Rats, but not chipmunks?

[dennisma1]

What is a rat zapper? I've never heard of that.

It's an electronic contraption that electrocutes rats. I was always worried my chickens would be stupid enough to stick their heads in it, so I only left it out at night. You can google it. Traps at night only are a good idea, although I did catch a baby possum and felt like a murderer.

 

[Folly's place]

Any trap will only catch a very few rats, because they are very smart, and avoid anything that's dangerous in their environment. Seeing one rat, especially during the day, probably means that there are many more out there!
Fix your coop problem so that nobody can get under it!
Chipmunks and ground squirrels are very cute, wild rats aren't. Maybe your chippies will move, but killing those rats is most important. And don't handle any of them bare handed!
Mary

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I don't think rats are actually that concerned about human smell. I haven't had a rat problem but have successfully caught mice in my pantry (with peanut butter) and it didn't seem to matter how often the traps were handled. If the rat was seen in an area that you frequent then it will already be familiar with your scent and will consider it part of the normal odor of the place.

Ok. I've caught a few mice in my kitchen and in my coop and even with me touching the trap everyday, I'd still catch a mouse until they were gone.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

It's an electronic contraption that electrocutes rats. I was always worried my chickens would be stupid enough to stick their heads in it, so I only left it out at night. You can google it. Traps at night only are a good idea, although I did catch a baby possum and felt like a murderer.

Ok. I killed a baby possum with a hoe once, a long time ago. I found it at night with my bantams and I thought that it was a rat. Come to find out afterwards, it was a baby possum.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Any trap will only catch a very few rats, because they are very smart, and avoid anything that's dangerous in their environment. Seeing one rat, especially during the day, probably means that there are many more out there!
Fix your coop problem so that nobody can get under it!
Chipmunks and ground squirrels are very cute, wild rats aren't. Maybe your chippies will move, but killing those rats is most important. And don't handle any of them bare handed!
Mary

Ok. How many do you think that I could be dealing with? Like maybe a guesstimate?
The coop issue is there's a board blocking so that the birds can't go under, but because that area has had a flooding issue, I think that it may have caused that board to rot? Now the board is broken and it's a long, big board that is kinda hard to replace.
Yeah, I really hope that the chipmunks move and don't get hurt. As it is, I think that my favorite one is missing because it's been awhile since I've seen it.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I was wondering... Seeing this is the first time I've had a rat problem.....

For years I've had geese. In fact, I got my geese shortly after I got chickens. In the beginning of last year, I re-homed them. Now I'm wondering if the geese were keeping the rats away. The geese used to live were my chickens are. What do you think?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

So my Mom was able to get a couple of rat traps at the local feed store. Unfortunately, these are not the ones I wanted, but at least I have them. I like Revenge traps and not Victor because of how they're set. Hopefully I can set them both this evening with no problems. And hopefully I catch rats, and nothing else.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I was just out on my hammock with my broody Maisy and watching my flock. I saw a chipmunk going towards were I saw the rat yesterday. When the chipmunk got close to the coop, a rat ran out from under it and chased off the chipmunk!

I peaked under the coop by moving the board. I could see well worn down trails and a couple of spots that looks like they've been dug up. It'll probably be best to set the traps on the trails, right?

 

[abujumana]

Today I saw a rat run out and drink some water from my hens' water. This is the first time I've ever seen a rat that wasn't dead on my property, so therefore this is the first rat problem I've seen. I have a trap picked out at my local feed store, and if I'm not able to get it, I'll be asking my best friend, @cluckmecoop7, to help me get a trap like her's.
The issue is, I have a bunch of chipmunks running around my yard and in and around my chickens' coop and run. I think that they are cute, and I think that they're helping with my acorn problem. I want the rat dead, but I don't want the chipmunks dead. What can I do to prevent the chipmunks from getting into the trap? Please help. Thanks!

Using the trap is the correct way and do not use poison/I wish you good luck and catch this mouse

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Using the trap is the correct way and do not use poison/I wish you good luck and catch this mouse

Thanks.