How can I get rid of these darn rats in my yard? They don't go for the rat bait or the live trap.. Theses critters are smart.. I really don't want to exterminate them but I guess that's what we have to do, anybody have any suggestions?
Rats can be a problem, as they can injure chicks, eat chicken food, and steal eggs. However, if your coop is secure by night and you do not have any chicks, rats may not be a problem that you need to get rid of. However, if they are causing issues of some kind, then one of the best methods I know is to get a good hunting cat, one that won't go after chickens, and just let it live around the barn. We've had cats as long as we have had chickens and trust me, they are great hunters. They left the chickens, chicks and eggs alone but go after weasels, sparrows, rats, mice, voles, and even rabbits. Just make sure the cat is good around chickens (such as raise it around them) as we had a stray tomcat that actually hunted are chickens as well. As I said, if a predator is not causing a problem then there is no reason to get rid of it as this just opens up a territory for predators that are dangerous. If the rats are just eating eggs you could try securing the coop against them to prevent this. If they are eating food, keep all the food in a secure bin by night and only leave out food by day, which rats generally are in hiding. Rats are very smart about traps and can build up tolerance to poison (one of the main reasons I advice against it, as super rats sound scary to me). Not to mention chickens may eat a poisoned rat and die themselves. I hope this helps. Best of luck!
Rent or borrow a couple Jack Russell Terriers - no poisons, no traps - no joke. They will clean out the rat population pretty quick. Then just schedule periodic visits if the rats persist.
Good luck getting the rat population under control...I can't stand those things myself. We've had good luck using traps. I too would discourage the use of poison, you sure wouldn't want your birds or any other animals getting into it.
Hi and welcome to BYC - sorry about your rate issue. Maybe a musical instrument would help (pied piper of Hamlyn and all that )? All the best in whatever approach you choose - they truly are disgusting creatures to have around the place CT
Hello! Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. Good luck getting rid of your rats.
Yikes. Yeah, I think I might give a squeal if I saw a big rat running by. Its bad enough when the night-crawlers are out. They are so fast! And there are thousands of them everywhere you step! Its like some sort of nightmare where you are in a snake pit or something.
