Rats in my chicken house

[This old barn]

this morning I made some mouse slash rat traps using a 5 gallon bucket, metal coat hanger and a can. look it up on YouTube they say it works great and no poison necessary. you can probably find a thread here in back yard chickens.

 

[aart]

I have found that, indeed, the rats are living in the ground under my coop. I have found the holes. I have used the live trap and have relocated five...FIVE...already, but I do not have the adults.

Here is my question....What can I put in the holes to take care of the problem? I have thought of cement, but they would just pop out somewhere else. I will put hardware cloth on the ground eventually, but in the meantime these buggers are multiplying... I have thought of running the hose down the hole, but that will make them come up the other. I cannot use rat poison so close to the chickens....I read cayenne pepper....

Any suggestions? Please.

Kathie

Don't relocate them, kill them, or they'll just come back or become someone else's problem. You'll just have to keep trapping until you get them all.
Dealing with predators and pests is not for the impatient or softhearted. Be ruthless and persistent, eventually you'll get them all gone.
Somewhere I read about using coarse steel wool to block holes, they can't chew thru it...but you don't want to trap them in the holes to die, the smell would be pretty bad for quite a long time and might attract other pests.

 

[Possum Manor West]

Well, I caught numbers seven and eight today, and I do not think I have the parents yet.

Here is my plan, please let me know what you think.

My indoor coop is only 9x6. I have hardware cloth on the sides and the top. The nesting boxes are screwed to the back wall. I am going to run lengths of hardware cloth down the sides, across the bottom, and then up the other side. I can get some of it to the back wall behind the nesting boxes, and then I will staple it to the back wall. Where the hardware cloth meets the sides or the edges of each piece, I will use wire, as if I was sewing, to keep it together. They will not chew through, and they will not fit though.

Now, can I poison them? There are NO holes to the outside, so they are totally living there. Could I put the hose and water down there and hope they will run out the door? I will continue to use the traps, and I seem to catch one in each trap each night. Are they going to multiply faster than I can catch them?

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Kathie

 

[aart]

Bucket trap. Catches multiple without emptying...but you can use poison if you want, it's your place-your decision.

 

[Possum Manor West]

We are going to relocate the chickens tomorrow, and then we are going to put what you suggested into the holes....all the holes. We are going to cover the ground with hardware cloth, and attach it so they cannot get into the coop. We are going to put gravel and sand and I swear I will start shooting them if they make their way.

I am going to put peppermint oil around the exterior. I have caught ten, and I at least four more in there tonight. I do not know if catching two a night will even begin to catch up to their reproduction quickness.

I am still open to ideas.

 

[mbpalmtree]

Oh good lawd. I posted the same thread a few months ago. I have spent a fortune on "humane" traps

... What a joke & even worse, a complete waste of money!!! Cayenne pepper works a little. Peppermint sachets, ex-lax, snap traps, poison, dirty cat litter, lights on at night, I have done EVERYTHING. I think the next door neighbors cat has been checking things out at night, mostly using cat litter but that's ok. Rats will steer clear of cat smells. I haven't seen any scurry at night but still finding droppings. I started to see them (droppings) in coop where chickens roost & lay eggs & lately they have been sleeping outside the coop. Wondering if they were spooked????

 

[layalittleeggfo]

Unfortunay we have had to use poision now. Its well hidden with in their run paths and they are taking it by the boat load we mixed it with a little mashed chicken pellets. Unfortunatly we have a bigger amount of rats than we ever imagined since in 3 days we have used a full tub of poision. As i said they are under the neighbours shrd and he is not willing to help with the problem. Since we heard young rats squeeking and my sis said it was a new born. We stuck a hose pipe down the run and turned on the water. Havent heard anymore squeeks so think they met their maker. I knoe the afults will breed again shortly but to kerp in top of the problem we got to do it.

Dince we are in council houseing they would make get rid of the chickens if 1we wernt doing something to solve it or 2 simeone reports rats we will get the blame even though they have been regular in our area to kill them

 

[ozarkchicks]

I have had problems with mice in my coop. The best thing to do is to put rat poison in there, putting it in an area the chickens do not have the ability to go there

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