Best RAT Bait? What Worked For You?

[suzettex5]

Ugh- we finally have attracted rats. After almost 3 years, they have decided to move in under my feed barn. Maybe they were already there, but we never saw them or heard them or saw the evidence of them being there. These are some big guys, all grayish brown with long thick ratty tails. They are eating my BOSS faster than my chickens and its starting to tick me off! I think there are about 4 or 5 of them from what we've seen.

Anyhow, I have tried glue traps- no success, tried those traps that 'hide' the body inside so you just toss it in the trash- no success. Last night we tried those snap traps that swing the bar over and snap their nasty little necks- no success. Those little turds ATE the bait and took off, didnt even set off the trap (which was baited with peanut butter with sunflower seeds stuck into it) and those were not the cheapie dollar store traps, they were big and expensive. I even tried locking my usually excellent barn cats in the room overnight with them- no success.

My son and I have stayed up till 3 am trying to sneak up on them and shoot them with a pellet gun, even when we hit them, they still just run off. Grrrrrr.

Anyone have any suggestions? Any ideas for an good bait that will stick to the trap and nail 'em? What worked for you?

 

[Judy]

I use Just One Bite, a poison that does not harm the cat or chicken or whatever that eats the dead rat. You only need to keep the chickens away from it. You can also make a mouse/rat trap with a board and a bucket of water. There are pics of it somewhere on here. They fall in and drown.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
The label I read said there is a risk of secondary poisoning, so I'm not willing to risk one of the barncats or dogs getting ahold of a dead rat.

 

[suzettex5]

Oops, I should have mentioned I cant use poison. My chooks often follow me into feed barn to pick uo any scraps I may drop, and they eat the hay seeds that fall from the bales I keep in there.

Secondary poisoning is another reason I'm trying to avoid poison- we have dogs who will eat rodents if they can catch them- cant lock them in the barn though, they cant handle the temps, and I worry my chickens may get ahold of the poison somehow. Also, my younger kids are in the feed area alot, and it would be a pure nightmare if they were to get ahold of any poison while my back was turned.

 

[theFox]

Quote:
.22 shorts or shot shells, that'll kill the vermin.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

what about a hungry barn cats