Continuing Rat Problem

[Arbutus Peregrine]

One more interesting link
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-01...ns-birth-control-may-be-more-effective-poison

 

[Folly's place]

In the country, I think it's actually easier to manage rodents, rather than in cities, with more close neighbors, more garbage outside, and more people feeding the 'wildlife' outdoors. Rats and humans do very well together, and have for a very long time.
I'd just prefer that they don't live in my space!
Mary

 

[Al Gerhart]

Interesting idea but you still have rats spreading disease and killing chicks.

 

[Folly's place]

Sterilized rats wouldn't be welcome here either...
Mary

 

[Howard E]

I think we have another case of where the OP has checked out....never did respond as to which rat proof feeder they had that was not working........but since there is a following of certain aspects of this thread........perhaps this might be of interest:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-proof-feeder-review.1180514/

Also, although Al insists on maintaining a low profile and doesn't mention it, he also has his own youtube channel where this line of products is discussed in greater depth. He has given this a lot of thought and came up with a product to help.

FWIW, there is also this thread on rats.......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-the-video-series.1337456/

Emphasis of the video series thread is in addition to presenting factual information on what you are up against with a colony of rats, is how to deal with them. Boils down to three things...

Sanitation (and that includes limiting access to feed and water......which this rat proof feeder excels at doing....at least for most standard chicken breeds)
Exclusion......how to rat proof your housing.....
and if those two fail......
Elimination

and if you want this thing to work, it is in that order.

To often folks start out with elimination by using ineffectual means like trying traps, etc. Understandable, as that is a simple thing to try. Also futile.

Bait blocks are the "nuclear option". They work, but at some degree of risk of collateral damage. Some won't accept the risk no matter what......and other's don't care a whit. They only want the rats gone. Consider it a gray scale and where you fit on that scale....from black to white.....depends entirely on you.

And that applies to any one single bait. There are about 10 different classes of baits, each with it's own risk profile and it's own gray scale. So not an easy topic to figure out.

 

[Folly's place]

x100!

 

[Rietta]

Sometimes all us wonderful people wanting to help is overwhelming.. the difference of opinion the suggesting things they have already tried. Sometimes being blamed for the issue they are trying to solve or need help with. The name Permaculture to me means non toxic ways, traps are not working and population is growing. I would be frustrated to and totally check out on this thread. I checked out on after page 3.

To the OP I hope you find a solution that works for you, and share with us. I would NEVER use poison either as I also have owls and snakes, dogs and cats and so on. Its too easy to trash the environment.. dead poison rats in the ground is not something I would want on my property. It persists after the body is gone I am sure. Best of luck and I hope your persistence will pay off!

 

[cmom]

We have tons of rats, tried poison, they don't eat it. We have 2 ratinator traps; they are like a maze. Put bait in the center and the rats go in, can;t get back out. Record so far, 54 between the 2 traps 2 weeks ago, but you have to drown them in a tray. This reduced the population some but still keep coming. Our local feed store recommended putting honey on the bait, will be trying that soon.

I've had to use bait twice here; once in the barn, when rats invaded, and my barn cat figured it was my problem, long ago. then a few years ago, when rats and MANY mice colonized the (foolishly) insulated walls of my coop. Three dead pullets, and many eaten eggs later (in a couple of weeks!) we removed the insulated walls and added poison bait stations. No rats, no more mice, and problem solved! We have hardware cloth everywhere, and monitor the mouse situation much more aggressively, and are now doing fine.
We never found a dead or dying rat, nobody else got sick, and a few mice were found and removed.
Sometimes you just have to do the bait stations, because it's the only way.
In a perfect world, maybe not, but everything isn't always perfect.
Mary

I agree with Mary. I had a severe infestation in a coop. They had built nests. I use the poison bait and the Rat Bait Boxes. Nothing can get to the bait but rats and mice. I only found a couple of dead rats which I disposed of. I believe that the rats went into their tunnels and died. I had dozens of rats of all sizes pour out of a coop when I started taking out the ceiling. There were so many rats, I couldn't even begin to count but dozens came out. The bait that came with the bait box wasn't all that effective so I bought some other bait and it worked like a charm. There is a little window above the bait so the bait can be checked often and replaced as needed. I put the Rat Bait Boxes in my barn in places nothing could get to the bait except the rats and mice. My barn is behind my coops and I had seen some rats in the barn. I tried traps but there was no way I could trap all of them. I'm not telling anyone to use poison bait. This was my personal choice and it worked for me.

 

[Acre4Me]

As usual, @Howard E has good info on rat control. It is important to note that dealing with rats is harder than dealing with mice.

what you are up against with a colony of rats, is how to deal with them. Boils down to three things...

Sanitation (and that includes limiting access to feed and water......which this rat proof feeder excels at doing....at least for most standard chicken breeds)
Exclusion......how to rat proof your housing.....
and if those two fail......
Elimination

and if you want this thing to work, it is in that order.

 

[Acre4Me]

It persists after the body is gone I am sure.

This is merely your assumption, and I doubt you've taken the time to actually research the different rat poisons. Of course, some likely persist longer than others, as there are different rat poisons. But, chemicals break down. In addition, you are talking about a small amount of poison that was eaten and metabolized to some extend inside a rat, so it was already altered. Then this small amount that is present in the dead rat gets further decomposed by all the decomposition organisms disintegrating the dead rat. Just adding a bit of factual reality to your broad statement. Of course, I am by NO means stating that you or anyone else should set out poison for rats. As others who have successfully used poison have mentioned, it is a personal choice.