Rats

[Angie Lew]

Hello old friends
I have a rat problem and need any help you can provide. I have read all the comments in the forum regarding this issue. I have tried everthing from baking soda mixed with cake and brownie mix, poison, traps and even hardware cloth. I cannot run the hardware cloth everywhere. They have tunnels 20 feet long under my coop and duck house. I even lock the chickens and ducks up at night and put their food away. Even though the rats are nocturnal, they still seem to somehow get to the food during the day.
My question is, can I put baking soda in the chicken and duck feed? That seems to be the only option I have at this point.
Thank you for your input!

 

[DotToDot]

It sounds like you’ve done well. Peppermint and lavender also repel rodents. How do you know that they’re getting the food during the day? Can you fill in the tunnels, or even flood them do the rats either drown, or the tunnel collapses?

 

[Sussex19]

What kind of traps have you used?
Are you thinking of letting the chickens and ducks eat the food with baking soda in it? I have no idea what it might do to them...so you might want keep it away for your birds.

 

[Acre4Me]

Move your coop if at all possible. If shed can be rolled elsewhere. Line the floor with hardware cloth (1/4”…1/2” might be too big). If possible place the coop on a concrete pad instead.

Make sure coop is not insulated. Make sure it does not have enclosed space in walls. Rodents love both these things.

Store all feed in metal cans or other metal rat proof storage.

Get a rat proof feeder, usually this is a treadle feeder where chicken steps on it, lid lifts, but closes when done. I don’t think it works as well with smaller birds … not experienced here.

Poison. Do some research. There are different kinds of poison that work one way or another. Try one, then another, they often have a preference. Do not let the birds access the poison, use the large rat stations where they can access the poison blocks, but cannot remove the poison. Usually they die in their tunnels. Poison works best when access to feed is removed totally. Then they eat the poison.

Overall, the rats are still there bc they have food and shelter.

Good luck.

 

[Mountain Roost]

Bucket Traps are the best.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Hello old friends
I have a rat problem and need any help you can provide. I have read all the comments in the forum regarding this issue. I have tried everthing from baking soda mixed with cake and brownie mix, poison, traps and even hardware cloth. I cannot run the hardware cloth everywhere. They have tunnels 20 feet long under my coop and duck house. I even lock the chickens and ducks up at night and put their food away. Even though the rats are nocturnal, they still seem to somehow get to the food during the day.
My question is, can I put baking soda in the chicken and duck feed? That seems to be the only option I have at this point.
Thank you for your input!

The vast majority of the "tips" on rodent control are things people have heard but have never tried themselves. The baking soda thing is one of them. Let me address some specific questions or statements in your post then I will add an old post from a guy named Howard E that used to frequent BYC and was the expert on dealing with rodents.

Rats will happily feed during the day so putting the feed away at night might help a bit the rodents just fill up during the day.

Baking soda as a deterrent is an old wives tale. There is one simple and always effective way to deal with rats, and that is to stop feeding them. They are there for the chicken feed and mice and rats will live within a few dozen feet to a few hundred feet from their main food source. And natural food sources can support only a few rodents that must hustle for food and expose themselves to predators which keeps the numbers down. Humans upset that balance with garbage, animal feed, animal waste that can be eaten, and by providing cover or concealment to the rodents that are not found in nature.


Here is Howard E.'s past post:


"To the OP (and others like them), if you will spend the time, everything you need to know about rats and how to get rid ofthem will be found in the linksbelow......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-the-video-series.1337456/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-101.1283827/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-proof-feeder-review.1180514/#post-18610285

This last one is a review of a rat proof chicken feeder built and sold by a BYC member, who is a staunch advocate for the plan of getting rid of rats by starving them out. Remove all sources of feed and they will be forced to move on or starve to death. If you are firmly against the use of poison bait blocks......for whatever reason.......then this is one of the best actions you can take. Bulkfood in metal trash cans.....chicken feed in metal rat proof feeders.Can't get to the feed and birds do not spill and waste feed that therats can survive on."


