Butyric rodents

[Rory Fields]

Not the title of my new band; just wondered, having used butyric acid on teatowels spread over super frames fir clearing, does anyone know if the resultant repellent smell is any good at keeping mice/rats out of my beekeeping shed? Buggers are eating the bait inside and out and STILL nibbling on some poly and woodenware, and I've got no food or wax in there, not sure why they're so determined. The official catcher just eats and sleeps all day and somehow they elude traditional traps, but they're scoffing the bait in 2 boxes inside and 3 outside, all gone within a week. There HAS to be some techy/smelly solution that actually works!?

 

[pargyle]

This is the best chemical solution ...with a bit of peanut butter and/or chocolate.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/pest-stop-sure-set-plastic-rat-trap/468XT?tc=ST5

 

[Rory Fields]

I've got traps just like that- no joy :-/

 

[Newbeeneil]

I've got traps just like that- no joy :-/

Same here, I bought 5 and never got a sniff!

 

[Vanterrier]

I was told to put broken glass in their holes... but the buggers kept twitching about so it was nigh on impossible
K

 

[Amari]

This is the best chemical solution ...with a bit of peanut butter and/or chocolate.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/pest-stop-sure-set-plastic-rat-trap/468XT?tc=ST5

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Not the title of my new band; just wondered, having used butyric acid on teatowels spread over super frames fir clearing, does anyone know if the resultant repellent smell is any good at keeping mice/rats out of my beekeeping shed? Buggers are eating the bait inside and out and STILL nibbling on some poly and woodenware, and I've got no food or wax in there, not sure why they're so determined. The official catcher just eats and sleeps all day and somehow they elude traditional traps, but they're scoffing the bait in 2 boxes inside and 3 outside, all gone within a week. There HAS to be some techy/smelly solution that actually works!?

Get a few mechanical traps and bait them with chocolate softened then squashed tightly into the bait well/cup. Rodents tend to approach traps best when they're in a sheltered spot that doesn't require trekking across open spaces where predators might notice them
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374377660389?_nkw=mouse+trap&itmmeta=01J79J2T2JV7X9JDQM5B27RB4P&hash=item572aa5bfe5:g:tPQAAOSws3hjhLcg&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKkMdppeHv9Lm/LgZsHDowPB+EigFHCCpTIXTAidMbJ259BywAjz7DBQt0B6GMV/fU54y2rUH9IivWp7cCCsKALmJ6Ctn+7Y5lDIx9UWNlZ1L8Hts7QEKQeEVuR0M1pbU5dV/xnQ5cweaMd5jeuN+61oN48YXKKd8lYJRUnyWXZU2bRLeAB7T2hxJpygsCEq3ToMH1b+6vaJyc97pRvjyjK5GG9GsG8GllqFEMShmI1I1n0mzq1K05d+FbgOIqukO38gyo+i9a3d7gTCRNl0f+6WsAC+G/0D2ZGOeJOVZa+mXA==|tkp:Bk9SR7Chi7K6ZA

 

[Rory Fields]

Get a few mechanical traps and bait them with chocolate softened then squashed tightly into the bait well/cup. Rodents tend to approach traps best when they're in a sheltered spot that doesn't require trekking across open spaces where predators might notice them
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374377660389?_nkw=mouse+trap&itmmeta=01J79J2T2JV7X9JDQM5B27RB4P&hash=item572aa5bfe5:g:tPQAAOSws3hjhLcg&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKkMdppeHv9Lm/LgZsHDowPB+EigFHCCpTIXTAidMbJ259BywAjz7DBQt0B6GMV/fU54y2rUH9IivWp7cCCsKALmJ6Ctn+7Y5lDIx9UWNlZ1L8Hts7QEKQeEVuR0M1pbU5dV/xnQ5cweaMd5jeuN+61oN48YXKKd8lYJRUnyWXZU2bRLeAB7T2hxJpygsCEq3ToMH1b+6vaJyc97pRvjyjK5GG9GsG8GllqFEMShmI1I1n0mzq1K05d+FbgOIqukO38gyo+i9a3d7gTCRNl0f+6WsAC+G/0D2ZGOeJOVZa+mXA==|tkp:Bk9SR7Chi7K6ZA

