Jester57
Crowing
- Nov 13, 2021
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Pest management begins with the fundamental task of removing or limiting access to food, water and shelter. If you can remove any one of those 3 things, the rats have to move on.
That's easy to say, I know; most of the time it's impossible to remove any one of those three things completely. Doing a better job of limiting each of them is possible though.
While you're thinking about doing that, take a strong flashlight into the coop and take a good look around. Your most immediate problem is the rats biting the chickens. Inside the coop, you're looking for what looks like long dark streaks or blotching. These are the oily residues rats leave as they move on their pathways. Follow the pathways and you'll find out how they're getting in. Rats can enter an opening the size of a quarter no matter how big they are, so you're going to have to do some thorough rat-proofing at those entry points. Rat-proofing means keeping out an animal that has teeth harder than iron (but not steel) and has a bite force of 12 tons per sq inch. Steel escutcheon plates around pipe entries is a common option. Steel wool can be stuffed and secured in cracks and crevices. Even with all that though, it still doesn't want to be seen, so search in remote, out of the way places. (FYI, expanding foam is not a barrier to rats)
I'm sure someone has already mentioned not having food in the coop overnight, but rats (unlike mice) have to have liquid water to survive. Rats generally follow a routine every night, moving up to 300 feet away from their nests. They generally return to the same places each night where they've found a regular food supply. Somewhere along that route they're getting water; find that and you'll ruin their whole day.
I've seen that other people have mentioned baiting, traps are another option. Traps may become necessary if rats become bait shy or don't respond to baiting. With both baits and traps, though, placement is key. With rats, you're looking for droppings. Rats communicate with one another through their droppings, so placement near droppings ensures traffic by your trap or bait station. It's usually a good strategy to "pre-bait" traps or bait stations (i.e., baiting, but not setting, traps until you see that the rats are eating from them regularly, then setting them all at once). Rats are pretty smart; smart enough to know to avoid traps or bait if they see another rat get killed by them, so it doesn't hurt to mix up strategies somewhat. Rats have personalities; what works on one might not work on another.
If you're reading this, you're already smarter than a rat. There's lots of false info online, so look for reputable sources. A good place to start is the Northeastern IPM Center https://www.northeastipm.org/index.cfm They have a good list of resources and information.
Best of luck!
That's easy to say, I know; most of the time it's impossible to remove any one of those three things completely. Doing a better job of limiting each of them is possible though.
While you're thinking about doing that, take a strong flashlight into the coop and take a good look around. Your most immediate problem is the rats biting the chickens. Inside the coop, you're looking for what looks like long dark streaks or blotching. These are the oily residues rats leave as they move on their pathways. Follow the pathways and you'll find out how they're getting in. Rats can enter an opening the size of a quarter no matter how big they are, so you're going to have to do some thorough rat-proofing at those entry points. Rat-proofing means keeping out an animal that has teeth harder than iron (but not steel) and has a bite force of 12 tons per sq inch. Steel escutcheon plates around pipe entries is a common option. Steel wool can be stuffed and secured in cracks and crevices. Even with all that though, it still doesn't want to be seen, so search in remote, out of the way places. (FYI, expanding foam is not a barrier to rats)
I'm sure someone has already mentioned not having food in the coop overnight, but rats (unlike mice) have to have liquid water to survive. Rats generally follow a routine every night, moving up to 300 feet away from their nests. They generally return to the same places each night where they've found a regular food supply. Somewhere along that route they're getting water; find that and you'll ruin their whole day.
I've seen that other people have mentioned baiting, traps are another option. Traps may become necessary if rats become bait shy or don't respond to baiting. With both baits and traps, though, placement is key. With rats, you're looking for droppings. Rats communicate with one another through their droppings, so placement near droppings ensures traffic by your trap or bait station. It's usually a good strategy to "pre-bait" traps or bait stations (i.e., baiting, but not setting, traps until you see that the rats are eating from them regularly, then setting them all at once). Rats are pretty smart; smart enough to know to avoid traps or bait if they see another rat get killed by them, so it doesn't hurt to mix up strategies somewhat. Rats have personalities; what works on one might not work on another.
If you're reading this, you're already smarter than a rat. There's lots of false info online, so look for reputable sources. A good place to start is the Northeastern IPM Center https://www.northeastipm.org/index.cfm They have a good list of resources and information.
Best of luck!
