Rats!

[Blessedmewith4]

So, I suspected we had mice in the coop as I saw droppings and my hens didn't want to sleep in there anymore. I cleaned out the coop and took all chicken food out of the coop. Tonight my girls again didn't want to go in and I brought one in and saw a rat! We have never had this issue. Please tell me there is a safe and quick way to eradicate all rodents! Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Weeg]

DON'T use poison! I can link an article that states all the reasons why not to! I also had to take my dog to stay over night at the vet, because of secondary poisoning.
Secondly, I really like electric traps, but I LOVE the Ratonator live trap! We caught 20+ rats A DAY with that trap! The bummer is then you have to find out what to do with the live trapped rodents, but at least you caught them. Take away all the food, fill in the holes like this article says, take away all access to water, take away all the habitat possible that rodents can hide in. This article will eradicate your rodent issues! It covers all the best ways to get rid of them! Hope this helps! https://backyardchickenproject.com/how-to-get-rid-of-rats-in-the-chicken-coop-the-definitive-guide/

 

[cmom]

I'm not going to tell you what to use. Maybe you can trap them. Put a trap in a cage or pet carrier where the rats can get to it and hopefully you'll catch it. If you see one rat there are probably plenty more. I have tried many different things. I do use poison but I am responsible and don't put it where other critters or anything but the rats can get to it. I use rat bait stations where only the rats can get to the bait. I had a coop that was infested and when I started renovating it dozens of rats of all sizes poured out. They had made nests in the ceiling and walls that I tore out. I did not find any dead rats laying around but did notice tunnels around the coops that I'm pretty sure the rats made and they went into their tunnels and died (didn't have to bury them). I keep the rat bait stations baited and haven't had any signs of rats in a very long time and the baits not touched. The bait box has a little window above the bait so I can check it often. Secondary poisoning is unusual unless the critter actually eats some of the bait and can die from it. A pet can get sick from eating a dead rat but not usually fatal. Good luck...

 

[Pet Educate]

Perhaps the safest and quickest way would be to contact a local pest infestation company. They should be able to give you some direction and advice at the very minimum.

Aside from this ensure you are not leaving any food out to come the end of the day, the feeders are not accessible to rodents or you are inadvertently inviting them to your property.

Humane traps are an option, but as others have said, poison is generally best avoided due to the risks invovled.

 

[Callender Girl]

I had rats last winter that tunneled from one coop run to another. I tried several things and finally landed on an electronic trap that zapped the rats when they entered it.

I didn't have to touch the dead ones, which was much nicer than the giant snap type kill traps. I had also tried those, with limited success.

My attempts at catching mink with humane traps failed, so I skipped that step with the rats.

As far as using strong essential oils to repel the rats, (stuffing soaked rags into their tunnels) I would have been better off dripping peppermint oil into my bath water to help me relax after seeing the vermin.

Since then, I have installed hardware cloth under those two coop areas. I used to feed the ducks in their run, but since they are free during the day, I now have their feed dish about 20 feet away from their home. Also, I have always kept the feed in metal garbage cans.

Good luck in your battle!

 

[RojoMarz]

Assess your food situation also...do the rats have free access to food? I use a Ratproof Feeder during the day and put it away each night.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Do you have cats, a large cat can pull down a rat. I have even heard of a tom cat that would hunt weasels on a regular basis!

 

[aart]

As far as using strong essential oils to repel the rats, (stuffing soaked rags into their tunnels) I would have been better off dripping peppermint oil into my bath water to help me relax after seeing the vermin.

 

[drmolarmagic]

So I have mice and with traps and controlling the food left out I've controlled the mice, (or at least given that appearance ) about 3 months ago I had 1 rat that I saw in the aviary, and I put the enclosed poison baits out but nowhere the dogs can get to them (basically outside my fence in my driveway) and stuffed up any holes I found. I saw the rat a few days later and it was clearly not well, I tried to grab it but it still ran away, haven't seen evidence of a rat since. Putting the food away at night and cleaning up the scraps really helped control the rodents. But when I saw that first rat I flipped and I kept seeing that scene from Disney's Ratatouille when the colony is exposed and there are millions of them hiding in the ceiling. But I haven't seen any since, so maybe it worked.
I think the key to success is control the food supply. That worked for me.

 

[drmolarmagic]

Also in my neighborhood we have lots of feral cats and I often see them hanging out outside my fence and every once in a while I see one with a mouse so that's clearly helping to control the rodents as well