Squirrel or Rat?

[wvchics]

It takes a while to get them..they are smart...my traps were out there for a week or two with no action..then i put the trail of chicken feed to it and WHAM!! it even says for stubborn/smart rats to put traps out wiht bait and not set them...they get used to getting food off them without harm and then one night set them... another WHAM!! GOOD LUCK TO YOU! its a great feelilng to know you have them gone, or at least somewhere else...lol!!

Yes rats are very smart. I have used the tactic of letting them get bait off an unset trap then setting it. It does work. I read that rats will actually send in a lower rat to actually test food sources that way it dies and the rest of the colony lives. You also should clean the traps after a kill so they don't smell death on it. I do both these things. I also prefer peanut butter as they love it and it sticks very well to the trap. We get river rats where I live. One time my cat kept trying like hell to get this one. I got woke up by it regularly and I would watch her try. The one night I thought for sure she had it twice and it got away. I set the traps and late at night we heard it go off. The rat was bigger than my cat and it's tale probably as long as my arm. It was insane. Would a jack Russell still catch that? I had bigger dogs before and they would fight them usually just scaring them off.

 

[Bunnylady]

i have a hubby that would love to shoot the rats, but how do you do that when they only come out at night?

With an air rifle and a night scope, of course!

I know I have lost a few eggs to this rascal, but just imagine how many rats it has taken out over the years . . . I call it "the Rat Patrol."

 

[wvchics]

We use a .22. If you are able to lift part of the coop they are under they will all run trying to escape. We dropped an old building when we first moved in you should have seen them all run. Everyone started shooting at them. I guess it was kinda like a game. If you're going to do this I hope you're a good shot. I watched one rat jump about 3 feet in the air dodging bullets. It wasn't even that big lol. I don't think I can shoot that well. Maybe if they just sat there lol. It still looked like loads of fun though.

 

[Bunnylady]

We get river rats where I live. One time my cat kept trying like hell to get this one. I got woke up by it regularly and I would watch her try. The one night I thought for sure she had it twice and it got away. I set the traps and late at night we heard it go off. The rat was bigger than my cat and it's tale probably as long as my arm. It was insane. Would a jack Russell still catch that? I had bigger dogs before and they would fight them usually just scaring them off.

Countless generations of selective breeding have given a lot of the terriers an absolutely insane prey drive. They will kill until they are exhausted, especially if they have other dogs to egg them on (you may have to work pretty hard to convince them that chickens aren't prey, though).

And for anyone who thinks that rodents are only a "country" problem . . . .

 

[lazy gardener]

Awesome video. Thanks.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Countless generations of selective breeding have given a lot of the terriers an absolutely insane prey drive. The will kill until they are exhausted, particularly if they have other dogs to egg them on (you may have to work pretty hard to convince them that chickens aren't prey, though).

And for anyone who thinks that rodents are only a "country" problem . . . .

 

[bobbi-j]

I have an aversion to terrier type dogs. Bad experience as a kid. The dog I have now will kill anything he sees as a trespassing animal. So far he's killed several raccoons, squirrels, rabbits and a stray tom cat that I know of. Oh, and he's a mouser. Given the opportunity, I'm sure he'd kill a rat if he found one.

 

[Eilsel]

Countless generations of selective breeding have given a lot of the terriers an absolutely insane prey drive. They will kill until they are exhausted, especially if they have other dogs to egg them on (you may have to work pretty hard to convince them that chickens aren't prey, though).

And for anyone who thinks that rodents are only a "country" problem . . . .

Jack Russels are just so freaking good at their jobs! What a great video! We had several when I was younger and my next dog will very likely be a Jack Russel. Way better mousers than any barn cat.

 

[SnowyChickenMomma]

I'm researching guns now. I will gladly stake out and shoot these ****ers at night provided I have enough alcohol lol.

Just wish it wasn't so expensive to buy things to kill rats. Guns.. Ammo.. Dogs.. Dog registration fees...

 

[Howard E]

Then there are minks and weasels........one of natures most lethal rodent killers.....

But as much fun as shooting them, trapping them....or hunting them with snakes, dogs, minks, etc. might be......in the end, all of these methods are ineffective as far as getting rid of a large infestation goes. All of these methods combined will barely put a dent in the population. Again......great fun for some.......and feel free to join in if you want......but don't expect any of these to matter much.

When all else fails, if you really want them gone, it always falls back on a few simple steps......

1. Remove all food sources and debris that feeds them and provides shelter.

2. Rat proof the structure.

and if those two don't thin the herd to the extent you want to see......

3. Rat poison served up from safe and secure bait stations.