I thought they were tbh, in the corners of my shed in the shadows and in horizontal drainpipes down the outside and covered by borage. Still miffed the buggers chewed up my queen marking sleeve and the piss is vile (though not Weil's) in being almost greasy and requiring everything needing washed, again. I did half-jokingly suggest locking the cat in the shed overnight for a couple of nights but was dismissed immediately. They're bold these mice and rats - one came upto me a few weeks ago, stood on its hind legs near by my welly and just looked at me for a few minutes. A privilege in most other contexts but not in my bee shed

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

I thought they were tbh, in the corners of my shed in the shadows and in horizontal drainpipes down the outside and covered by borage. Still miffed the buggers chewed up my queen marking sleeve and the piss is vile (though not Weil's) in being almost greasy and requiring everything needing washed, again. I did half-jokingly suggest locking the cat in the shed overnight for a couple of nights but was dismissed immediately. They're bold these mice and rats - one came upto me a few weeks ago, stood on its hind legs near by my welly and just looked at me for a few minutes. A privilege in most other contexts but not in my bee shed

We never had trouble with rats until the landlord rented out the shed adjacent to ours for horses.
Last winter we went through 10 kg of bait & that's with the supers stored elsewhere.
I got a mate who is a pest controller to have a look and he sprayed the foam bait around the main shed & I didn't see another rat or mouse again until last Thursday.

The horses have just recently moved to another yard so hopefully it won't be too bad this winter.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

We never had trouble with rats until the landlord rented out the shed adjacent to ours for horses.
Last winter we went through 10 kg of bait & that's with the supers stored elsewhere.
I got a mate who is a pest controller to have a look and he sprayed the foam bait around the main shed & I didn't see another rat or mouse again until last Thursday.

The horses have just recently moved to another yard so hopefully it won't be too bad this winter.

We've got horses and chickens. Both in ex commercial pìg sheds. Autumn usually sees an invasion of rodents and a few weeks of rat bait replenishment in stations. Mouse traps +lidl cheap chocolate for the meeces. It's unrealistic to keep chicken food inaccessible to rodents but the rodents go for easy access bait then die. Horse food is stored in metal bins or failed freezers. We also employ steddle stone principles, ie tables with overhang, so inaccessible to climbing explorers.
Just as a proud grandad - here's a few results of my granddaughters horse outings.

 

[mbc]

Yeah they eat the bait you can get over the counter for fun, its definitely worth the £50 the rat catcher charges to put the strong stuff down, they're so clever there's only so many you'll get in traps before the other buggers learn. I still set them to catch new arrivals once the rat mans been, the solid bit of liquorice from liquorice allsorts is my favourite bait, they smell it from some distance.
Some seasons its a toss up which are the most damaging pests, rats and mice take it in turns with wasps, wax moths and varroa to do the most damage.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yeah they eat the bait you can get over the counter for fun, its definitely worth the £50 the rat catcher charges to put the strong stuff down

just spend a hundred quid and do a rodenticide course - then you can buy the high octane stuff yourself.

 

[mbc]

just spend a hundred quid and do a rodenticide course - then you can buy the high octane stuff

Good idea

 

[Antipodes]

Not the title of my new band; just wondered, having used butyric acid on teatowels spread over super frames fir clearing, does anyone know if the resultant repellent smell is any good at keeping mice/rats out of my beekeeping shed? Buggers are eating the bait inside and out and STILL nibbling on some poly and woodenware, and I've got no food or wax in there, not sure why they're so determined. The official catcher just eats and sleeps all day and somehow they elude traditional traps, but they're scoffing the bait in 2 boxes inside and 3 outside, all gone within a week. There HAS to be some techy/smelly solution that actually works!?

That's not a rodent issue ....
Check this out from the 1 minute mark

 

[sipa]

Air rifle with a night sight.
Or...
https://goodnaturetraps.co.uk/humane-rat-traps/
Those humane killers are brilliant, expensive but they just work.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

just spend a hundred quid and do a rodenticide course - then you can buy the high octane stuff yourself.

It's available if you have the right contacts.

 

[madasafish]

Nutella is irresistible to rats and mice,

 

[Moobee]

Yeah they eat the bait you can get over the counter for fun, its definitely worth the £50 the rat catcher charges to put the strong stuff down, they're so clever there's only so many you'll get in traps before the other buggers learn. I still set them to catch new arrivals once the rat mans been, the solid bit of liquorice from liquorice allsorts is my favourite bait, they smell it from some distance.
Some seasons it’s a toss up which are the most damaging pests, rats and mice take it in turns with wasps, wax moths and varroa to do the most damage.

We made friends with our local Rentakill guy and he drops off several trays of the high strength stuff for £15…..