would cayanne pepper repel a rat ?

[bokboklady]

i have been spotting a rat in the coop stealing the pellets, i wondered if they would be repelled by the hotness of the pepper, i give it to my birds every so often in their treats like scrambled eggs, sweetcorn etc, so perhaps if i sprinkled it on the pellets it might taste horrible to any ' food thieves ', the birds dont seem to be bothered by this intrusion, but it bothers me, i want rid of this pest.

 

[carrlr]

I would surely give it a try. I've used crushed red pepper in my wild bird seed to keep the squirrels at bay. Good luck.

 

[knjinnm]

How is the rat getting in the coop? Seal all possible entries ASAP.

Put a rat trap in something chickens can't get in to trap the rat. If you see one rat that usually means there are a lot more.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

the pepper will deter them from the food, not the coop.

 

[bokboklady]

Quote:
we built our coop out of an old victorian pig pen, unbeknown to us at the time there is a drainage system running right underneath it which makes it more or less hollow under neath, so the rat(s) find holes in the weakened concrete and keep getting in, no matter how many holes we fill in they always manage to make another one, its an on going battle, plus we live next to a corn field and when the corn is cut in the fall the critters head for somewhere else that is warm and dry, what do we do ?, i have laid traps and poison where the hens cant get, but the rats seem to be amune to it.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:

How large is the drainage system under the coop? Is it a round pipe of sorts? If so can you pack it with dirt or gravel? Can you move the pig pen?
If you are putting poison out and still seeing rats that would indicate you have a very large population of rats. Are there snakes in your area such as gopher or bull snakes, if so catch a couple and put them in the drainage system

it will take time but snakes will clean them out.
OH I see you are in the UK, probably no snakes. BTW, where in the UK?

Joe

 

[bokboklady]

Quote:

How large is the drainage system under the coop? Is it a round pipe of sorts? If so can you pack it with dirt or gravel? Can you move the pig pen?
If you are putting poison out and still seeing rats that would indicate you have a very large population of rats. Are there snakes in your area such as gopher or bull snakes, if so catch a couple and put them in the drainage system

it will take time but snakes will clean them out.
OH I see you are in the UK, probably no snakes. BTW, where in the UK?

Joe

hi there, i live in kent in the uk, i dont know how large the drainage system is under the coop, i just presume its quite large as there is an outlet pipe above ground to allow overflow from cleaning out the (then) pig styes, the said rat is very clever and braison, it even goes to the food in broad daylight, even if i did block more holes he would just walk into the open door, the hens dont bother it at all !!, much to my annoyance, anyway have been out today and bought some strong rat killer, so heres hoping !

 

[snowcone]

Quote:
we built our coop out of an old victorian pig pen, unbeknown to us at the time there is a drainage system running right underneath it which makes it more or less hollow under neath, so the rat(s) find holes in the weakened concrete and keep getting in, no matter how many holes we fill in they always manage to make another one, its an on going battle, plus we live next to a corn field and when the corn is cut in the fall the critters head for somewhere else that is warm and dry, what do we do ?, i have laid traps and poison where the hens cant get, but the rats seem to be amune to it.

Get some dura bond. You can find it at any hardware or home improvement store. It is a power that is mixed with water to patch drywall. It will dry hard and fairly quick. Mix that with a little water, leave it kinda stiff, and break some glass up and add to it then put it down the hole. The rats will scratch at that and cut themselves then bleed to death. I have heard that their blood does not clot up. Of course you should add concrete on top so the chickens can't get to it. Good luck

 

[digitS']

Since pepper spray is now used by the police it must have become necessary to determine a "lethal" dose of capsicum.

Mice or rats (can't remember which) were tested and killed with capsicum.

Hot pepper is used by zoos in bird feed so as not to feed vermin. Birds lack the necessary components of the nervous system to react to the pain of capsicum. Anyway, that is my understanding.

It may take a good amount to stop the rats from finding food in a coop, however.

Steve

 

[knjinnm]

Try this recipe:


Piri Piri

By Jeff Smith, “The Frugal Gourmet on our Immigrant Ancestors”

2/3 cup hot red peppers (tiny Thai

peppers work well)
½ cup whiskey
1 cup olive oil

Instead of olive oil use regular vegetable oil since it is going to be used on chicken food.

I made this several years ago with home grown hot red peppers, it was fiery!!

I use Piri Piri to toast croutons, the croutons were fiery

Soo give it a try on your rats.

Joe