I saw a rat in the coop today...

[Yetti]

...He is doomed! I set two bucket traps and hope to get him by morning.

 

[MEchickenfarmer33]

good luck catching him

 

[JenBirdRansom]

Can you (or someone) post a pick of a bucket trap?

 

[bj taylor]

what's a bucket trap. i want to be able to get rats w/o poison. my cats or dogs might chew on a poisoned rat.

 

[Yetti]

pics soon

 

[confusedbanti]

Please explain bucket trap . I like the Idea of non poison

 

[Yetti]

I use 5 gallon buckets. I use a spoke from a 27" bike wheel as the axle as they are very stiff. I use a propane torch to heat up and poke the spoke through the top & bottom of a 20oz. bottle. make sure the bottle spins free on the axle. then I put the spoke acrossed the opening of the bucket. I hold one end up at a time and heat them a bit and when I set the end down it sinks into the bucket rim and stays. once secure the axle won't be knocked off by a jumping rat or squirrel.
the idea is that the animal has to jump to the bottle for its food. if the bottle is centered on the axle the critter forgoes common sense if the treat is worth it. once in the air it has to land on the bottle. if its done right they will be ejected to the bottom of the bucket. I use about 5" of water the bottom of mine. it prevents jumping out and if cold enough saps them of strength and they die of exposer. smaller stuff drowns.
some baits are better then others. I have peanut butter on my bottle traps. you can also poke small holes in them and have stuff like tuna juice or canned chicken juice.

placement. most folks put them near a wall or corner where the critter will climb up. they need a stable launch pad so use a ramp if you don't have anything as tall as the bucket to get near the rim. if you check youtube there are tons of examples.

 

[confusedbanti]

Cool thank you for the info ! I will check out youtube as well . Right now I am catching them with a life trap and relocate. I know , I know, but I just can't kill a thing....

 

[the209jungalist]

Please post a picture! I read your instructions however a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[mendozer]

i saw two today! first time. I tossed a poison block onto the poop tray UNDER my chicken floor, so there's no risk of them getting it. I found them hiding in the poop drawers so I left their route open so they can get back in and die like the pests they are.