I think I have a rat...developing story

[Judy]

I just used poison. I not only have dogs, I have dogs who chase and EAT rats. Never had a problem. I just used Just One Bite. It is not supposed to harm the animal that eats the dead rat. I understand that it can at high enough doses, but as I said, no problem here. I just stuck part of the stick of poison down each hole (they were in the coop; it is dirt floor) and covered it with a concrete block. Haven't seen a rat tunnel for months now.

 

[Xtina]

Oh, that might work. My concern isn't my dogs eating a dead rat though...it's them eating the poison itself. Those dogs can get into anything no matter what or where it is. But I might still give that a shot. The hardware cloth is a must now though. I'll do that anyway. And remove all their habitat. That stuff was ugly and I didn't want all that junk in my backyard anyway.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Rats build multiple entrances/exits to their tunnel homes. If you try to drown them, you have to plug ALL their tunnel entrance/exits except one. Make sure and find ALL of them and block them well, except one. Then stuff a garden hose down the remaining hole, as deep as you can push it. Keep lifting and pushing the hose until it refuses to go down further. Finally, turn on your water full blast and keep pushing the hose down as the tunnel soil will get wet and soft. Leave it running for 1/2 hour or so. Your purpose is to flood their nest area, drowning as many of the rat babies as possible. If any holes aren't well-blocked, the water often comes out above ground, before it gets down into their nests.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
There's a poison bait container that works pretty well. I got one at the feed store for about $16. It's a rigid plastic box with a lid that locks, and you can put heavy bricks on top of it so nothing can move it. On the box sides near the bottom there's a 2" hole for entrance and 2" hole exit. Inside the box, around a corner wall from the entrance/exit path, are spikes where you attach the bait. The idea is to get the rat inside the box where he eats the bait. Because the bait is attached, he can't drag it outside. He leaves the box, and dies a few days later.

Look up "rat bait boxes" on the internet, you'll see what I mean.

 

[elite8]

Another thing that you might try is calling an exterminator. Taking care of rats is part of their business and they might be able to give you some helpful advice. What feathersnuggles was talking about is called a rat bait station and they work well. Just make sure dogs don't get to them and chew their way to the bait.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Rat will dig under something to nest but they don't dig long tunnels. If you have tunnels try a propane burner, stick it in the tunnel, it will suck the oxygen out and the critter will suffocate.
Joe

 

[knjinnm]

Put your Lab/Dachshund mix in the coop for a night or two ... the dog will clean them out.

 

[Xtina]

Quote:
I know, seriously, right? I just don't want to have to pay for antibiotics or eye surgery after those rats tear my dog up!

 

[Xtina]

Well, I just hired my neighbor and his buddy to go out there, put hardware cloth under the coop, and remove all the composting weeds that the rats were using as habitat. As they were working, I let the dogs hang out in the back and Max, my lab/dachshund mix, just tore a rat up! It's a proud moment for this old dog. Of course, I probably shouldn't have risked whatever diseases that rat was carrying, so now I'm going to be calling the vet. And the husband's going back to the hardware store to get rat poison to put in the rat holes. I think we won't be seeing much more rat evidence after today.

Edit: Just called the vet and there's no concern that the dogs might have caught something. Yay for Max! He just earned his "salary" for the last 10 years.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Yea!!!

for Max!