And the short version of Howard's post? Sanitation, exclusion,elimination.


Sanitation, bulk feed in metal cans or barrels with tight fitting lids, a treadle feeder, clean up the avenues of movement so the rodents have no cover to protect them from their natural predators. In my opinion and experience this is the quickest, surest, andcheapest way to solve a rodent problem.

Exclusion, plugging the holes and building a Fort Knox chicken coop and not leaving an opening for free range. Tough to do and expensive but it could work for rats.


Elimination, poison and traps. Problem is that rats are smart and will quickly learn to avoid both traps and poison bait. Were you to clean them out, the lack of sanitation would mean a new population of rodents would move right in. And there is risk to other animals and the natural predatros and no end to the process, keeping fresh bait out. However, if you have done your sanitation work using poison becomes effective as the rats are starving and will likely try the poison bait. Not needed though, they will leave in a few days as long as you are not feeding the rodents with a compost pile or other animal feed. Not all will leave, your area will have a natural carrying capacity for rodents, natural feed, but that natural ability to sustain rodents is quite small and the natural predators keep them in check and under cover as the rodents hustle to find this natural food.

Do a forum search on "rats chickens" and you will find most of the old wives tales exposed and read of long epic battles against the rodents. Sanitation, exclusion, or elimination all have associated costs but you are already paying for the feed and will recover the initial costs quickly with the first method.


Good luck and remember, it isn't just the stolen feed, disease and predators come with rodents.

 

[Angie Lew]

The vast majority of the "tips" on rodent control are things people have heard but have never tried themselves. The baking soda thing is one of them. Let me address some specific questions or statements in your post then I will add an old post from a guy named Howard E that used to frequent BYC and was the expert on dealing with rodents.

Rats will happily feed during the day so putting the feed away at night might help a bit the rodents just fill up during the day.

Baking soda as a deterrent is an old wives tale. There is one simple and always effective way to deal with rats, and that is to stop feeding them. They are there for the chicken feed and mice and rats will live within a few dozen feet to a few hundred feet from their main food source. And natural food sources can support only a few rodents that must hustle for food and expose themselves to predators which keeps the numbers down. Humans upset that balance with garbage, animal feed, animal waste that can be eaten, and by providing cover or concealment to the rodents that are not found in nature.


Here is Howard E.'s past post:


"To the OP (and others like them), if you will spend the time, everything you need to know about rats and how to get rid ofthem will be found in the linksbelow......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-the-video-series.1337456/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-101.1283827/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-proof-feeder-review.1180514/#post-18610285

This last one is a review of a rat proof chicken feeder built and sold by a BYC member, who is a staunch advocate for the plan of getting rid of rats by starving them out. Remove all sources of feed and they will be forced to move on or starve to death. If you are firmly against the use of poison bait blocks......for whatever reason.......then this is one of the best actions you can take. Bulkfood in metal trash cans.....chicken feed in metal rat proof feeders.Can't get to the feed and birds do not spill and waste feed that therats can survive on."


And the short version of Howard's post? Sanitation, exclusion,elimination.


Sanitation, bulk feed in metal cans or barrels with tight fitting lids, a treadle feeder, clean up the avenues of movement so the rodents have no cover to protect them from their natural predators. In my opinion and experience this is the quickest, surest, andcheapest way to solve a rodent problem.

Exclusion, plugging the holes and building a Fort Knox chicken coop and not leaving an opening for free range. Tough to do and expensive but it could work for rats.


Elimination, poison and traps. Problem is that rats are smart and will quickly learn to avoid both traps and poison bait. Were you to clean them out, the lack of sanitation would mean a new population of rodents would move right in. And there is risk to other animals and the natural predatros and no end to the process, keeping fresh bait out. However, if you have done your sanitation work using poison becomes effective as the rats are starving and will likely try the poison bait. Not needed though, they will leave in a few days as long as you are not feeding the rodents with a compost pile or other animal feed. Not all will leave, your area will have a natural carrying capacity for rodents, natural feed, but that natural ability to sustain rodents is quite small and the natural predators keep them in check and under cover as the rodents hustle to find this natural food.

