Rat infestation-What to do?

[Duppydo]

Daze333...sez..." I don't like cats, but thinking of getting one.Which one catch rats..?"
A hungry one....you don't have to like cats, hug them or keep them in your house.I work a few hrs a week at a chicken farm, they have a half dozen barn cats. They sleep mostly in the feed room.I hav seen dead chewed up rats in the feed room and around the small farm. They are fed, but not over fed.You'd want to feed them enough to be healthy, but a fat overfed cat is less lkely to get the job done.
If you don't have a feed room or barn, set up a cat house for the, kinda like a dog house. Give them some hay or old clothes to sleep on and make sure their quarters are dry, protected from the weather. They can handl the cld, if their dry and out of the wind.
In some situations, just cats may not be enough, my boss uses a combo of cats and rat baits.I have some rats around my place as well. I have one small feline thats a mad killer. Shes sleek, very fast and vicious, she kills rats. mice , moles and sadly song birds.She well fed, but still a never ending killer. She stalks my penned hens, and i chase her. I have also used rat baits. The rats ruined my soy beans and melons last season,that was the last straw, i declared war. I'm looking for two or three kittens to be raised as outside rat patrol cats...
Now my bosses cats actually sleep in the feed room with a black silky...! He's had them since kittens, and they really have no interest in the several thousand chickens on the farm.
Good luck...

 

[grandads]

What is a bait station?

 

[lockedhearts]

Jack Russell Terrier....... Best Ratter ever!

Mine go to the barn find a spot and sit perfectly still until the see one!

 

[sandypaws]

my poodle is the best ratter ever... but she was trained by a mini schnauzer,,,
i never ever ever use poison!!!! snap traps, live traps, dogs, barn cats all usually work to keep the numbers down,, but you will never get rid of them ALL..
we just put up a maze of hotwire 2 inches off the ground, in the chicken yard around the food, wet the ground (lock the chickens IN the coop at night of course) and turn it on.... ZZAAPPPP we got 2 last night... the system is a PITA to put up every night and take down in the morn, but it worked!!!



gross picture... dont look

 

[daze333]

Thank you all for your opinions! I appreciate the diversity!

 

[lorieMN]

try "renegade" bait..it is not supposed to go through the rat and kill other pets if they eat the rat..I use that as in the fall tons of field rats move in,had one in the basement a couple months ago..I use bait..if you do get a cat go to your local pound or shelter and see if they have some wild old cats that are unplaceable..lots of times they will give them to you,at least they do here,all s/n,shots and everything,honestly I find cats arent great on killing off rats,mice yes,but not rats..minpins and small dogs do a good job,but they have to get them in the open to catch them,

 

[lilchick]

I had a rat in one of my small coops. I just moved the chickens out and set out your regular rat traps... Baited with gummy bears... They were hard to pull off and the rat got it first time..

 

[Jenski]

My cats were the best mousers/rat killers I could have asked for. Although they were well fed and slept indoors, when they were allowed outside they totally swept our house and yard free of mice, moles and even one or two large rats that were unfortunate enough to pass through. I personally prefer to minimize chemicals on my property, and if I had a large property with a barn I would definitely keep barn cats to keep the small pest problem down.

Rats are a real problem, as they are quite clever and can do a lot of damage. Good luck!

 

[sandypaws]

cats NOT killing rats???? well out here in the desert, some of my friends cats catch and kill JACK RABBITS... so i am sure a little rat is no bigdeal...

 

[lorieMN]

like I said " I FIND MY CATS NOT ANY GOOD AT RATTING"..I have no idea about anyone elses,,maybe I feed mine to well..or maybe its cause the rats are in buildings the cats arent allowed in.or maybe mine are just lazy,or scared of rats..I can tell you bait and minpins will do the job and in a hurry..rats figure out traps,once they know traps kill rats,they wont go near them,,even for peanut butter..