What to do about RATS?

[beachcombings]

Does anyone have any suggestions on what will work to get rid of rats? We have tried traps, but the critters are very smart. We have tried just putting out the traps with either seeds or peanut butter and not setting them so that the rats would think they were safe and then a few nights later do the same thing but set the traps. We have caught a few rats that way but were really not taking care of the issue. I would welcome anything that might help. Thank you!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Where do you set the traps?
Placing them along the wall so that they run into them may help.
I use cashews for mice and I have only had one rat that I caught with cashews also. I pushed a half cashew into the bait holder on the trap so that it was snuggly in place.

 

[beachcombings]

Where do you set the traps?
Placing them along the wall so that they run into them may help.
I use cashews for mice and I have only had one rat that I caught with cashews also. I pushed a half cashew into the bait holder on the trap so that it was snuggly in place.

We place the traps along the wall of the coop. We usually set out 5 traps at night after we put the chickens to bed. Many times in the morning I find the traps have all been sprung but no rats.

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

Have you tried glue traps? That's what I use for the smart suckers.

 

[CluckerFamily]

We place the traps along the wall of the coop. We usually set out 5 traps at night after we put the chickens to bed. Many times in the morning I find the traps have all been sprung but no rats.

What about setting them all up side by side so that the trap part is up against the wall. Hopefully one trap will catch them.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Have you tried glue traps? That's what I use for the smart suckers.

That works also!!

 

[cmom]

First, I'm not advocating using poison. I tried many other things first. I had a coop that was infested when I started renovating it rats of all sizes poured out of the ceiling and the walls. First I moved the birds to another coop. I found several rats nests as I was taking out the ceiling and walls. I resorted to using poison. I bought some rat bait stations. I put them in pet carriers on a shelf in our barn which is behind the coops and that way only the rats could get to the bait. Rats are good climbers. The rats didn't like the bait that came with the bait stations so I bought a different bait and they liked it. There were also tunnels around the coops that I assumed were made by the rats because I did not find any dead rats laying around so I also assumed they went into their tunnels and died. There is a little window in the bait stations above the bait so it can be checked daily. Eventually the baits were hardly being touched and I wasn't seeing any activity. I still keep the bait stations with bait so if any rats try to move in they won't last long. Inside the bait station is a partition the rats have to go around to get to the bait to eliminate them from getting the bait out of the bait station. Good luck...

 

[Al Gerhart]

Get a good treadle feeder so the food supply is cut off. The rat colony will collapse in less than a week, any babies will be eaten by the mother and the rats will either starve or leave. Do your research online on the feeders. Do a forum search using rats and chickens and find Howard E.'s excellent posts on eliminating rats in a chicken cooop. One is called something like rats 101

Check the reviews carefully before buying, there will be some nuts out there but anything over 5% negative reviews means it might be a chicken feeder but not a rat proof feeder. There is a review site that has done reviews on many of the popular feeders, Google will find it. Search for chicken feeder reviews or something like that.

You should also clean up any debris or pathways that rats can use to travel. Expose them to the predators and their numbers will drop. BTW, rats bring larger predators to the coop so get rid of them ASAP.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

From my experience some of the best methods to prevent varmints like rats from getting into the feed is as Al Gerhart recommended the use of a step or treadle feeders and if possible discontinue feeding outside the coop. If your coop design is such that you have to feed outside of it, make sure to clean up any uneaten food daily.

The other thing you can do is upgrade the coop design to keep them from getting in at all. My coop is completely wrapped in 1/4" galvanized hardware cloth and employs an automatic door. The 1/4 mesh will stop all but the smallest of baby snakes, something the birds will quickly dispose of. Outside the coop I have a pair of commercial style bait traps to keep the chickens from getting to the poison. In the past two years I have only had one instance where a rat tried to chew its way in and that was at the coop entry door where I did not have the hardware cloth at the bottom of the door frame. Got some metal flashing and put an end to that.

 

[cmom]

For smaller flocks the feeder is probably fine to use.