Do a forum search on "rats chickens" and you will find most of the old wives tales exposed and read of long epic battles against the rodents. Sanitation, exclusion, or elimination all have associated costs but you are already paying for the feed and will recover the initial costs quickly with the first method.


Good luck and remember, it isn't just the stolen feed, disease and predators come with rodents.

Thank you so much for all this information!

 

[NorthFLChickenChick]

Thank you so much for all this information!

Hi there…

Just wanted to share my rat story after losing a 2.5 year battle with rats (We actually relocated to another state, rehoming our chickens with neighbors, but the people who bought our home had 3 cats, so maybe we vengence was ours after all?)

Anyway, I wanted to share everything we tried keep these vile pests (Unsuccessfully) out of our chicken run. We managed to keep them out of the coop that was raised 3 feet off the ground, but they dug under the run because we made the grave error of not using hardware cloth on the floor and around the perimeter. Once they start those tunnels, it’s a losing battle. We even poured concrete (Dropped $2k on the 10x20 Run) any they chewed through while it dried. We bought the two expensive traps shown below, and while we probably killed around 3 dozen rats (Also my hens knocked off a few when they entered the run too early)…they were impossible to exterminate. We refused poison because of our dogs.

Now that we relocated and started a new flock with a brand new coop and run, we ran hardware cloth over the entire area before we started framing our structures, and then MORE hardware cloth stapled to under flooring. In addition to that we changed the roof choice from corrugated concrete w ridges (Where rats squeezed through), sliding barn door, (where they squeezed under), to traditional shingle roof and frame door. It cost a bit more up front but will hopefully avoid further need for modifications in the long run.

https://www.uhlikrepeatertraps.com/product/uhlik-repeater-live-trap/

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...nsect-and-animal-control/animal-traps/7008335

 

[Al Gerhart]

Rats can chew through cured concrete as well. They have to constantly chew to keep their incisors ground down or their teeth will grow too long and become misaligned, preventing them from chewing at all.

And all this money spent on the second step of the three steps of pest control is not wise.

Sanitation alone, clearing the avenues of approach so the rodents are exposed to natural predators, putting the bulk feed in metal containers, and investing in a $65.00 treadle feeder solves the problem for the vast majority of people. There are exceptions, having a hen that rakes feed, having only undersized birds, but are those birds worth thousands of dollars constructing Fort Knox?

I gotta admire though the financial ability to spend this kind of money on a hobby. You guys are doing a lot of something right.

 

[NorthFLChickenChick]

Rats can chew through cured concrete as well. They have to constantly chew to keep their incisors ground down or their teeth will grow too long and become misaligned, preventing them from chewing at all.

And all this money spent on the second step of the three steps of pest control is not wise.

Sanitation alone, clearing the avenues of approach so the rodents are exposed to natural predators, putting the bulk feed in metal containers, and investing in a $65.00 treadle feeder solves the problem for the vast majority of people. There are exceptions, having a hen that rakes feed, having only undersized birds, but are those birds worth thousands of dollars constructing Fort Knox?

I gotta admire though the financial ability to spend this kind of money on a hobby. You guys are doing a lot of something right.

Skipping step one pretty much renders the other steps useless…make the coop/run impenetrable by encasing every possible point of entry with galvanized hardware cloth and treated wood.

We tried starving them out with locked galvanized feeders in my previous coop…I would meticulously rake and scoop all seeds and uneaten treats left out in the run each night, but it didn’t matter…they still squeezed in through dime sized openings looking for crumbs.

We’ve had our new coop/run “fort knox” up and running for a month. I can actually see where something has tried to dig a tunnel under the coop on both sides Already, but we double wrapped the raised platform with 1/4 hardware cloth and built the coop on top of that secured with deck screws. Poor rats