Help. Rat just jumped outta duck coop

[EggWalrus]

hot pepper powders, like cayenne. Birds can't taste the heat, but mammals can, and they don't like the smell much either. Just don't get tempted and sniff it, that is unpleasant.

You just made me shoot coffee out of my nose!

 

[Fishkeeper]

Ouch, that's probably not fun either!

As to how I know this, I was cleaning out the spice cabinet, going more by "does this still smell decently strong" than by expiration date. One of those late-night organization projects. I realized only after I had uncapped the container of cayenne and brought it near my face that I probably shouldn't smell THAT. At least I didn't accidentally inhale any of the actual powder.
And I realize, now that I've said it, this may be one of those cases where you tell someone that the paint is still wet and they immediately touch it. That seems to be basic human nature. If anyone goes and smells cayenne because of this, my bad.

Seriously though, cayenne in the feed will deter rats, and a sprinkling of it around any given entrance might make them think twice about coming in. Sensitive ratty noses and all.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

We had a rat last week that was digging into our chicken run at night eating food. It found one of the only two places where hardware cloth wasn't buried underground... then when we put cloth in that place it found the OTHER place... of course. So we set a mouse trap and it set it but didn't get caught, so we put 2 glue traps and 2 rat traps around the coop. It walked into the glue trap but dug a hole and got out of the glue but was stuck inside with the glue trap covering the hole. 4:30 am my dad goes out there and finds the rat in the chicken coop itself. He ended up just shooting it.

 

[ChickenyChickeny]

DONT USE RAT POISON WHATEVER U DO

 

[Fishkeeper]

Please don't use glue traps, either, they're massively inhumane and often catch all sorts of beneficial animals (lizards, etc) in addition to the varmints. Usually, the trapped animals die of exhaustion, stress, and dehydration, or tear themselves up trying desperately to escape.
Use the snap traps instead, those are a quick death. Bait them with peanut butter and place them along the edges of things so that rats running along walls will encounter them, and try using an unconventional design (the ones that look kinda cartoony) if the regular ones aren't working.

 

[cmom]

I use rat poison and a rat poison bait boxes. I had a severe infestation in one of my coops. I took care of the coop problem and the rats. The baits that came with the bait boxes didn't work to well but this did. Only the rats can get to it. I put the baits in the coop after I had moved the birds to another coop and closed it off so nothing could get in except the rats. I also put them in the barn which is next to the coops where I also had seen rats. I put game cameras out and haven't seen a rat in quite awhile. I do keep the bait boxes loaded in the barn.

 

[Compost King]

I have used Rat Poison in situations where nothing else would work and my cats nor chickens could not get to the rats. I hate it as a solution and would only use it as a last resort and only if the conditions are right to prevent chickens or cats (or other pets) from eating a poisoned rat. I like @EggWalrus idea of a rat trap inside of a sturdy box that ducks can not get into. All bets are off if you have ducklings though.

 

[Fishkeeper]

If you have ducklings and rats are getting in, you take the ducklings out. Rats will happily take down ducklings, probably before the traps will.

 

[dkkirby]

Chicken wire is meant to keep chickens in. It doesn't keep much else out, not strong enough or tight-webbed enough.
One thing that can deter them to some degree is hot pepper powders, like cayenne. Birds can't taste the heat, but mammals can, and they don't like the smell much either. Just don't get tempted and sniff it, that is unpleasant.

Are ducks sensitive to the pepper powder please?

 

[Fishkeeper]

No. The stuff that makes peppers spicy, capsaicin, was evolved so that only birds would eat the peppers and spread the seeds. Birds can't taste it at all, but mammals can.