Rats!

[shelleyd2008]

Any farm store, grocery, hardware, just about any place should carry it.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Arg! Another huge tunnel into that pen this morning. Threw another bait bar down it and then filled it in. i think i'm using napalm next.

 

[myfester]

This year, I've been having a terrible time with rats too. We have a chicken tractor, and unfortunately, it's too heavy for me to move myself, and my husband works late hours, so it doesn't get moved around as much as it should. The girls are free range anyway, so there's no big reason to move it...except for the rats forming tunnels under it. My ground all around the coop area is so soft because of the tunnels, that I actually fall into them. When we move the coop, sooooo many rats come running out. I've been taking the food in at night hoping they'll leave...but no such luck. We've tried so many bait traps...NONE have been touched no matter what we put on it. I've been so afraid to use poison, just in case a rat moves the food outside the tunnel, or dies outside the tunnel and one of my animals decides to eat it or something

. I will look for that Bromethelin someone mentioned

. I've almost thought of resorting to buying SNAKES...LOL. I'm getting THAT desperate!

 

[gsim]

I think that because you are in Calif you likely have sandy soil that makes for easy digging. You might try poisoning them with the exhaust of a lawnmower or car.

Another thing that might work is to buy canned corn and soak it in antifreeze and dump large quantities of it in the holes.

Another thing would be to use starter fluid and a long stick with a lighter on the end of it to blow them out of there.

If I see a piece on the nightly news about a chicken coop being blown into orbit, I will know who did it!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Hey, great ideas!

Although i was hoping to get rid of the rats and keep my coop and chickens.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Hey, but you made me think . . . i wonder if i could stick a hose down one of their tunnels and water blast them out? i would have to be prepared to seal up all the entry areas immediately after that. But it might get them out of there.

 

[gsim]

Better yet if you can get enough water into the hole to drown them. Sandy soil will take a lot of water to get where it can drown them. Be prepared to leave the water on a good while, maybe even several hours if needed. Do not leave any escape holes either. When you pull the hose out, get a chair and a shotgun and stay awhile. You might get some target practice.

 

[myfester]

I don't think the water thing will work. I say this only because we have had a VERY wet fall where, numerous times..for several days, the rat holes were filled to the top with rainwater. I thought "GREAT" each time. But I think they have a VERY extensive system of tunnels created and that they are comes out or living elsewhere in the system until the water absorbs. I put out rat poison last night...the Bromethalin stuff and now we have almost 2 feet of snow..so hopefully they will only have that to eat and DIE!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (Sorry, I lost it there for a moment.)

 

[onthespot]

another thing that helps with the water down the hole method is to have someone with a proven ratting jack russel terrier at the other exit hole, so when the waterlogged rat makes its way to the surface, he is met by the jaws of death.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Quote:

I swear to god, I get the best laughs on BYC!!! I can't breathe, I can't breathe!