Rat poison gone, now what?

[cottontail farm]

We have rats tunneling everywhere out in the chicken yard and underneath the coop (the coop is elevated and they are tunneling under the runners that are the base) they have been ignoring the bait in the tamper-proof trap so last night I got disgusted and placed bait blocks all around the perimeter of the coop base. The bait blocks are like 1 inch square and 3 inches long.
This morning all NINE of them are totally gone. I assume I killed every rat within a square mile?
Now what? Will they die underground? Or will they come out and die later? I want to make sure the chickens dont get to the bodies.
Thanks so much for any advice. First time with a rat problem here. Ugh.

 

[cottontail farm]

I didn't see any paw prints in the run and there were tiny bait crumbs by the holes that I removed so I assume the rats took them and not, like, a family of raccoons or something.

 

[Folly's place]

It's much safer to have them in bait boxes, so none are taken by non-target animals! At least, put them down the tunnels and cover the tunnel openings with a brick or something. I hope it was rats who took yours, but it could have been anyone...
Mary

 

[ColoradoPip]

I agree with Mary and also hope it was the rats that took it. You should be more safe and careful, in my opinion, with these poisons.

 

[cottontail farm]

Yes, of course I agree with you both. I can only say I was frustrated with the failure of the bait boxes over the last several weeks. There were no prints in the mud besides the rats and the crumbs left were down the rat holes.
Can anyone help we with my questions on where to look for the bodies and how long it will take?

 

[Henry&Friends]

Yes, of course I agree with you both. I can only say I was frustrated with the failure of the bait boxes over the last several weeks. There were no prints in the mud besides the rats and the crumbs left were down the rat holes.
Can anyone help we with my questions on where to look for the bodies and how long it will take?

ive used tomcat poison packs (?) and the rats went down into their burrows and died, the poison dehydrated them so that it didn’t stink. I would keep an eye out for any dead (or live) ones just to be safe though.
(edit: added picture of poison)

 

[Folly's place]

Poisons vary a lot, so you need the exact drug or drugs involved to have answers here. Also, bait should be available until it's no longer disappearing, and needs to be set up in a safer manner.
Mary

 

[Howard E]

Bodies? (aka, deados)

Depends almost entirely on which bait you used. Was it a one bite type or extended time type? In most cases, it if was rats that took the bait, it went down in the holes with them, eaten there and got sick and died there.......if it was one of the one bites. If not......and it was one of the warfarin type baits that take multiple doses to work, they will be back and wiser for the wear.

Other than that, lets go back to the bait boxes for a moment. If rats are getting plenty of chicken feed, either directly from the feeders or something the birds have spilt on the ground, they (rats) are not going to be receptive to the bait blocks.....in any form. So first step towards eliminating the rats is sanitation and/or exclusion.......rats can't get to the feed.....in any form or at any place. Do that and they may move on in search of food and shelter elsewhere.....but if not, and you want to go with the bait blocks, do so only after you have eliminated their current feed source. Only then will they get hungry enough to switch to the bait blocks. And once they do, keep the bait stations full until consumption stops. At that point, you may even want to switch brands and types to pick off the stragglers.

Back to the bait blocks and bait stations, due to the risk of primary poisoning, most bait block labels specifically state they are only to be used from secure bait stations. Going outside that creates a great deal of liability on your part. Secondary poisoning (non-target animals finding deados) is way down the line in risk factor compared to primary......where your neighbor's dog, cat or kid finds a bait block and eats it. You probably don't want that?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Rats are so intelligent, which is why so many are in elected office these days. Oh, wrong forum?

Joking aside, they are super intelligent. Unless the rats were already starving it is very unlikely that the rats ate the bait. As usual Howard E. pointed out the real cause the rats are there; feed is available. Fix that, you fix the problem. Murder every rat in the colony and new rats will find their way into the territory in a few weeks and you get to start all over.

 

[cottontail farm]

Thanks everyone.