Trying to Figure Out What Critters Lurk Beneath Coop

[Big Bubba]

OK, I've had rats in the past, but taking better care of the feed has made them all disappear. They did, however, leave quite a bit of tunnels. I filled in the holes but the tunnels, I'm sure, survived.

A couple of months I discovered a couple of holes. Pretty small actually. Way too small to be rats. My assumption was mice had moved in. However, a month of trying to catch mice resulted in one mouse and few tripped traps that came up empty. Unlike rats, mice have always been very easy to catch. So I'm guessing is it isn't mice.

Than last week I found a dead mole rat (that's what we call them here, but I think most people just call them moles.) They are a little smaller than mice. If it is mole rats it is of no concern to me because I think they are rather harmless. I still have my doubts though because it seems weird they'd build their holes right on the edge of the coop.

Well, last night I finally got a glimpse of one of the critters. It was smaller than a mouse and, maybe it was just the use of the flashlight, it looked very white. So, now I'm not sure of anything.

Here are pics of the holes:



Very small hole you can see. If I cover it up it usually takes less than 30 minutes before it's open again. I tried using Motion Detection Pro app on my phone to get a glimpse of it but it doesn't do well in darkness. So I keep tip toeing out there to catch a view (this, by the way, is the least effective way of catching a critter in action.)

Hopefully I'll get this figured out soon.

 

[BroodyMama2]

Hey there. Just a shot in the dark, but it could be a vole. They look like mice but their eyes are bigger, they are more round & have a shorter tail. They can sometimes look white in the glow of a flashlight because their fur has a sheen to it.
They're about the same size as mice and often a little bigger. You may have just seen a young one.

They can do a lot of damage to your gardens etc, and I'm sure they'll eat any food the girls spill on the ground, but I don't think they'd hurt the chickens. I don't know if they carry any diseases that would hurt them though.

 

[Big Bubba]

I just read up on them and it is a distinct possibility. Apparently a snap trap baited with a Grannie apple will be a good way to catch them. So, I'm set up. I'll see if that does the trick.

Thanks for the idea.

 

[BroodyMama2]

Good luck! Let me know what happens!

 

[Big Bubba]

I put out some Grannie apples and set a trap using an apple bit. Within an hour all the apples were gone, including the apple in the trap. And the trap wasn't triggered. How a frickin rodent can steal an apple bit with triggering the trap is beyond me. I'd swear the rodents in this area are some of the best educated critters you'll ever see.

Tonight I repeated the whole process and 2 hours later nothing has happened.

If I don't catch something tonight I'll see if my wifi camera can work out there. It's a good camera but sometimes the network doesn't quite reach that distance.

 

[123RedBeard]

Here are a couple of Victor traps, they have a small cup the bait (dog food) sits in, and a big paddle they have to reach over ... Front one is "set" ...



Victor also makes this one that requires them to lift up the little "roof" to get the bait ...



Results!



I got both of mine from Ace Hardware ...