How to get rid of rats!?

[toejam]

OI found a rat inside of my coop today. I know there are proabably a lot more. So, how can i get rid of them without killin my chickens?

 

[mrsc1951]

One of the most important things to keep in mind when fighting rodents is to make sure there is no water source for them to drink. I was so careful to put the feed away at night and not leave anything lying on the ground but left the water out. We had rats everywhere! I went to Ace hardware and bought 5 gallon buckets that I just turn upside down over all the waterers and the rats have disappeared. No poison required.

 

[Katy]

I fought them with many kinds of traps and a 22 for many months before I finally resorted to poison. I bought locked bait stations and put them where the cats and dogs could get to them. I used a low risk of secondary poisoning rat bait (Just one Bite brand) and within a week there was noticable reduction in rat activity and by the end of week 2 I was seeing no more activity at all such as digging and tunneling. I wish I'd have used it sooner but I was afraid of poisoning something besides the rats. I now keep the station baited at all times and haven't seen any new rat sign in months.

 

[MimiChick]

Once you feel you've gotten the immediate problem (numbers) under control, plant mint around your coop and run. Rodents HATE mint and will avoid it. Since even the roots are minty, they won't tunnel either. It's not harmful to chickens or other pets, so you don't have to worry like you do with poisons. And it has many culinary uses. It spreads rampantly and quickly, so you don't need a lot to start with. Has worked like a charm for us. Certainly can't hurt to give it a try.

Good luck.

 

[dawg53]

Set rat traps outside at night when your chickens are locked up inside their house sleeping at night. A piece of cheese on the trap is irresistable to rats.

 

[Meat Hunter]

a 55 gallon barrel with a board leading up to the edge. Place a bit of corn inside. The rats WILL walk up the ramp and jump in, but they can't get out. You can either pop em with a 22 or let em go a few days till they die. It works. Also a great way to control mice, but you only need a 5 gal pail for that.

 

[Cantonmentchickenmama]

I have a pretty savvy rat living around my coop! I have bought the tomcat claw traps with rat attractant. This rat was caught at one point in the trap and gnawed his foot off to get out the trap. I have fought this stupid rat. I found a nest with about the momma and about twenty babies. However, when I got back to the coop they were all gone.


Any suggestions to ridding the coop and my chickens of this pest?

 

[GA_Gypsy]

I put up a post on here a few days ago but no one really responded. :/

The rats around here seem to be so well fed that I truly believe they are starting to mutate into super rats. We have set out snap traps all over the places where we have actually seen them and where our beagle mutt also barks and tells us where more are. Well, the last nite we did this, we set out 10 traps and only caught some fur that was scraped off of their backs. I couldn't believe it! So I guess we need to try poison, but for obvious reasons that makes me nervous. I could set it out in the shed nearby which always seems to have a ton of rat poop, but I just don't want them to drag it around the yard for kids, dogs or chickens to get into.

Can't wait to hear others on this topic! My post seemed to die out.

 

[joan1708]

you also have to quit feeding the rats. Keep the stored feed in metal containers. Put the feeders up at night in metal containers. Make the coop/run rodent resistant. stuff holes with steal wool, etc, etc.

 

[The Big Dog]

Yeah, look one of the problems is that rats hate change. Sometimes they will look at a trap for a couple of weeks before they will have a go at it. Ideally, if you dont want to poison, you should leave your traps out all the time, not necessarily set, set and bait them at night.

Cheers........T D