Baking soda for rat control

[Malquid]

I’ve got rat issues in the coop. Does anyone have any experience with baking soda? I see recipes for baking soda “poison” which is not correct. It kills the rat because they can’t burp or fart. You know, like moderators..
Seriously, looking to discuss this.
if this is too graphic, please remove.

 

[Rammy]

I tried that recipe. Didnt work for me. They wouldnt eat it.

 

[cmom]

I tried several different things and this is the one I have had the best luck with. I had a coop that was infested. I renovated the coop and when I was taking out the walls and ceiling I had dozens of rats of all sizes pour out. I set rat bait boxes in my barn behind the coops and put the bait in them that came with the bait boxes. The rats turned their noses up at it so I tried a different bait. No more rats. My bait boxes have a little window above the baits so I can check the baits and other critters can't get to the bait. This has worked for me. I didn't find any dead rats around so I think they went into their tunnels and died. I did see some tunnels by the coops. I check the bait boxes daily and the baits haven't been touched in quite a while and I haven't seen any rats. I don't like to use poison but I hate rats.

 

[Howard E]

Pretty sure both the baking soda and plaster of paris tricks are both Internet myths. It has been discussed on here before, and can't recall anyone having any luck with either one.

What does work is remove all sources of food they have access to, which is why you have rats in the first place. If you can do that....starve them out.....they will be forced to leave or die. This is the first step in getting rid of your rats, which is sanitation. BYC member Al sells his rat proof chicken feeder, which I use, and which does a good job of limiting feed to the birds and none to the rats. No spillage either. That alone may do it, but you also have to keep them out of bulk feed in storage, and the hard core rats may try to eat eggs, or even droppings to survive.

But if they are that hungry.......they will then be receptive to the poison bait blocks, which are ALWAYS served up from secure (meaning locking) bait stations, so only rats and mice can get at the blocks, and bait blocks are also pinned in place in the bait stations, so rats can't pull them out to carry them off. This is the elimination part, which always comes last.

And in case you are wondering, trapping doesn't work either.....will barely put a dent in them. Can be used to monitor the situation (but so can a game camera).

 

[Al Gerhart]

Howard E. is right on the money. Before you start dreaming up creative ways to murder rats send us a picture of your chicken feeder and understand that most people set out a free buffet and then wonder why they get guests. That said, a lot of people go awhile without having a rodent problem but once they do the only sure and quick way is to eliminate what is bringing them there; the chicken feed.

You cannot trap your way out of a rodent problem nor can you poison them all. Rodents are smarter than people think, they very wary of strange things and quickly associate poison and traps with danger. After you catch a few the traps stop working and so does the poison.

You are going to have to get a treadle feeder but shop around a lot and read through the reviews carefully. Most treadle feeders are not rat proof, the bad reviews will tell you. There are so many fake reviews anymore on Amazon, scams where people can purchase and post a review and get their money back and keep the product, even sellers shipping feeders to themselves so they can post a review, but no one posts a negative review unless it is the real deal. But the basics are 100% sheet metal feeders, a narrow and distant treadle, a spring loaded door, and a counterweight. Then you have to have a large difference between the hens and the rats, at least two pounds, and adjust the balance of the treadle feeder. If you have small birds only, a treadle feeder might not work by the time you set it that sensitive and add a wider step so the small bird can reach the feed.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Lol I got half way through the above post and thought what does this guy sell feeders or what?
Got to the bottom and saw the link.

The baking soda doesn't work. I tried it with what seemed like no success. Then I ended up trapping two alive. I kept them alive for a week or so continuously feeding them the baking soda. It didn't do anything to them.
Buy one of those feeders if you want it sure wouldn't hurt but what I found was the only answer was poison and yes I didn't put my feed up or change feeders. What I did was poison heavy. I put out a ton because I wasted so much time trying the other ideas that they were way out of hand.
I continued to put out a lot and switched brands/kinds once a week for about a month and had no more rats. Ive use bait stations now and still switch brands every few months.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I got halfway through your post and thought, does this guy sell poison or what?

If you have chicken feed out and poison it is a miracle that any rodents chose the poison. Switching poisons was a good idea but in nearly all cases rodents learn quickly to avoid the poison unless they are flat out starving.

But say it works, you have cleaned out the population and a new population is going to find the chicken feed and you are right back to where you started except you have also poisoned many of the natural predators of the very rodents you are trying to control.

Or you can just control the feed.

Which way makes more sense?

 

[Weeg]

I hate rats! I know someone who had a major infestation but this helped. https://backyardchickenproject.com/how-to-get-rid-of-rats-in-the-chicken-coop-the-definitive-guide/ great artical!

 

[Malquid]

Great comment Howard.
where is this gentleman Al, and where is this feeder? Thanks guys.
by the way here’s my feeder on the left and waterer on the right.

 

[cmom]

I got halfway through your post and thought, does this guy sell poison or what?

If you have chicken feed out and poison it is a miracle that any rodents chose the poison. Switching poisons was a good idea but in nearly all cases rodents learn quickly to avoid the poison unless they are flat out starving.

But say it works, you have cleaned out the population and a new population is going to find the chicken feed and you are right back to where you started except you have also poisoned many of the natural predators of the very rodents you are trying to control.

Or you can just control the feed.

Which way makes more sense?

When I had my infestation in a coop, the rats were nesting in the ceiling and the walls. When I took out the ceiling and walls I pulled out a lot of nesting materials after the rats poured out. When I put the coop back together, no more ceiling and inner walls. I put the rat bait stations in our barn which is behind the coops because I had seen rats in the barn. I guess they had to go somewhere. I noticed that the baits were being eaten on less and less and did not find any bodies laying around but there were tunnels around the coops. I'm pretty sure the rats went into their tunnels and died or I would have found bodies. There were dozens of rats of all sizes that came out when I started to tear out the ceiling and the walls. I haven't seen a rat or evidence of any. The baits haven't been touched in quite a long time. I'm keeping the bait stations in the barn and check them regularly.