I started having a rat problem a few months back. First they ate all of my heirloom tomatoes.
I put out traps and would get a couple but down here in Florida they are fruit rats and they are EVERYWHERE. Then they moved to the chicken coop and duck run. I used to leave food out all the time and it wasn't a problem. I think after they destroyed my veggie garden they moved on to the coop. Just recently, about 1 month ago, I started seeing them more often. I had some ducklings outside so had to leave some food out until they were old enough. Then I started picking the food up at dusk. The rats started showing up earlier and earlier. Nothing worse than going outside at 630pm and having 3 rats run toward you. Eeek (not the expelative I used)
I was told to try using bobcat urine to deter them. Bought some on ebay. Didn't seem to work but its the rainy season now and rains daily. So, I decided to use poison. I was very leary, I have dogs and don't want to kill anything unintentionally.
I spoke with the sales person and ended up purchasing just on bite blocks. They have a hole through them so that you can tie them to things. I used a wire clothes hanger and attached it to an outside ledge on the duck run. I also put pieces in some holes in the trees out back. It was suppossed to take about 5 days to work, they say that rats will sample first and if they don't die come back and gorge. Starting the night of putting the bait out, I have seen less and less rats. There were nights that I would shine a light outside and see 6-8.
Well, yesterday one of my dogs was out back and was acting weird so I went to check and he was nudging a rat on the ground. The rat was still alive but obviously in a bad way. I covered it with a flower pot and went back later and it was dead. This morning, I went to let the chickens out and just inside the chicken door, were 2 rats hiding behind the waterer. The chickens could see them but were more interested in getting out to get fed than anything else. I ended up covering 1 up but the other ran away. I came upon it later in the duck run near where the poison was. I put a flower pot under it and used a piece of pvc to basically knock it like a pool ball off the ledge into the put. Then I covered it up.
It is obvious that MY chickens are not interested in a barely moving rat. They did take off after the one that ran but lost it quickly. I can't bring myself to kill them with a shovel etc. I am hoping that most of them are dying in their dens.
It is a hard decision but I did not feel that I had any options. My runs are open air because of the heat here. I can't imagine the cost of covering a 15X10X6' run with hardware cloth. Every morning, I survey the yard to see if there are any dead or dying rats.
I was told to try using bobcat urine to deter them. Bought some on ebay. Didn't seem to work but its the rainy season now and rains daily. So, I decided to use poison. I was very leary, I have dogs and don't want to kill anything unintentionally.
I spoke with the sales person and ended up purchasing just on bite blocks. They have a hole through them so that you can tie them to things. I used a wire clothes hanger and attached it to an outside ledge on the duck run. I also put pieces in some holes in the trees out back. It was suppossed to take about 5 days to work, they say that rats will sample first and if they don't die come back and gorge. Starting the night of putting the bait out, I have seen less and less rats. There were nights that I would shine a light outside and see 6-8.
Well, yesterday one of my dogs was out back and was acting weird so I went to check and he was nudging a rat on the ground. The rat was still alive but obviously in a bad way. I covered it with a flower pot and went back later and it was dead. This morning, I went to let the chickens out and just inside the chicken door, were 2 rats hiding behind the waterer. The chickens could see them but were more interested in getting out to get fed than anything else. I ended up covering 1 up but the other ran away. I came upon it later in the duck run near where the poison was. I put a flower pot under it and used a piece of pvc to basically knock it like a pool ball off the ledge into the put. Then I covered it up.
It is obvious that MY chickens are not interested in a barely moving rat. They did take off after the one that ran but lost it quickly. I can't bring myself to kill them with a shovel etc. I am hoping that most of them are dying in their dens.
It is a hard decision but I did not feel that I had any options. My runs are open air because of the heat here. I can't imagine the cost of covering a 15X10X6' run with hardware cloth. Every morning, I survey the yard to see if there are any dead or dying rats.
