am I the only one that rats found edge of apron?

[junior67]

I built my coop/run last year and put an 18'-24' apron around the run and covered it with dirt so it couldn't be seen. Well 1 spot had packed down/wore a bit so parts of the HWC could be seen so I had rats getting into my run. I was using traps (not snap) to get rid of them but some were too smart for the traps. I also have tried to redo HWC (lifted it, filled in under it, in the spots they were getting in I put HWC into the ground as a barrier that way and fanning out so they couldn't follow it and find the edge etc) put garden stakes along the edge to make a metal wall. Well they found the edge in a different spot now!!!! That spot you can't see the HWC at all, the ground is completely solid etc. I don't have enough HWC right now to put it down in the ground and also there are tree roots in some spots and our ground is very rocky so can't really dig down even 6" with out coming in contact with a big rock..

HOW do I fix this? in the spot they first were digging I was going to try to dig down and make an L shape peice of cloth and put that there going out away from the apron, but now they even found a new spot not really close to the other one. Can I fix this with out having to dig down the whole way around my run?

once they found their way in I started taking in the food and I use nipple waterers so haven't taken that in at all, but it hasn't stopped them and they still go in even with out the food there.

I am trying to avoid poison since we have neighbors cats that are outdoors, I have a dog (that has brought me a couple of dead rats) that is out there, don't want to kill other birds etc.

 

[IvysAnimals]

I hate the rats by our house as well! They chewed through 4 of our cars, the plastic, seats, wires, trunk, our house ( they would sleep in my couch while i'm on there, EWWW) EVERYTHING!!! I hate them. I had to set up traps that would kill them by my house, not available for the ducks and goose. I don't use poison because I also have neighborhood cats, dogs, my poultry, and my own pets. I had to build an elevated house for them to sleep in so they couldn't burrow under the house and store food. With the food, I used a large water bowl from TSC and put food in there that I could take away at night and wouldn't get on the floor. I have a pond so the water isn't a big deal for me. You might have to get an exterminator to help clean up the rest and ask how u can prevent more

 

[junior67]

I hate the rats by our house as well! They chewed through 4 of our cars, the plastic, seats, wires, trunk, our house ( they would sleep in my couch while i'm on there, EWWW) EVERYTHING!!! I hate them. I had to set up traps that would kill them by my house, not available for the ducks and goose. I don't use poison because I also have neighborhood cats, dogs, my poultry, and my own pets. I had to build an elevated house for the to sleep in so they couldn't burrow under the house and store food. With the food, I used a large water bowl from TSC and put food in there that I could take away at night and wouldn't get on the floor. I have a pond so the water isn't a big deal for me. You might have to get an exterminator to help clean up the rest and ask how u can prevent more

we have had them in the neighborhood for years well before I had chickens. so think completely getting rid of them just won't work. Thankfully they haven't gotten in my house (just mice have which my indoor cats take care of. LOL). We had issues with car wires so now have rodent repellent sound/light things in them and no issues since (not sure if that was mice, rats, squirrels or what but the sound/light things worked.).

I just want to keep them out of my run! My coop is completely locked up so no issues and they only come out at night so don't bother the chickens but they are driving me crazy! I have thought of trying to bury a box of some sort with some snap traps in it so when they are digging to get in they run into those!

 

[IvysAnimals]

Putting Hardware Cloth might work?

 

[junior67]

Putting Hardware Cloth might work?

there is a HWC apron around the whole thing. They find the edge of it that is 1.5-2 ft out and dig there. No clue how they find it since what I read you do that and they can't. and it is under dirt so not like they can see the edge of the HWC.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I covered the whole coop bottom in HWC.
No rats or predators getting in there - but we did have a mama rat sneak in another way and have 11 babies in the base of the coop.

 

[junior67]

I covered the whole coop bottom in HWC.
No rats or predators getting in there - but we did have a mama rat sneak in another way and have 11 babies in the base of the coop. View attachment 3095090View attachment 3095095

oh Yikes!

My coop is secure so they can't get in there but they can get in the run....... And not going to cover the run floor in HWC since the girls dig WAY down for dust baths and don't want them hitting HWC.

 

[IvysAnimals]

there is a HWC apron around the whole thing. They find the edge of it that is 1.5-2 ft out and dig there. No clue how they find it since what I read you do that and they can't. and it is under dirt so not like they can see the edge of the HWC.

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[TexasTurkeyMama]

Hmmm. You have done everything we would have done. The enclosed run is not completely tight. When I collect eggs and do the chores I lift the pans, the nest boxes, the water can, and I don't see rats or evidence of rats.

When we were trying to collect recycling in open tubs with the drain holes we would have rats in the area, coming to the recycling. We would see them scattering in the dusk as we walked to the yard to close up. We stopped the open recycling, closed the feeds in bins with lids, and we do not feed free choice. The poultry eat at feeding time and that's all, folks. No food for rats = no rats, in my case. Still, I think I will train a game camera on the run and coops just to see what is happening overnight.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yikes, not sure what to suggest at this point. I've never heard of rats being able to find the edge of the apron to tunnel in (the one time I had a rat tunneling, it was trying to tunnel OUT - no my run is not rodent proof). Even if the food is what lured them in, at this point it sounds like they just want to get in because they find it a comfortable/safe place to hang out at night.

If it's a single super smart rat, setting up snap traps and giving it time to work should get rid of it - rats are super cautious so you may need to leave the traps set and undisturbed for weeks. To make the traps as safe as possible around the chickens I put them under pavers held up by bricks (so there's only rat sized openings).