Rats, but not chipmunks?

[aart]

I don't know what BOSS is.

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds.

Any kind of nut or something hard that you can jam into the trigger.
Put bait end of trap up against wall or other vertical surface(like a box).

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds.

Any kind of nut or something hard that you can jam into the trigger.
Put bait end of trap up against wall or other vertical surface(like a box).

Oh, ok. I got some of those in my wild bird feeder. I can use those. Thanks!

 

[cmom]

I had a coop that was infested with rats. I tried many different ways to eliminate them to no avail. I'm not advocating using poisons but I know it can be used responsibily. I know many will disagree with me on using poison. I moved the birds that were in that coop to another coop and proceeded to renovate it. As I was taking out the ceiling and taking out the inside walls, dozens of rats of all sizes poured out and I also came across some rats nests. I bought some rat bait stations and put them in the coop first. I put the rat bait stations inside pet carriers so nothing but the rats could get to the poison bait. I had seen some rats in the barn which is behind the coops so I put a couple of rat bait stations on shelves in pet carriers so again nothing but the rats could get to the bait. Eventually I noticed that the baits were hardly being touched and some not at all. There is a little window above the bait so I can check it daily ad a partition down the middle that the rats have to go around to get to the bait. I didn't find any dead rats laying around so I suspect they went into the tunnels I saw around the coops and the barn and died so that is why I didn't find any dead rats, they buried themselves. Whatever you do, good luck...

 

[cmom]

This was the coop that was infested. The rats chewed through a 2x4 to get past a stud.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Thanks so much for the information @cmom! Thankfully, as far as I know anyways, there's no rats in the coop yet. They're under the coop. They have chewed a hole through a board at the bottom, so I wouldn't be surprised if they try chewing to inside. Unfortunately, I currently don't have an extra coop to move my flock to. There's two holes under the coop. I'm beginning to think about doing the poison. I'm not a fan of poison and don't approve of it, but if it works, it might be my only option. Thanks again for the information!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Best way to stop the rats and not harm the chipmunks is to stop feeding them chicken feed. You might know know if they are inside the coop but it is pretty unlikely for a rat to hang around unless it has a steady source of animal feed or other unnatural food source. A rat will always live around 50 feet from its food source, travel is dangerous even at night, predators will get em.

Get a treadle feeder with a spring loaded door. No need to take the feeder in at night, no constant dealing with poisons, trapping, or anything other than filling the feeder every few weeks and making sure the spring is still functioning.

BTW, and it was Howard E that first realized this some years back. The rodents including the chipmunks, do draw all sorts of predators to your coop. Plus the disease and pests like lice and mites, even fleas, that are brought in.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Best way to stop the rats and not harm the chipmunks is to stop feeding them chicken feed. You might know know if they are inside the coop but it is pretty unlikely for a rat to hang around unless it has a steady source of animal feed or other unnatural food source. A rat will always live around 50 feet from its food source, travel is dangerous even at night, predators will get em.

Get a treadle feeder with a spring loaded door. No need to take the feeder in at night, no constant dealing with poisons, trapping, or anything other than filling the feeder every few weeks and making sure the spring is still functioning.

BTW, and it was Howard E that first realized this some years back. The rodents including the chipmunks, do draw all sorts of predators to your coop. Plus the disease and pests like lice and mites, even fleas, that are brought in.

My bird's grain is always in the coop and they are closed in at night. I did discover that the rats were starting to make their way into the coop, and I've blocked their entrance and other spots that could become entrances in the future. I do think that I'm getting another mouse problem in the coop, which I'll have to take care of too, but thankfully I got a trap for them that catches only them.

 

[Borders3]

My bird's grain is always in the coop and they are closed in at night. I did discover that the rats were starting to make their way into the coop, and I've blocked their entrance and other spots that could become entrances in the future. I do think that I'm getting another mouse problem in the coop, which I'll have to take care of too, but thankfully I got a trap for them that catches only them.

Get a treadle feeder with a spring loaded door. No need to take the feeder in at night, no constant dealing with poisons, trapping, or anything other than filling the feeder every few weeks and making sure the spring is still functioning.

There is no sure way of stopping them getting into a wooden coop you need to remove the reason. If you get a treadle feeder it prevents the rats and mice having a food source. Chickens don't need food at night, so you could then leave the feeder outside the coop, thus removing the reason for rats and mice to go into the coop. I did read on here something about toothpaste and peanuts as a way of getting rid of mice and rats but I cannot remember which post I read it on.

 

[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!

The only solution is to use a mousetrap and you can leave the squirrels if they are caught until the mouse is caught