Maine

[lazy gardener]

No... just don't want to offer rats any place to set up housekeeping. Definitely need to keep skunks and the like out from under there.

 

[buckabucka]

We have a similar coop set up, LG. The structure is on cement blocks, and we already had rodents living in the upstairs (the coop used to be our house when we were building). We lined the entire coop on the inside (under the floor boards, but the rest is exposed) with 1/4 inch hardware cloth, which was probably excessive. The attached run has 1/2 inch cloth buried in the ground and over the top.

The only time I had mice getting in was through a space out in the run where the cloth overlapped. Oh, and we had rats tunnel down 16 inches and back up into the run (sandy soil!), but I did them in with poison.

Our rat zapper arrived Saturday and we put it behind the nest boxes in the hoop coop. Caught a mouse within hours.

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks Bucka. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do. I have half a roll of 1/2" x 2' hdw. cloth, but will need to use a good amount of that to screen 3 window openings, and the inside vent to the attic space. So, may have to buy an other 50' x 3'W roll. Pricey, but will give a bit of peace of mind.

 

[CoopChick719]

CoopChick, that sounds familiar about the multiple garages.  My husband has 2 garages, but also has one of his tool benches in my chicken coop.  Although, it is nice having the countertop space on it and I have filled up a couple of the drawers.

I'm lucky I do have some shelving in my coop for storage so some of the bedding bags went under that.

Our rat zapper arrived Saturday and we put it behind the nest boxes in the hoop coop. Caught a mouse within hours.

Very interested in your rat zapper!! Which brand did you get? I lost one on eBay yesterday by $1. Plz keep us posted on the results!

 

[lazy gardener]

Can you post the brand of your rat zapper? Have any of you tried a can daubed with peanut butter, suspended over a 5 gal. bucket with water in it? the mouse jumps on the can, which spins, and dumps the mouse into the bucket. I tried a big one for a squirrel in my garage. Didn't work. May revisit it for mouse control. Perhaps squirrels are smarter than mice. There's also a mouse trap made from a soda bottle which is cut almost in half, and then rigged with a stick and an elastic. When the mouse takes the bait, it releases the elastic which then snaps the bottle shut. I like the idea of making reuseable traps out of throw away objects. But, don't want to spend a lot of time on stuff that doesn't work. good to have an arsenal of different options available. So, let the solutions commence!!!

 

[islandgirl82]

Lazy Gardener, the people I work for use the 5 gal/peanut butter can method to keep mice out of their boathouse/workshop and have had great luck with it. I'd say squirrels a quite a bit more crafty than mice; I had a horrendous squirrel problem (despite my toothless cat's efforts) until I got my Hamburg...

 

[buckabucka]

We got a Raticator plus. They are kind of pricey ($36). We have not caught a rat yet, only the mouse, but we haven't tried following the instructions yet.

The instructions indicate that rats are very smart and somewhat wary. They suggest setting up the Raticator with bait right at the opening and not turning it on. Then you push the bait in a little further, still giving a free meal. Eventually, you push the bait into the rear of the contraption and turn it on.

Maybe this weekend I'll have time to follow through on the instructions.

 

[lazy gardener]

So, after you fry that first rat, are the rest of them supposed to be stupid enough to follow suit??? I'll be watching for your success. So far, I've not seen any signs of rats, but know it's just a matter of time until I do.

 

[CoopChick719]

I've been researching the raticator & rat zapper ultra. Raticator had better reviews than rat zapper. Also saw one company recommended a small damp clothe near opening so rats feet are wet to make better contact with zappers.

We use the 5 gallon bucket & peanut butter smeared can trap at camp. Always works!!! Plus snap traps. I'm thinking rats are bigger & better climbers than mice so would probably need a bigger bucket.

Nearly took a finger off with an old snap trap recently. Not really looking forward to setting a bunch of those if I don't have to!!

 

[IZZYBELLA]

We struggle with mice, squirrels and snakes in the attic/basement/walls of our house in the fall. The snakes don't bother me and I leave them be, but the others do. We tried the electric zapper thing last year and didn't catch anything. I resorted to the classic snap traps set at intervals along walls and entrances... problem solved. I used the huge rat snap traps for the squirrels (little red flying squirrels) and they worked well. (Man, do those things hurt if you catch your fingers, though!!)

My parents use the large bucket full of water with a ramp up it to catch chipmunks. They have really good success with it... I'm talking 20-30 chipmunks a season. (Of course, the ones they don't catch still cause damage.)