Dealing with rats

[Sara Ranch]

A slight side step here.

My adopted folks had what they called Norway rats in their home. On the lower level (walk out basement) there was literally a piece of the wall cut out that left a little cavity behind it and the dirt exposed. When I say hole, it was probably 3 or 4 feet wide and long. Definitely big enough for a full size adult to go through.

I had suggested they cover up the hole and they said nope, not going to do it. They would not set out traps or poison. I have no idea why not, but meh, it wasn't my house and I didn't live there.

I have no idea how they could have been so blasé about RATS living in their house, but they were.

They moved to another place. Denied any rodent problem even after the pest inspector (required for a home refinance) stated on paper that they had a rat infestation in their attic and in their house. Their lender required remediation to refinance, so they signed a contract with the pest company. They only allowed traps be set outside. Just one. There was clear evidence of rats in the kitchen, but they would not agree to traps or to poison. They wouldn't even allow the pest company back in their house after they signed the contract. (There were no rodents when they bought the place per the pest inspection done at the time of sale.)

In this place, I could understand why they had rats. They didn't wash dishes. They put the dirty dog dishes on a shelf in the laundry room. They put unwashed dishes back in the cupboards. Sometimes they would wipe them down; sometimes not. They left the door to the outside open all day. Yeah, I didn't live with them there either.

How can people live comfortably with rats in their house? I don't understand the mentality. Can anyone offer possible justifications? (They lived in the much better part of town - where rodents were not the norm. The neighbors all around kept their properties VERY well maintained.) Anyone with thoughts on this?

Here we are, chicken owners, and we do our best to make sure there are no rodents anywhere near our beloved chickens!

Another side side step. When I moved here, I was told there was no rodent problem. In the initial cleaning, I found rodent nests in uncovered outlets, under cabinets, under the stairs...quite a few places. I removed the nests, bleached the area, put peppermint oil in and around the areas, sealed up any areas I could find where mice might be coming in, and kept a clean house. I am confident that I am rodent free now but I am still diligent about cleaning, moving stuffs, and putting peppermint oil on the floors, on cotton balls in different places, etc.

Outside one of the out buildings, the ducks alerted to me to the rat that they had dispatched. (Good duckies!) In that building, the previous owner always had dog food out in a dish. So yeah, I could understand a rodent problem there. The rodents are gone now. I don't put any animal feed or water out there. I keep the area as clear as possible and I still move stuff around inside that building regularly to discourage visitors.

It's a lot of effort to get rid of rodents, but don't give up. Be diligent. And after it appears they are gone, keep being diligent. Clean. Move stuff around. Don't provide a food or water source. Fill in yard holes. Fill in/block possible access to your house/bldgs. Don't give up.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

I freaking HATE rats. Seeing what damage they do, how cunning they are, and the disease they have the potential to carry and transmit. I remember living in NYC as a child, watching rats, big rats, push open a metal trash can by pressing on the lid until it would drop to the floor and expose all the goodies they were looking for. I concur rat boxes are the way to go if you don't want to risk your chickens getting to the poison.
There are a few models out there that you can check out.
Sorry for the image but just to illustrate how they look inside. One showing the desired result. I don't agree with live capture because if your release it somewhere else, that animal will now be someone else's problem.

 

[NHMountainMan]

I have to beg to differ @NHMountainMan. I am relatively country, not totally rural and there are rats. This was pointed out by a friend who farms not too far from here. Although the rats we have here are the smaller variety that may appear to be mice, they really are rats. Trust me. I grew up in Baltimore and I know rats. LOL! But seriously, if you have animal feed that is hitting the ground, eventually the rats will show up. Also, this time of year the rodents are looking for a warm winter home. I'm using RatX for the first time and it seems to be working indoors. There's no secondary poisoning risk with this as it uses all natural ingredients. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I stand corrected. But I bet that those Baltimore rats would shame those country munchkins. I grew up in NY. When I moved to the suburbs I thought the first opossum I saw was a small NY rat...

 

[ChicKat]

Hate rodents were they shouldn't be -- indoors and in coops/runs. Also hate poisons - for reasons that posters have written in this thread.
Thanks to the contributors.
My preferred method is the walk-the-plank and subsequent drowning in a bucket. I see that one poster said that rats can reach the bait from the edge of the 5-gallon bucket. Makes me wonder if they could also leap out -- being the amazing and agile athletes that they are. Perhaps for rats a 25-gallon plastic tub such as ranchers use to feed molasses supplements to their cows. It would require a longer ramp I'm sure -- but perhaps disable reaching the bait from the rim of the bucket.

One night in the coop.
does anyone know if rats and mice will never inhabit the same territory?

 

[NHMountainMan]

This post is featured. Anyone know what breed is in the featured photo?

 

[CarpCharacin]

It has snowed here, and the rats still haven't been eating much more of the poison that I put out.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Here's some advice I'm copypastaing from a post I made in another thread. This is largely from the professionals dealing with my rat problem.

Secure your feed. Don't leave food out or in the coop. Only feed as much as the chickens need each day, pick up excess at night and keep it all in metal bins when not actively being fed.
Rats can fit through gaps the size of a half dollar, sometimes smaller so make sure you're filling in gaps in your walls with 1/2" hardware cloth or just straight up concrete or thick wood. Try to seal every wall so that it's solid. Rats can get through plywood given a bit of incentive.
Track down areas of debris in which the rats could be nesting and clear them out, whether natural or just clutter in a garage. Lift bales of bedding material off of the floor by 1' on cinderblocks, pallets, etc. opening up air underneath them. Pull plywood or tarps away from walls or make sure they're completely flush and compressed to avoid creating gaps for rat-only travel that keeps the rats safe.
Cut grass and shrubs low to the ground and clear out the fallen plant matter. Rake your lawn regularly to prevent the buildup of thatch that rats could travel under. Make the area unhospitable and exposed for them.
Don't grow vegetable plants that rats enjoy eating like corn. Only grow vegetables that are rat resistant like alliums, spices or hot peppers.
Start elimination by determining where the rats are traveling. What walls are they using, where are they being seen. This is where you want your removal methods to be.
Set bait boxes. Bait boxes are secured in ways that the chickens (and other non-target animals) can't get into and are safe to use around them. I do suggest walking the run every day to make sure no rats died where an animal can get at them to eat them, but 99% of the rats will return to their nests underground before passing away so the risk is minimal.
If you choose to set snap traps make sure they are secure from the chickens first as they can break small bones. Then start by putting the traps down baited but unset for a week, renewing the bait whenever it's taken before you set the snap trigger. Then after the trigger has been set for a week or two after that, move the traps somewhere new and start over again.
If you can find their burrows you can use a powdered poison called tracking powder that they walk through then later lick off of their paws. You just dust the opening tunnels to the nests with it.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Something that works in my area is cats. We have some good mousers here that help keep the population in check. Just make sure that the cats are the colour of the soil to help them hide better. Some shelters do offer barn cat and garden cat programs so look for that or free barn cats

 

[chrissynemetz]

@ChicKat In my experience, the mice seem to disappear as the rats show up. Idk if that's coincidence, but it's something I've noticed over the years

 

[ChicKat]

@ChicKat In my experience, the mice seem to disappear as the rats show up. Idk if that's coincidence, but it's something I've noticed over the years

That's a valuable observation. Searching the internet one place said it was a myth and in a different site it said that mice are fearful of rats -- (because rats would eat the mice) and so -- your exact experience the mice and rats don't share the same territory.
Out here, another concern of mice is that they attract --> snakes.

Thanks again for this thread....I learned a lot.