Bad bad rat problem! Please help!

[Animal123Animal]

Hello All
I deal with rats all the time. We have a ton of fruit trees and the rats just love them. When the fruit is done for the year they start to go after the chickens at night and I have done all I can to stop them with no luck at all. Now the plaster of paris and sugar sounds like the way to go, I have been afraid to use poisons with all the pets I have so i'm off to Home Depot to get some plaster of paris. Thanks for the Great Info Miss Prissy. Dennis

 

[SusanJoM]

What do you think about using an old left over bag of grout mix???? It's been hanging around out in the shed for a while. Could I add confectioners' sugar to that? Would it do the same job?

Whaddya think?
Of course I don't actually have any rats right now (thank goodness), but for the next time, it would be good to know.

 

[panner123]

If it is still in powder form it should work. What happens is the predator (rat) eats the oatmeal and cement mixture and the cement hardens in it's stomach.

 

[clawmute]

I have been reading up on natural rat control methods from several sources. Apparently laboratory test have shown that the plaster of paris concoction is totally ineffective - an urban myth. Also carbonated drinks, powdered instant potatoes and the like. They haven't survived all of these eons by being knocked off that easily.

Looks like trapping or poisons are the time tested ways. I have live trapped them in one of the box type cage traps. I've also seen them drown in a bucket of water trying to get at food.

One method that seems worthy of a trial uses a bucket or large container that can be filled to within say 6-8 inches of the top. Over the container suspend a long glass bottle from a rope they can climb down. To the bottom of the bottle tape or otherwise affix a bait or simply gob peanut butter on the very bottom of the bottle. Coat the bottle surface with bacon grease. Rats are attracted by the scent of the just peanut butter and the bacon grease.

The swine rats crawl down the rope to get at the bait and end up slipping into the water below the bottle and are drowned. This idea came from an Australian site. The Aussies have huge rodent control problems.

Also read the PDF article:

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=vpc14

rats? Rats!? We don' need no steenkin' rats!!

 

[highmountainchick]

Howdy- I have been reading about the rat and mice problems and I think you folks have some great ideas, but I've got another side of the problem here is the mountains. We don't have too many rats here but we have lots of yellow belly marmets, or what you will call rock chucks. REALLY big rodents. do you think the plaster trick would work on them? These guys mow down our grass,hay, chicken feed and anything they can get too. Thanks for the help.

 

[morningglory]

Many years ago, I worked for a man that raised rare chickens for showing. We began finding skeletons in the coup. He thought it was a predator such as a cat or oppossum, etc., so he made balls of hamburger and put antifreeze in the middle. This didn't end it - so I stayed in the coup at dusk, quietly watching. Turns out, it was a large "pack?" of mice - LARGE mice that seemed to be organized in their hunting. They would wait for the chickens to roost, then some would climb to the roosts and knock them down. The ones remaining on the ground would shred them in seconds. I note that these were mice and not rats, as there are trait differences in how to handle them. What we had to do was till the coup floor and flood it, then leave it empty of all animals and feed for a couple of months until they went on their way........

This was quite an experience - I was ignorant about different ways to handle it - this worked for us, but it did take a while. The hamburger thing didn't work.

good luck - please, let us know what happens!!

 

[Moonwalker]

55 gallon drum. put bait in the bottom. most rats cannot jump out of a drum. Try to get one that is painted inside(slick) becasue if it's rusty, they can climb the sides.

 

[HenHaven]

Well, I put the plaster of paris and powdered sugar concoction in my basement today. I will report back. I sure hope this isn't an urban myth. It sounds plausible to me.

Has anyone had any results from any of the methods described here? I love to hear--effective or not.

 

[onthespot]

well, here's an experience worth sharing. Not a happy one, but one worth sharing. I had noticed a sudden explosion in mouse population and went to the bird store (cage birds) and asked what they used. Don pointed me out to the yellow buckets of "TomKat" brand rodent poison. He told me this stuff is absolutely irresistable to rodents. They grind up peanuts in with the poison and he said they never quit eating it or get wise to it. He also said they have to eat it for three days straight to get killed by it so to buy plenty. Well, I bought the bigger bucket and started carefully hiding the blue cubes out of reach of all other animals, and a couple days later I walked out in the morning and it looked like a mouse bomb had gone off. There were dead and dying mice all over the place, and a dear old dog with a full tummy of dead mice! We treated her but she passed away ten days later after urinating blood until she just died of anemia I guess. Like I said, not my proudest moment, and I thought I had been careful. For one, I comPLETELY underestimated the size of the problem, and two, just because the poison is hidden doesn't mean the mice "go away to die" and they can be eaten by other animals that you don't want to die. Just a very sad word to the wise. Flower was a very good dog, a certified therapy dog and was dearly loved. RIP Flower.

 

[tnkinhunting]

I had a horrible experience today in my cochin pen - I was spreading new straw and lifted their "scratch feed" pan - about 18" x 24" and it was sorta stuck - it came loose and there were tunnels under it and two depressions "filled" with "3" rat (?) babies (they had hair but couldn't move fast at all)and a large one went flying out and I stomped, stomped and stomped until nothing moved! I would estimate that there were 30 babies there. Maybe more.

I was sick! I don't kill things - well, maybe spiders, and I so acted out of fear and I didn't know what else to do! I have felt "soft" places in the pen when I go in to feed and have suspected mice/rats tunneling under the litter. I didn't clean up the bodies - I threw the pan back down over them and I will get my hubby to go with me in the morning to help dig them up and dispose of them. I don't know what else to do - I have the POP/Confectioner's sugar baits everywhere - not eating it well at all!!!!! I have the chills thinking of my chickens living with that many rats!!!!!