RAT WAR!!

[Lady of McCamley]

I hope I don't see these on that other thread............

is all I can say.
LofMc

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Have you thought about a terrier?

It seems like you have an awful lot of them. Terriers are very very good at getting rid of rats.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

x2 My Rat Terrier has snagged 18 this summer/fall. He could get more if I left him out alone to hunt for long periods at night, but I don't want him doing that.

They can really help with the rats.

LofMc

 

[cavemanrich]

x2 My Rat Terrier has snagged 18 this summer/fall. He could get more if I left him out alone to hunt for long periods at night, but I don't want him doing that.

They can really help with the rats.

LofMc

Is there a concern of DANGER to dog. Like a bite by the rat???

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Is there a concern of DANGER to dog. Like a bite by the rat???

He has never had trouble, but I have read they can get bit. Serious ratters, like Jared's Mongeral Hoard post their dogs do get bite marks.

I asked my vet tech daughter, and she said just keep up with shots and check him each time. I think Leptospirosis is the biggest risk, but the shot is very limited, and they can catch that from pee trails anywhere. The shot is only worthwhile if it is in your area and you have the right strain in the shot.

I swab him down each time, as he is also my Netflix companion, and look him over each time. But he is fast, and grabs the running rat from the back and shakes. The rat has little time to react...and they are always running away from him in panic.

I do NOT let him eat them as rats are filthy beasts filled with all manner of parasites. (Sorry to all biologists who appreciate biome diversity.) He knows to bring the kill to me, which is why I don't let him hunt alone as he might if left unattended. (He did leave me a kill present one potty break one evening, which I found the next morning...good doggy.)

I also don't leave him unsupervised as he has been trained to not go after the chickens, but that could change in the heat of battle especially if unsupervised.

I don't use my Rattie as the main line defense, but he is one of a number of tools to stem the rat tide we have in our area.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Is there a concern of DANGER to dog. Like a bite by the rat???

He has never had trouble, but I have read they can get bit. Serious ratters, like Jared's Mongeral Hoard post their dogs do get bite marks.

I asked my vet tech daughter, and she said just keep up with shots and check him each time. I think Leptospirosis is the biggest risk, but the shot is very limited, and they can catch that from pee trails anywhere. The shot is only worthwhile if it is in your area and you have the right strain in the shot.

I swab him down each time, as he is also my Netflix companion, and look him over each time. But he is fast, and grabs the running rat from the back and shakes. The rat has little time to react...and they are always running away from him in panic.

I do NOT let him eat them as rats are filthy beasts filled with all manner of parasites. (Sorry to all biologists who appreciate biome diversity.) He knows to bring the kill to me, which is why I don't let him hunt alone as he might if left unattended. (He did leave me a kill present one potty break one evening, which I found the next morning...good doggy.)

I also don't leave him unsupervised as he has been trained to not go after the chickens, but that could change in the heat of battle especially if unsupervised.

I don't use my Rattie as the main line defense, but he is one of a number of tools to stem the rat tide we have in our area.

LofMc

 

[drumstick diva]

I've seen many videos of Ratties and they sure enjoy their work. They go where cats fear to tread

 

[KentuckyRooster]

They do get bit but a serious ratter will shake ferociously and that helps. They don't feel or mind the bites, and it's not a problem to them. Clean the wounds, but it's not a big deal really.

 

[Cari C]

Has anyone ever tried an electrocuting trap, a rat zapper? I have never seen them before, until tonight, the reviews are very mixed.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Has anyone ever tried an electrocuting trap, a rat zapper? I have never seen them before, until tonight, the reviews are very mixed.

I know those work well for mice but never heard personal success stories for rats.

My rat war has taken an interesting turn. Barn cats caught some small ones and I eventually caught a big female in a plastic snap trap baited with peanut butter, about 2 weeks ago. Oddly no more signs of incursion into the coop or run. Could it have mostly been one big rat with a litter?