not have it set when the ducks are awake! Or use a live trap, they make all sizes.

 

[EmilyP]

Quote:
There are plenty of "free-range" cats around our property (idk who they belong to but we sure don't feed them) but they tend to stay back in the woods and not come up around the house/buildings/pens. I think poison or some kind of trap will be happening this weekend. I am bound and determined to get rid of that thing before we have babies!! Thankfully he has never gone for their eggs, we did lose a full clutch of eggs while we were out of town to a raccoon :-/ we let one build a nest in the corner of the pen (never even thought about it) with the secondary gate so the gap was just big enough to reach his little arm through the wire fence and grab the eggs from under her :-( although we have a bird sales ban so i guess its better to not have extra babies...

 

[EmilyP]

First night. Got him! Resetting for precaution that he had friends