Rats?? What to do??

[wilds of pa]

No poisons for me..never ever..to many pets at risk and id hate to kill a good black snake, they will eat the rats, other rodents and rattle snakes that come round here in the summer months, however chipmunks and squirrels are the main problem here little devils they are.

However Theres more than one way to skin a rat..traps of all sorts..electric zappers, spring levers, box traps, glue boards and my favorite if ever needed is a good old .177 cal pellet gun..

Just my thoughts why risk chemical war fair..

but each to there own

Charlie

 

[chicklady63]

Hi,
I'm new to Backyardchickens, but I just wanted to say that I too have had a serious problem with rats. I had noticed some in the barn but really didn't let it bother me. I didn't realize what a nightmare they are & how much damage they can do to your property & birds. We first started with traps & the wily buggers avoided them like the plague. A few we did manage to catch but some were so big that they tripped the trap got the bait & still made off like the bandits they were. I started losing biddies, then pullets, & finally a full-grown cochin rooster disappeared from his private pen which was actually a large dog crate that I kept him in at night because of issues with the other roos. (I realize it may have been something other than a rat, but the cage was very sturdy with only one small (3" at most) gap where anything could have possibly entered.) All that was left was feathers. The final straw was when they actually started to come into our home. A medium-sized rat managed to come into out bedroom through the heating duct system. My husband didn't hear it & thought I was dreaming. I went four nights with no sleep & finally accepted that I was crazy. Then one night he heard the thing too. He set an old-timey type rat trap with p-nut butter & 5 minutes later we had a rat in it. But the thing was so large the trap did not kill it outright. Hubby had to finish the job.
We knew then it was bad. We set out poison, but were very careful to place it only where our pets could not get to it. (Under the house with crawlspace door securely locked & in the locked barn in a dog crate that the creatures had chewed a hole in to get at my little biddies, but dogs could not get inside).
About six weeks after we started setting out the poison - it's amazing how much they went through - two of my German shepherds fell ill. Vomiting all their evening meal (My dogs are indoors). The vomit quickly turned to large quantities of pure blood. I was frantic. It was a weekend in the country with no vets around. Didn't know what I was up against or what they could have gotten into (spoiled trash, cleaning supplies, etc.?) In pure desperation I treated them with activated charcoal (absorbs toxins) & Vitamin K (stops bleeding). They pulled through thankfully but it took four days of intensive care & we were not certain for over a week that all was really well.
Yesterday evening our other dog started with the same symptoms. I treated her immediately with charcoal and Vit K. The symptoms abated within an hour. But I kept wondering what is going on?Today I was outside & went to upright an old utility sink I have in my garden. In a mass of old leaves I discovered 5 round green pellets: Rat poison. Then I knew what had happened. I didn't know that rats don't always eat the stuff on-site but are hoarders & will carry it away for later. My glutonous dogs had found some & almost killed themselves. Just a word of caution: If you do use the poison please watch for pieces the rats may move from the safe place you have left it - always keep activated charcoal in your medicine cabinet (can be used for people too) and keep Vit K on hand as many rat poisons are anti-coagulants. You may not notice bleeding in pets until it's too late so if you suspect treat them anyway, right away. Sorry this is so long, but when it happened to me I had no advice to go on. I just want to put this out in case it happens to someone else. Take care.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
Stupid question but what kind of charcoal did you use and where do you get it.

 

[chicklady63]

Activated charcoal is what you want, and it can be purchased at health food stores and some drug stores. If you can find the capsules it's better, but often it can only be found in powdered form. This was the kind I used and we just moistened it in chicken broth and used a dropper to get it down her throat.
Hope you never need it. But in case you do it can be a lifesaver.

 

[cmom]

Decon in a place where the Rats can get to it but the other critters can't.