I just went through a rat issue....lots of burrows and tunneling. Rats were burrowing into my run were my ducks sleep and eating the food. I also have chickens and ducks- so a treadle feeder was not an option. I emptied my PVC feeder and fed the ducks up by my basement door only, and the hens got small amounts of food at a time in a large fortex basin. No treats dropped on the ground.
I installed an apron of hardware cloth around my run (my coop is raised).
After trying DIY traps, glue traps, snap traps, electric traps- and never catching ONE rat..I finally caved in and bought 2 1lb blocks of "Just One Bite" poison. I put one block under my duck house, and 1 block behind my coop (and blocked off from the birds and dogs).
I checked the blocks- and they were eaten away over a period of 5-7 days.....In about 10 days, there were no signs of any rats. I have been (knock on wood) rat free since.
I was adamantly against poison. But fighting with the rats for almost a month, and spending over $60 on various traps, and worrying about the spread of disease, it was my last option. And the most effective.
I installed an apron of hardware cloth around my run (my coop is raised).
After trying DIY traps, glue traps, snap traps, electric traps- and never catching ONE rat..I finally caved in and bought 2 1lb blocks of "Just One Bite" poison. I put one block under my duck house, and 1 block behind my coop (and blocked off from the birds and dogs).
I checked the blocks- and they were eaten away over a period of 5-7 days.....In about 10 days, there were no signs of any rats. I have been (knock on wood) rat free since.
I was adamantly against poison. But fighting with the rats for almost a month, and spending over $60 on various traps, and worrying about the spread of disease, it was my last option. And the most effective.