Oh No!!!!! Wolf Rat on the loose!

[nminusyplusm]

We always just throw the whole thing away and put out a new one.

They are very smart and, as @Howard E said above, will learn to avoid traps. You can't allow them to have entrances and exits.

 

[nminusyplusm]

We remember that Taco Bell!! Ewww
And I finally got your username.
Watching the thread... we don't have "wolf" rats but trying to deal with regular rats.

"Wolf rats" are regular rats. It's just some new made up name to make them seem bigger and scarier. Or maybe, as another poster said, someone misheard "wharf rat", anyway, those are all the same rat.

The other kind of rat, the black rat (rattus rattus) aka roof rat, is smaller and prefers to be higher up. You might see them running along telephone wires or in trees.

It's the brown rat that most people have to eradicate from their homes, garages and basements.

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

Actually, my 80 year old grandpa is who grew up calling them wolf rats. Thank you very much.
To everyone who had USEFUL information, Thank You! We are implementing as much as we can!
Rats, no matter what kind they are, ARE scary when their in your home or ripping apart your baby chickens. And yes I know it was the rat who did it because we keep deer cams on all our coops to keep an eye on predators such as snakes and rats. They are NOT pets. They are pests. They carry diseases. And in our parts they are significantly large. The smallest one we have killed so far was about 10" in body length, not including tail.
Upside, talked my hunny into a temporary block on the garage door. He's working on it now.
Again, thank you for all the ideas and info we hadn't thought about!

 

[aart]

Would love to see a pic of one of these that you trapped,
next to something to give it scale like a dollar bill.

Curious too what traps you used, as Howard says,they can be darned tricky to trap.

Don't sweat the name thing,
there are many colloquial (slang) names for animals, plants, etc.
I'm guessing 'wolf' is a twist on 'wharf' which is also not an official name for any certain type of rat. Large rats could certainly be seen as wolfish when decimating a brooder full of baby poultry.

 

[chickencheeper]

I googled it. It's just a regular Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus aka brown rat. They don't get as big as cats. I know, I used to breed them. They're also found all over the NYC subway system. "Wolf rat" must be some colloquial term I've never heard before.

I forgot the same thing. Our county has been overrun lately with them. They are large and scary but are not “cat size” maybe the op just saw one running past.

 

[chickencheeper]

Good idea on looking for holes and trying to seal them up but I have seen them chew through tin cans and I have also seen them put cats on the run. Best idea is move the babies and put out the poison at any holes to the out side. Good luck, We have the same problem but not getting in so I'm shooting them every day till we have no more.

A cheaper option for shooting them would be a pellet gun. .117 caliber or higher. The crosman 1077 is an adorable and fast shooting option. Pellets cost much less and co2 is cheap.

 

[chickencheeper]

Not sure what that means......"along the top"......but whatever the case, I strongly urge you to find a way to block that off. Tack hardware cloth, metal flashing....something or anything over whatever it is that allows any form of entry. Do this even if butt ugly and temporary until you can come back to fix it right. Again, I don't know the condition you are describing is, but your response to this is what I refer to when I mention "half measures". You have to assume that if there is a potential entry point that allows them to come and go, they will use it. So..........problem continues. We know you don't want that, so again, please do try to find a way to get that blocked off. Somehow, someway. NO EXCUSES!!!!

On the traps, I showed the pest guy my plans for the Big Hammer rat trap. He was only mildly interested........more like amused. His prediction was that while certainly big enough and powerful enough to kill any rat going, it would not work for more than one or two rats. Said with wooden traps of this type, when the trap kills a rat or mouse it is his belief that the dead animal leaves a scent behind.....blood, or whatever, but something the others can detect and thus avoid. So one trap might kill one or two, then stops working. But replace it with a new trap........and it might also catch one or two more. Something to try?

Rats and mice don’t actually mind the dead mouse or rat smell or even if it is a multi kill trap and the bodies are visible the mice/rats don’t mind. It actually draws them in cause they are curious. Don’t keep wasting money on buying new traps. Reuse them!

 

[chickencheeper]

This is by far the best rat trap I’ve ever used:Rolling Log Mouse / Rat Trap. Humane Live Catch Or Kill. Innovative No Poison Auto Reset Design. Smart Safe Solution For Pest Control Effective Traps For Mice Rat, Pests Rodents. For 5 Gallon Bucket. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0751H2ZM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ceuNAb3935J3S
All you need to do is put it on a 5 gallon bucket filled with water, put peanut butter on the center ring and tube and put a board on the bucket to make a ramp

 

[chickencheeper]

 

[The Moonshiner]

@Howard E
Great info. I know you're also very knowledgeable about electric fences and a fan of juiced up fences.
Curious any ideas of using electric fence components to build an electric chair for rats? Also would any chargers have enough juice to even kill them.