RATS ARE INVADING MY COOP AT NIGHT. Hens getting injured fighting them off

[Gamefowl22]

Point is a 110 is wider than 50/60 ... and a rat could slip by and not get caught ... and original mention suggestion of using a conibear did not mention about possible death to non target species ...

Post #12 says to use a "bait station" ... like pictured in post #18 ... keeps dogs and chickens out ...

Do you have much experience with these traps?? Flip the 110 over and bend the trigger wires. Nothing is getting by! It’s a killing trap I wasn’t aware I needed to break things down so simple. I give people the benefit of the doubt that they can think for themselves.

 

[seminolewind]

This is what I used. I had a coop that was infested. The rats nested between the inner and outer walls of the coop. I renovated the coop. First I moved the birds out and put several rat baits in the coop, closed it up tightly so no birds had access to the coop and pen, and apparently they started carrying the bait back to the nests and I began finding some dead rats. They also dig tunnels in the dirt and I think after they ate the poison they went into their tunnels and died. I also put rat bait stations in the coop and in the barn which is behind the coop where I had also seen some rats. I haven't seen a rat in a long time but I keep the bait stations loaded in the barn but haven't had to reload them in awhile. I took the bait stations out of the coop and cleaned out the coop and took out the inner part of the walls.
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My thoughts exactly!

 

[123RedBeard]

Do you have much experience with these traps?? Flip the 110 over and bend the trigger wires. Nothing is getting by! It’s a killing trap I wasn’t aware I needed to break things down so simple. I give people the benefit of the doubt that they can think for themselves.

Yep, I got 50,60,110,120,220's ... sure you can bend the triggers, even install different styles ... but the OP was asking questions that didn't seem like they knew much about getting rid of rats ... I doubt they even heard about, or know what a conibear (body grip) type trap is ... good to give people warnings, and suggest the right size tool for the job!

 

[Gamefowl22]

Yep, I got 50,60,110,120,220's ... sure you can bend the triggers, even install different styles ... but the OP was asking questions that didn't seem like they knew much about getting rid of rats ... I doubt they even heard about, or know what a conibear (body grip) type trap is ... good to give people warnings, and suggest the right size tool for the job!

I’m glad we agree the 110 would work just fine flipped over. There’s an outstanding thing called the internet with YouTube videos for those wanting to learn. Owning them doesn’t equate to a lot of experience though. I’ll take your word for it.
Many rats are the thickness of a mink or bigger and a 110 is still a better choice imo.

 

[123RedBeard]

I’m glad we agree the 110 would work just fine flipped over. There’s an outstanding thing called the internet with YouTube videos for those wanting to learn. Owning them doesn’t equate to a lot of experience though. I’ll take your word for it.
Many rats are the thickness of a mink or bigger and a 110 is still a better choice imo.

Could work ... but ...
I've caught rats in both 50's and 60's and they work great, and would be my first choice if trapping!

Once you've been around here for more than a few months ... you may notice that lots of people here don't have a clue on how to deal with critters eating their pets ... simple and warnings go along way to success ...

Why are you so against a warning?

 

[Gamefowl22]

Could work ... but ...
I've caught rats in both 50's and 60's and they work great, and would be my first choice if trapping!

Once you've been around here for more than a few months ... you may notice that lots of people here don't have a clue on how to deal with critters eating their pets ... simple and warnings go along way to success ...

Why are you so against a warning?

I recommend live traps in that case.

 

[Howard E]

To the OP.....body grip traps being discussed have a place in rat control as monitoring devices, but are largely useless if used alone. The best advice you have gotten so far came from Cmom and Seminolewind.

If you are supporting a large colony of rats, you have a big problem that will take a lot of effort on your part to get control of. The key features include elimination of access to food and shelter.......and if those alone don't do it, be open to bait blocks served up from secure bait stations.....and also know that bait blocks alone won't do it until you eliminate the access to feed that forces them into accepting the bait blocks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-101.1283827/

Do watch the videos....while dated, in explaining the principles, they are as valid today as back when they were made.

 

[chickens really]

Does the Coop have a floor inside? Possibly build a floor to secure the Coop and put up better wire.

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

I do not know Floridia, but a coop had a Hard Ware Cloath under floor and the sheets wired together. We stapled them to the floating foundacion before building. A suggestion for retrofittery?

 

[northeastDad]

I only had rats once . I used tomcat poison blocks and switched to a 55 gal metal barrel for feed they couldn’t chew through and haven’t had a problem since . You can use a length of 2 inch pvc pipe , run wire through the poison blocks to hold them inside the pipe if you are afraid of other animals getting it