Rats!

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slamotto

Member
May 20, 2011
15
NE Wis
I've got a rat problem. Have several buildings on our farm that are old stone-wall buidings. One we use as our chicken coop, the other has my dad's heifers and steers in it. Both have rats in them. I'm starting to see the rats with more regularity now. I've had traditional traps set out for a couple of months now, but have only caught 1 rat so far.

(as an aside...the Tomcat trap that I caught the rat in worked great. Took the head right off the rat. I was impressed).

Anyway, I'm thinking about putting some poison out, since I'm not getting a lot of action in the traditional traps. My initial concern is keeping the poison away from our farm animals (dogs, cats, and chickens). I think that I can solve this problem by putting the poison in some rat bait stations. However, I'm wondering if I should be concerned about our farm critters eating a poisoned rat? Is this something to be worried about at all?

Any other rat control advice out there? Thanks in advance.
 
Backpack09 said:
You need a few barn cats.

We've got 4 of those. Frankly, with the size of some of the rats I've seen, they'd have to stalk and attack it as a quartet to take it down :)

The cat's control the mice population. I don't blame them for not being able to control the rats.
 
Solved this problem in my barn without poison... I assume you've smelled a dead rat, so you know why that's a motivation.

These devices are surprisingly effective: http://www.ratzapper.com/
Kid-safe, poison free, environmentally friendly... worth the $49.
 
.22 and a nice flash light mounted to it.
 
Normal traps are less effective in areas where they have so much food- they're not drawn to the bait if there's so much around them. I never had rats, but I'd think that any baiting system that you use should be really close to the food source, and have times where there's no food out available if possible.
 
Adios Pantalones said:
Normal traps are less effective in areas where they have so much food- they're not drawn to the bait if there's so much around them. I never had rats, but I'd think that any baiting system that you use should be really close to the food source, and have times where there's no food out available if possible.

Totally right... I had an army of rats in my fruit trees when we lived in FL, and they wouldn't touch the dog kibble I baited the Zapper with. Peanut butter solved that problem, plus getting strategic and setting the device right where they were running anyway.

Jay's method is way more fun. Did you know a .357 magnum will vaporize a squirrel?
 
also try placing the traps along the walls where they run
the food might tempt them if not they will try to step over and SNAP
caught quite a few meece this way
 
I have found that many mice and rats can be eliminated by a simple modification to any "spring type" trap.
You simply make the trigger longer. Even a popcycle stick will work--just attach to existing trigger and extend as far as possible without the "contacting bar" hitting it.
I have killed many varments without even bating--you place the trap against the wall where they run.
It is advised to tie the trap down to prevent the animal from dragging it off, as many times they are not killed.
A better mouse trap??????
 
The point about finding their travel route, going along walls is good. Also- holes that they use a lot through walls etc. I know this from killing mice (I have to eradicate mice once a year in my attic in the fall)
 
bluedogz said:
Adios Pantalones said:
Normal traps are less effective in areas where they have so much food- they're not drawn to the bait if there's so much around them. I never had rats, but I'd think that any baiting system that you use should be really close to the food source, and have times where there's no food out available if possible.

Totally right... I had an army of rats in my fruit trees when we lived in FL, and they wouldn't touch the dog kibble I baited the Zapper with. Peanut butter solved that problem, plus getting strategic and setting the device right where they were running anyway.

Jay's method is way more fun. Did you know a .357 magnum will vaporize a squirrel?

No but its because my aim is dont that good. (Give me a scope or shotgun or both)
 
Don't use poison. The rats crawl off somewhere hidden to die - but the smell stays.

For a long, long time....

Try a sub-sonic .22 (Calibri? sp??). The report is less than some air rifles. And a cheap laser pointer taped to the barrel with that self-bonding, elastic athletic wrap works like a $200 laser targeting system.

Happy hunting....
 
72Rover said:
Don't use poison. The rats crawl off somewhere hidden to die - but the smell stays.

For a long, long time....

Try a sub-sonic .22 (Calibri? sp??). The report is less than some air rifles. And a cheap laser pointer taped to the barrel with that self-bonding, elastic athletic wrap works like a $200 laser targeting system.

Happy hunting....

I use Remington subsonics in my 1022- they are crazy accurate (breaking the sound barrier actually creates more instability in 22's) and they do normally cycle the semi-auto action.

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rayg said:
Jay's method is way more fun. Did you know a .357 magnum will vaporize a squirrel?

ROTFL :)

No better way I can think of to use up a box of +P JHPs.
 
Got it, using a gun is an option. Any other suggestions for rat removal?

pen
 
Hard to beat the snap traps for onesies/twosies, but for multiple vermin I vote for the bucket of death. It thins the herd in a hurry. I know it works on mice and tree rats. Maybe the common Norway rat is a little smarter.

No rat can resist peanut butter. That's another big NO vote for poison.
 
Backpack09 said:
You need a few barn cats.

Cats aren't very good with rats...now, a Jack Russell...they'll take down a rat. They live for small prey hunting.

I also agree on the poison thing, it's really a last resort and probably won't work anyway since they have plenty of other food options. We've got field mice, and I'm thinking I'm going to resort to the bucket method (deep bucket with food and a few inches of water in the bottom, with a way in but no out).
 
+ 1 on the zapper. TSC around here carries on from TomCat. Mean, Mean rat fryin' machine. Be patient, rats are sensitive to new things in their environment. Try to keep it close to where ever you think they're nesting. Rats/mice only travel so far for food. I think it's over 100 feet for rats but mice sometimes only go 30 feet before they turn around.
 
Agreed, use a combo of the TomKat snap trap (wire it down, I've had a trapped rat run off with the trap!), the zapper, the bucket, gun if necessary (lead free bullets). Poison should be the last resort. There are a lot of wild creatures that also live on rats, voles and mice like owls for example. These critters are good to have around.
 
About ten years ago I has a beautiful osprey crash-land in my yard, flop around for a couple hours, and die. Turned out she'd caught herself a poisoned rat.

Never allowed poison anywhere near my property again.
 
My place in the Santa Cruz mountains was crawling with rats.

I layed out poisen. A month later found dead racoons.

Lesson learned.
 
I've got a friend who used poison 3 years ago. He still gets the smell coming from the walls after a good rain.
 
Pair of trained Rat Terriers or Feists. Jack Russels can be rat dogs also. +1 on the Rat Zapper.

Ehouse
 
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