DARN RATS!!!!

[RyanAndMeri]

When I was a kid I saw what looked like cats running to the chicken coop and then into a hole under the nearby shed. I was horrified when I discovered that they were not cats, but very VERY large rats. They were over a foot long! My dad filled up their holes with water then dirt, and we never saw them again. They took a LOT of chicken feed though, I could see their cheecks bulge on the way out of the coup. Fortunately they never hurt the chickens or eggs, they just loved that yummy expensive feed.

My neighbor 2 houses down has pit bulls. They said that 10 years ago they closed a dump about 2 miles up the road and they had a major rat infestation. Their pit bulls were killing 2 rats a day! Then it slowed down to 1-2 a week. Fortunately now they seldom see them anymore. But we live near a canal and our neighbors network of sheds looks like a rat breeding ground so I'm a little concerned about our chickens being out there. Thank for the suggestions so far.. I'm buying hardware cloth for sure!

 

[seminolewind]

The amazing thing is how quick rats, mice, and roaches multiply. As for rats and mice, I say kill them all. Rats were the cause of the spread of the Black Plague in Europe which killed 50% (?) of the population.
I agree that the best defense is cleanliness and inaccessability. But the maintenance is poison or traps. I really like the cement idea. And be careful of where you put the poison,
But I say KILLKILLKILL the vermin. If you have one, you will have a thousand. We always said that if you see one during the day, there are many many more that you're not seeing.
In 1988, I had a mouse that would come out and lick my dishes when I watched tv. I caught him and let him go in the movie theater parking lot. A while later, my oven stunk. My dad took it apart and found loads of tunnels in the insulation. He bought me a new oven. I put a mouse trap in the basement. I put one down there till I didn't catch anymore. I caught 14 mice!

 

[arlee453]

Desperate rats can chew right through hardware cloth. They can also chew through galvanized steel trash cans used to store food.

While I'm not into unnecessarily torturing animals, I agree you have to kill the rats. Just choose a method that is as humane as possible and still be effective.

I also agree that if you see 1 or 2, be assured you have MANY more than that, or will very soon. A mature female can have up to 12-14 rats in ONE litter, and if food is plentiful, they will most all survive. The babies will breed and have their first litter around 4 months of age.

Two rats can become thousands in a VERY short span of time.

You must be vigilant and harden your hearts towards these vermin and trap to kill.

Believe me, there is no shortage of rats in this world...

 

[seminolewind]

The most humane way for me is to NOT watch them die. This is coming from a person who has black widow and large yellow garden spiders outside, and destroys their egg sacks, but doesn't kill them, LOL

 

[hensnchix]

Argh rats. I confess I am an expert rat trapper (my kids call me trapper mom), due to the rat problems we have on our property. We live on an island, so most people suffer from the same issue, but I actually had Vector Control come out a couple years ago and give me a two-hour tutorial on Effective Rat Trapping.

Two helpful hints:

1) leave traps out with peanut butter, but without being set, for three or four nights, so the rats (who are very smart and very cynical) get used to the idea that a trap provides free food. Then set it.

2) Figue out the "running routes" that the rats use to get from place to place (usually along a wall or fence). Then use pieces of wood or small boxes to corral them towards the trap. Rats don't like to run out into the open space, so if you place the "guides" just right, they'll choose to go across the trap rather than out into the room.

I also am passionate about not using poison--too dangerous for our animals and deadly for local raptors.

Hope this helps. We're currently catching one or two a night at our house. YUCK.

Susan

 

[Chellester]

We have had a major rat problem on the property for years. My grandfather was from the depression era, so he kept EVERYTHING. He had a big barn and chicken coop filled with stuff to the point you didn't have room to walk, and there was stuff in piles all around the property. It was nice in some ways- a lot of cool-looking antiques and such- but most of it was junk or became junk from not being stored properly. It was rat heaven!

When we inhereted the property a couple of years ago, we tore down the barn and cleaned everything up, which took care of some of the rat problem, but they're still around and under our house. They got under the dishwasher, so now every time we run it, we smell rat poop and pee. It's just lovely. We can't poision for the same reasons as most, so we have restorted to traps and shooting them at night when they run around in the trees.

 

[seedcorn]

Rat poisons kill rats. Rats are easier to kill than mice, takes less poison. If any animal eats a poisoned rat, it will not hurt them as the rat synthesised the poison--which is why they are dead.

Either control vermin or they will make you regret that you didn't.....

 

[jjthink]

Everything I have read says that certain rat poisons will also harm anything that eats the rat.

 

[snugglepup]

Sorry seedcorn, but that's not true.

There are several types of poisons used in rodent baits, they all can affect more than just rodents.

Warfarin(or similar) is an anticoagulant that will affect any mammal. Days to weeks after ingesting a sufficient dose, the animal dies from internal bleeding. There is a risk that animals that eat the dead/dying rodent can also get a dose of the poison. This has been well documented.

I'm not saying you shouldn't kill them if you need to. But I do think it's important to really understand the risks in order to make an educated decision.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, different poisons work in different ways, and each one will have some LD50 for different species. So since a rat is larger, it will take more to kill, but nearly equal in body mass.

On a brighter note. I stomped one to death that was eating under the feeder.

At least it was quick.