Rats, rats EVERYWHERE! ☹️

[MilesFluffybutt]

We tried the bucket thing and the rats avoided it!!!!!

I haven't tried it myself. A friend of mine that has a horse barn said it worked really well for her. I guess not all rats are geniuses.

I'm thinking since it's winter could run a hose into their main entrance and flood them out or freeze them in. Or I could just drop poison into the holes and hope they eat it. Bu definitely have to tear the porch off in the Spring.

 

[HuffleClaw]

I haven’t seen any new evidence of rats lately.

 

[duluthralphie]

I haven’t seen any new evidence of rats lately.

That’s cause they is hiding weally weally weally well.

 

[Al Gerhart]

So far, I’m not seeing them I have my feeders hung (they’ve almost always been hung), and I have been taking it away at night.

Hanging feeders do not stop mice or rats, they can jump higher than a chicken with ease. Taking the feed in at night just means they will feed during the day. Poison and traps work for a few days till the rodents figure out what they are. The only way to stop rodents is to secure the feed including during the day by using the right treadle feeder and it must have a spring pre loaded door to prevent the door from being pushed open.

Search the forum for Howard E's posts on rat control.

Forget the old wives tales of buckets and plaster of paris and that magic poison that rats will keep eating till they are gone.

 

[KingD]

That’s cause they is hiding weally weally weally well.

Negativity alert!
Once rats are under control it's easier to keep the population down. Especially with the use of poison.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Useless the rats can get into it or open the door. The one's with the door that opens out are easy peasy for the rats to get in. Just stand on their hind legs push the door open and feed away. A no waste feeder isn't in the cards that I can see.

Not if the door is spring loaded unless there was a horde of rats and then they would get trapped and suffocate. The grandpa lids are easily pushed up because they have the action set super light to prevent the overhead door from killing too many birds to be a problem. Plenty of videos out there showing the guillotine style feeders failing to stop rats. Add a feeder lip extension for those rare flocks that have learned to rake feed and a properly designed, properly assembled, and properly installed treadle feeder is a no waste feeder.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Hanging feeders do not stop mice or rats

Never said it did

 

[Shblack]

The probability of a hawk eating a dead rat is slim. They prefer live prey and normally only resort to dead things when there are no other options. Plus, most rats die within 8-12 hours of ingesting poison and (or so I’ve read) try to find somewhere to hide while they die.

Many dead raptors are found with lethal levels of rodent poison in their bodies, so it’s a real problem. The most popular poisons are anticoagulants, which inhibit blood clotting. They work because they are slow acting, that way the rodent doesn’t associate the bait with health issues and continues eating the bait. As the rodent begins to bleed internally they develop an intense thirst and go looking for water, often in broad daylight. This is when predators find them and get poisoned.
Where we used to live there were many vineyards, the operators stopped using poison and installed many hawk/owl nesting boxes which proved to be more effective rodent control.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Many dead raptors are found with lethal levels of rodent poison in their bodies, so it’s a real problem. The most popular poisons are anticoagulants, which inhibit blood clotting. They work because they are slow acting, that way the rodent doesn’t associate the bait with health issues and continues eating the bait. As the rodent begins to bleed internally they develop an intense thirst and go looking for water, often in broad daylight. This is when predators find them and get poisoned.
Where we used to live there were many vineyards, the operators stopped using poison and installed many hawk/owl nesting boxes which proved to be more effective rodent control.

Cool.

 

[PioneerChicks]

I'm gonna throw in my piece. Feeding once or twice a day does great (without free-choice option), and storing the feed in closed garbage cans keeps away my mice. And if you do feed only a couple times a day, I recommend fermenting the feed