Embarrassing, but... rodent problem

[LyssaLoy]

Okay, so this is extremely embarrassing, but I think we have a rodent problem where our meat rabbits are housed. I went out there tonight to check on them and I got freaked out my something black and fast moving in their area. Our rabbits are kept three feet off the ground and I know the rodents (sorry, I can't bring myself to say the other "r" word) aren't getting in with our bunnies. BUT it TOTALLY grosses me out to think that there is something nasty like that crawling around all our stuff.
I think they are going in there because it is warmer than outside. All of the food and hay is kept in tightly closed trash cans, so I can't think of why else they are in there.
Has any of yall ever experienced something similar? Are we doing something wrong and that is the reason they are coming in? Help me get rid of them! I don't really want any poisons around because I do have small children who enjoy checking out the rabbits, but help me kill these suckers!

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Traps?

 

[donrae]

I had rats tunneling inside my chicken coop last winter. I'd walk in the coop and sections of the floor would collapse under me due to the tunneling. I used d-con, I just pushed it down in the tunnel openings. This was in my chicken coop and run. The chickens couldn't reach the d-con, and I never saw or smelled a dead rat, even all summer. Don't know what happened to them or where they went to die, but they just vanished. You can put the d-con where your kids can't get to it if you get creative.

find a responsible older teen or young man with a pellet gun to sit out there and shoot them. I know guys who will sit there for literally hours to shoot varmints like that.

Get a rat terrier.

Live traps/ water traps to drown them. Lots of info on the internet.

Snap traps. I didn't have good luck with these because I was trying to use them in the coop and the hens kept springing them by scratching bedding on them, even though I had them covered with milk crates to keep the birds off and allow the rats in. Your situation might work a lot better, just set the traps under the rabbit cages or around the feed.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

We tried traps and the rats were too smart for them. They would take the food but leave the trap. We ended up having to use poison. We had to hide it in areas where we commonly saw the rats and kept all animals away from the barn for a couple weeks. That took care of the problem fairly quick. I don't like the idea of poison, but it as the only thing to work. We left buckets of water out and they would go into them after eating the poison and we would find them dead.

It was horrible, but I would rather that than the massive amounts of feed we were losing and the damage they were doing to our equipment.

 

[GD91]

I had rats. Once.

I came down one night about 2am & turned the outdoor lights on to look at the rabbits while I got a drink.
And whoa, there was one big rat frozen under the hutch with its beedy little eyes staring at the light.
I called our jackrussel x & sent her out & she chased it under the shed. So I called her back in & went back to bed (I was about twelve then, this is 10 years ago).

Told my mum the next day "There's rats in the garden".
"What!?" She screeched "no there isn't, don't say such a thing " (She's terrified of rats.)

That night she went to the hutches to give the rabbits the usual dish of scraps.

All I heard was "Ahhh! HELLLLLLP!!!"

I rushed to the back door & doubled up laughing. A rat was standing up on its hind legs by the wall whilst my small fat mum had seemed to have jumped straight up in the air & landed on top of the double decker rabbit hutch. The rabbits just looked bemused.

Mum grabbed at the broom leant up against the rabbit hutch and tentatively waved it at the rat "SHOO! "

The rat ran towards her (she was between the rat & the shed where the rat wanted to go).
"WAAAAHHHH!!! **** GET RID OF IT, GET IT AWAY, WAAAAHHHH !!!

To cut a long story short I ended up buying the poison & disposing of half dead / dead rats while my dear mom hid in the house for a month after that. Never let her forget it

Got rid of the ratties though.
I'm a girl to, so she had no excuse lol

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Wrap the triggers with thread or yarn, and put a drop or two of bacon grease or oil from a can of sardines. They won't be able to pull it off without tripping the trap.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

If you find that poison is the only way, then it may be a good idea to buy a bait station: http://www.jefferspet.com/rodent-cafe-locking-bait-station/camid/LIV/cp/BNG-AA/
That one locks and will keep the poison out of reach of curious little hands.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

If you find that poison is the only way, then it may be a good idea to buy a bait station: http://www.jefferspet.com/rodent-cafe-locking-bait-station/camid/LIV/cp/BNG-AA/
That one locks and will keep the poison out of reach of curious little hands.

I think we actually had a few of those. They worked very well.

Bear foot Farm,

We tried a few different things. They would just move the whole trap to set it off and then have at it. Smart little buggers. We were able to catch a few but after they caught on they got really creative. Mice are a bit easier to catch with traps. These rats were HUGE and well fed. They eventually figured out how to get into the feed bins as well. I think they may have been mutant rats!

 

[LyssaLoy]

Oh goodness! I used to be notified whenever someone commented on my posts, but not this time! Thank you all SO much for commenting, I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner! Looks like we're doing poison then. They gotta go. Although, I might use the rodent problem as an excuse to get a cat! To do the mousing of course

 

[jflanny]

This is very similar to my situation except it is my pheasant coop. I just put some poison bait down in the holes and have set up a trash can trap that they climb in and can't get out. But I want really quick results. My sons also shoot them when they are home but they are not here often as they are away at college. I am freaked out!