Rats inside my run!

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Mice are easier to trap than rats! You will get a few (one?) rat in a trap, but the rest will then avoid it.
I put a bait station inside a closed live trap in my coop, so only rodents could enter it. The chicks also couldn't get inside, and it worked well for me.
I won't use those glue traps, I think they are the worst option!
Mary
 
I've put in 2 of the bait stations you describe plus the sticky traps baited with rice krispy treats inside the run and I've got 3 spring-loaded traps baited with peanut butter on the outside perimeter.

Last night I could see them hunkered down in a corner of the rafters so I also got a pellet pistol today but, so far, I haven't seen them inside the run. And I did serious work to make the perimeter more impenetrable so I'm not sure they'll actually be able to get inside again. .

..but then I never saw how they got inside yesterday and I still have no idea how they got out again. I made an inspection and didn't see and evidence of chewing in the wood structure. I saw shallow digging outside at the base of the run but not down to the bottom of the embedded hardware cloth. Nevertheless, the digging troughs are filled with gravel and that's topped with 12" cement pavers 360˚ around the structure.
 
Folly's place said:
Mice are easier to trap than rats! You will get a few (one?) rat in a trap, but the rest will then avoid it.
I put a bait station inside a closed live trap in my coop, so only rodents could enter it. The chicks also couldn't get inside, and it worked well for me.
I won't use those glue traps, I think they are the worst option!
Mary
Click to expand...

The idea of putting poison in a closed live trap is genius - thank you!
 
Shamo Hybrid said:
Keep setting out the spring mouse trap, the suckers will eventually take the bait. There are a lot of field mice around here and it's worked for me. But you should look into a better and easy set up, all you need is like a 5 gallon or whatever bucket (as long as mouse can't escape) and a can or 2 of soft drink. What it essentially is, is a trap where you put peanut butter or whatever on the cans and when they try to get close to the bait, they will try to walk on the cans, it will spin around and they will fall into the bucket...... put water in the bucket so they drown.

Look up on Youtube, you will find out how it works!
Click to expand...
I did the same thing with a 5 gallon bucket but I covered the surface of the water with sunflower seeds. They float and the mouse or rat doesn't know it and jumps into the bucket of water. Just make sure it's deep enough so they will drown but do not fill to the top or too close to the top of the bucket. A big rat can actually get out. I guess I didn't have the water deep enough.
 
Years ago we had rats in our barn, and a couple of them did die in a water bucket. BUT the little guys were still greeting me at the door! Only bait got rid of them. And, I never got one in a trap. They are very smart.
Mary
 
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Just a word of caution when using the bait stations or poison near your chickens. Even if the chickens can't get to the poison, please keep in mind that rats, and mice, will sometimes carry the poison to another location to store it for later and it might then be accessible to your chickens. We had to use poison recently, but did it in a very controlled way and I was constantly checking to make sure that none of the poison chunks were moved to where my chickens or my dog could get to them.
 
That's why those bait stations are safer; the rodents can't remove the bait, they can only eat it in the box. It's necessary to check them often, and be vigilant about finding any affected rodents.
It's necessary to get rid of a rat or mouse infestation, and sometimes bait just is the only way.
Mary
 
cmom said:
I used these rat & mice bait stations.
https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-37091...=UTF8&qid=1533009673&sr=8-9&keywords=rat+bait
When I needed bait when I ran out of the bait that came with the bait stations I bought this. I killed a lot of rats. I haven't seen any in quite awhile but I still keep the bait stations baited.
https://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Bit...UTF8&qid=1533010492&sr=1-24&keywords=rat+bait
Click to expand...
Did you notice a difference in the effectiveness of the baits? I've got two of the bait stations arriving tomorrow. It seems like there are varying opinions on all the baits out there. I'd love to hear real feedback from a forum I can trust! I figured I would do the same thing - use up the bait it came with, and then re-supply.
 

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