Raccoons, rats, and capsaicin

[amarsano]

I’m in the middle of a rat-battle as well. Started seeing early signs of them late October. There’s only one rat on my camera at any given time, and only in the covered porch, not the coop. Fairly certain the rat recently took over a chipmunk burrow, so hoping it’s still excavating and building its nest ~ and that there aren’t too many of them yet.

I have tried SO many different deterrents ~ including cayenne pepper. I sprinkled a bunch in and around it’s main hole, and a bunch more on the litter all around the hole. I used an entire jar in 3 days… I mean, the ground was red. And, I put it in the chicken feed with garlic powder. Didn’t even *phase* the rat.
Then I started removing chickens’ food and water when they go in for the night. Rat started to come out for the food during the day.
Tried flooding its den with garlic water ~ used a tree watering pole to pour 6 gallons - with 2 crushed cloves marinated in each gallon - into it’s hole. Also left out a small bowl of *super* garlicky water. It seemed to like it!
Tried rodent deterrents, filling holes with gravel, traps with peanut butter ~ which it wouldn’t go in despite there being no other food or water. It ate the chicken feathers instead.

I don’t like killing anything, but I finally came to the sad realization that I had no choice.
Started RatX on Sunday night. It’s not poison, so it won’t harm any predators, cats or chickens. It harms only rodents by blocking their sense of thirst. They stop drinking, and pass within a few days. I guess it’s not supposed to be that unpleasant, plus it says the desiccation also helps keep the odor down once they do pass, which would be good.

I leave a bowl out during the day where the chickens can’t get to it (why risk it) and add a second bowl at night when chickens go to bed. We’ve used almost an entire bag at this point.
Rat was going for the feed both yesterday and today, but I haven’t seen it drink once, which is unusual. So it appears to be working. Fingers crossed!

I've never heard of this, but I will be investigating RatX! I'm leaving chicken in traps and they could care less.

 

[David61]

capsaicin and salt on coons but im not eating rats.
Exclusion is what works. stop wasting time and harden off their access to the food, water, eggs, poop... I harden off and put out bait stations. My dog is mad at me. Not many rats to hunt for anymore.

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

Raccoons are tough, determined and smart! Lots of them waddle past our trail cams after dark.

The only way we've kept them out is 1/2" hardware cloth top, bottom & sides of the coop plus latches they can't undo with those clever little hands - carabiners or padlocks. (I suspect if they could find a key, they'd unlock those, too.) Slide bolts, hooks & eyes they'll open and get in.

It helps that our coop & run are also inside the 7-foot wire deer fence that has electric fence on the outside to repel the bears, but a determined raccoon could probably dig under a corner of a gate & get in the yard. (Skunks do.)

They'll even eat the big ultra-slimy banana slugs that few other critters will touch (6 inches long or more, and their extra-sticky slime is being studied to devise surgical glue - the chickens won't go near them). Raccoons just roll the slugs in dirt and eat them anyway.

 

[pcakes]

Amarsano ~ how’s it going? Any luck with pest control? I’m still struggling with the rats!

 

[Al Gerhart]

First off, thanks to the OP for reading Howard E.'s excellent posts on rodent control. But if you are still looking for answers you didn't take his advice.

It is so simple, sanitation, exclusion, elimination in that order.

Clean up the paths to and from the coop so natural predators get a shot at the rodents as they move around, treadle feeder, bulk feed in a metal bin or can. As long as you have some full size birds to operate the treadle feeders and don't have tons of natural food the rodent carry capacity of any area is quite limited and colonies cannot build up to be a threat. Deal with compost piles or other sources of feed like farm animals scattering feed. If you do this, no food means no rodents.

exclusion is next, Fort Knox coop. $$$$ but it can work if no free range is done.

Elimination is last because it also kills off the rodent's natural predators and it is a never ending expense. Poison or traps, all might work a few days till the rodents wise up.

Sanitizing a coop takes some money, you will spend from $65 up for a real treadle feeder with an inward swinging door and a spring loaded door to prevent the door from being simply pushed open which works on 90% of the chinese made feeders like the Grandpa and rent a coop feeders. And shipping is eye watering expensive these days as our money is de-valuated by our governments to control the national debt. But, you are already paying for the feeder in stolen feed, lost chickens due to increased predator traffic, and diseases and pests brought to the flock.

Coons cannot be stopped with a treadle feeder, they have more weight and more reach than a chicken. They would much rather eat your chickens though as you have found out. Short of a pack of coon dogs and the willingness to follow them through the woods at night you aren't going to whittle their numbers down and if you did a new population would promptly move into the vacant territory. Coons can rip right through chicken wire too so use hardware cloth.

Good luck.

 

[amarsano]

capsaicin and salt on coons but im not eating rats.
Exclusion is what works. stop wasting time and harden off their access to the food, water, eggs, poop... I harden off and put out bait stations. My dog is mad at me. Not many rats to hunt for anymore.

My dogs love hunting rats too. They’ve killed 3 so far. They are a coon hound and a golden, so they can’t get in the smaller holes. I have made sure all treats are served in bowls and I clean up at night after I lock them up.