The Old Folks Home

[pennyJo1960]

guess I rely on our cats but we never had sign of rats or bigger rodents

 

[ronott1]

When I was having rat problems, (they were building across the street, so it stirred up the rat population) I put out a good bit of one bite where the chickens couldn't get to it, and within 2 days it cured the rat problem.

I used just one bite too!

I is restricted for sale in California now though....

 

[pennyJo1960]

Quote: really some whiner must have said it killed their cat or dog that shouldn't have
been on your property anyways

 

[ronott1]

really some whiner must have said it killed their cat or dog that shouldn't have
been on your property anyways

I think it had to do with pot cultivation. The farmers, hiding out on public land in the forest, poison rats because they hurt the plants. Sadly, they are not careful and wildlife is killed.

 

[pennyJo1960]

now with so many states legalizing pot they do not have to hide out now

 

[Beer can]

Those bucket traps work great for mice. I keep one in our cellar and one in the garage. Add some antifreeze to the one in the garage so it doesn't freeze. Could use winter windshield wash if concerned about pets drinking antifreeze.
Guy at work who has a big beef farm said he brooded a bunch of chicks in a big livestock tub. After the chicks were out weeks later he had a dozen rats in the tub. Said they got real feisty aggressive towards the end, trying to jump and climb up the shovel he was chopping them up with :-D

 

[chickisoup]

You have a great momma hen for keeping her chicks safe Microchick.

You have a VERY good momma hen

As soon as I get cleared from lung Dr, I get to have a lump removed from my breast, which will be biopsies. PET scan says it's turned cancerous. Dr says there is a possibility of a false positive. Won't know for sure until after the surgery, and can't get the surgery until the lungs are healed.

Prayers of course

I haven't seen any rats, but am fighting the field mice and moles. If I open a nest box after dark, it seems there is always one of those beady-eyed little monsters in there! And I'll admit, I'm scared of them. They give me the willies. But I did beat one to death the other day... serves him right for running out into the open where I could see him.

Hubby had made this trap, and I thought it looked great, but so far, none are taking the bait. (well, I didn't check it this morning). I believe I need to try some better enticements. I have peanut butter in there, and added some scratch grains yesterday. The chickens can't get into these, so I put one in the run that I've seen the most mice in.



A regular large snap trap will fit in here, but I figured that's only good for one mouse. The glue tray "could" catch several.

These do work well. Actually putting one out tonight to catch a weasel (with appropriate trap inside of course). One suggestion. I use hardware cloth for the back wall. That allows the bait scent to travel further and being able to see it makes them more determined to get to it.

Great idea!
Rats are big in size compared to a cat. Terrier dogs are called rat terriers for a reason! I have seen videos of them digging out rat nests with a very single minded vengeance.

I tried this with rats. Our rats were too big to get stuck in a five gallon bucket. I would need a fifty gallon drum for them!

I tried this one, and it may work for mice, but didn't work for rats.

Ditto. Bucket traps are great for the little critters. The above weasel trap or the buried glass jug traps work better for rats.

 

[bruceha2000]

True, but, if she wasn't good natured about it, she could have sued, and probably won, he's been saved from being put down for biting once, probably wouldn't be lucky again if animal control got involved. Also, my dad is watching him for a few days near Christmas (planned and room booked before this problem), if he just goes after his feet, he'll be ok, dad'll just boot him back in his cage, but if he actually draws blood, I would be surprised if the little rat survived...

I work with enough people to know that most people don't have common sense, and even if Buzz was semi justified, he is endangering himself with his actions. He was an emotional wreck when I got him, I couldn't touch him for the first week I had him without him snarling at me... now I can rough house with him and toss and smack him around when we're playing and he's fine with it... I thought he was pretty much "fixed"

I would suggest that roughhousing and smacking a dog like that is the exact opposite of what you should be doing. You are showing aggression to the dog, who is lower than you in the hierarchy. Why wouldn't he do the same thing if he feels he is higher than someone else??

 

[chickadoodles]

The bucket traps work okay but only for small rats and mice.

Beware... others like the trap, too.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Quote: actually @bruceha2000 once one trusts roughhousing is aloud and I am sure the "smacking around"
is not malicious in nature.. it is vernacular or slang depending on where you are raised