Rats!!!

[bryan99705]

Quote:
Hey I see you on here a lot with great ideas on how to get rid of things, thanks for all the wisdom btw. Any cool ideas on how to get rid of moles or other ground tunneling type things?

I don't know about wisdom, just a farm kid trying to help. As to moles, your on your own

I'm starting to hear nasty things about the dog digging for shrews in the wife's flower beds.

 

[sadies chicks]

We use the old-fashioned snap traps and have caught 9 rats to date (started about a month ago). For me it is the most humane way to do it, I don't want poison around the animals and so far the traps have killed the rats immediately (at least I am telling myself that). I hate to kill them, but it is the only logical thing to do to keep them away from the chicks and the house. The rat traps vs the mouse traps are so much stronger, so they work very effectively.

 

[Sandy16]

We have a huge rat problem too. They leave the chickens and their eggs alone, but we don't want them around (of course). We have 2 layers of wire around the sides and top of the run, we have trenched around the bottom of the run, added several inches of hardware cloth and filled it in with concrete.

But dang it, those crafty buggers just tunnel into the middle of the run!

I read somewhere that peppermint oil and predator urine might run them off because of the smell. I'm sure that is wishful thinking....anyone here try that? Also, what about those electronic devices that emit a high pitched sound to scare off rodents?

I hate the thought of snap traps, drowning or poison, but it may have come down to that....

elsfieldchickens, I hope someone will give you great advice so that we can use it too!

 

[Katydid2011]

I came back to say, when we noticed we had a rat problem underneath our smaller chicken coop we put snap traps next to their tunnel openings with heavy crates on top of them to protect the chickens, and we caught two full size rats the first day, then about ten smaller ones over the following two days (checking the traps frequently throughout the day, of course). Haven't seen a sign of a rat since. The snap traps were very effective. A bit gruesome at times but effective.

 

[Katydid2011]

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The electronic devices don't work AT ALL in my experience - a total waste of money. I'm thinking you're probably going to have to snap trap them. There's too much risk with poison - to your own animals and the eco-system; it's also not a very nice way to die. If you want to be humane, I think snap trapping is probably the best.

Okay, I'm going to quit talking about killing rats. I'm starting to feel queasy-ish.

 

[Sandy16]

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I'm afraid that we will have to do this too. We really won't use poison because of our dogs and cats, our neighbor's cats, and of course, our hens! Sigh....I just hate the thought of killing anything.

 

[SilkieTime]

I second on the electronic device is does not work at all.

 

[kemclaughlin]

Quote:
It's not just the tail, rats can be aggressive. They aren't fearful.

I would not bother with humane traps. What are you going to do with them afterward? They are very intelligent though, so tricking them is not very likely to work. Snap traps usually kill the quickly and you can just dispose of them.

 

[purpletree23]

Buy more traps!

Rats are hideous creatures. They carry fleas, mites. lice, bacteria, worms, typhus and meningitis.

They've been know to bite people and the rats carried the flea that carried the disease Black Death. It killed over 100 million people all over the world in the 1300's.

 

[bobbi-j]

I know that you're opposed to poison, but if there is a large number of them, I'd want to get rid of them as quickly as possible before they breed and multiply. I just found this:

Rats have very high reproductive rates. A pair of rats and their offspring could produce 1,500 more rats in only one year if they all survived. Rats breed at 3 to 5 months of age, carry their young for 21 to 33 days and have 6 to 12 young per litter, and 4 to 7 litters per year. The actual figures within these ranges depend on the availability of food, the density of rats in an area and the age of the female rat.

Although one female rat may produce up to 84 young in a year, on the average about 20 young per female per year survive to maturity. Female rats can breed again 1 to 2 days after giving birth. Breeding occurs all year; however, in most populations breeding peaks in the spring and fall. Generally, rat populations are lowest in the winter and, on the whole, control will be most effective at this time.

This is where I found it:http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG369/notes/commensal_rodents.html

Take is as you will, but I know what I'd do...