Rats

[REDWOOD]

One of my cats is a mix of Russian blue and a long haired tabby, its the biggest tom I have ever seen and often brings home lots of dead rats, crows and even a few frogs. He almost empty my fish pond once but that is now heavily netted.
He's given up catching and eating bumble bees after been stung to many time.

 

[Millet]

Fenn Trap Mk4's are deadly if set properly, if they are set in any old location you might as well not bother setting them, they also need setting the correct way around or you will catch them by the legs which the quickly chew of to escape, set the trap so it will close parallel to the run or tunnel you set it in, if you do not have the option of runs in the soil, a piece of wood around 3ft long placed again the wall to form a tunnel effect works well, always fire your traps with a stick when you build a tunnel around them to make sure the jaws of the trap are not impeded.
Someone said it is Illegal to use Chinese ones lol if they work use them.

Poison is also a good option if used correct, it must never run out, keep it topped up constantly, personally i will not use the stuff, regarding pets being poisoned, i was talking to a keeper a couple of years back and the stuff they use apparently does not cause secondary poisoning, i do not know the name of the product so do a google search if it is your last resort.

 

[Stiffy]

i was talking to a keeper a couple of years back and the stuff they use apparently does not cause secondary poisoning, i do not know the name of the product so do a google search if it is your last resort.

It's called Eradibait and has to make up the majority of a rats diet to be effective.
S

 

[REDWOOD]

The trouble with a dead poisoned rat is they die in a place you can't access easily and they stink while they rot. Much better to trap them


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[Bryang]

The smell doesn't bother me, I've no sense of smell after a lary and trachi op. But I do miss the smell of fresh manure (horse) in the compost heap.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've no sense of smell after a lary and trachi op.

Heavens I remember that.....
Hope you are feeling on top of it.
Happened to my first husband.......he had a one way valve at the back of his trachea so he could talk with a human voice.

 

[Bryang]

Hi Erica I'm feeling fine and coping well , thank you. So well that the speech therapists who look after me are using me and my experiances as an example of what can be achieved after such drastic surgery. I am currently mentoring a chap who had grave doubts about the after effects of the surgery, so far he's coping very well. I've also got the "voicing" valve , plus a "True tone" synthetic voice. Basically it's a vibrator that I hold against my throat... I find it great to frighten unruly kids from around my allotment and garage, I sound just like a Darlik...

 

[Millet]

Hi Erica I'm feeling fine and coping well , thank you. So well that the speech therapists who look after me are using me and my experiances as an example of what can be achieved after such drastic surgery. I am currently mentoring a chap who had grave doubts about the after effects of the surgery, so far he's coping very well. I've also got the "voicing" valve , plus a "True tone" synthetic voice. Basically it's a vibrator that I hold against my throat... I find it great to frighten unruly kids from around my allotment and garage, I sound just like a Darlik...

I do not know you and have never spoken to you but you sound like a fighter and a true inspiration for others going through the same problems.
My hat truly comes of to you and if you ever have a problem with Rats i will sort them out for you.

 

[Bryang]

Thanks Millet, much appreciated.

 

[Hivemaker.]

The trouble with a dead poisoned rat is they die in a place you can't access easily and they stink while they rot. Much better to trap them

I agree, except I prefer to shoot them rather than trap.

 

[REDWOOD]

I agree, except I prefer to shoot them rather than trap.

Shoot them and their dead in an instant, they don't die in agony unlike trapping and poisons


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[Millet]

Shoot them and their dead in an instant, they don't die in agony unlike trapping and poisons


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Have you shot rats.? .

 

[REDWOOD]

Nope. Mrs redwood won't let me have one but I'm secretly making a Welsh war bow [emoji144]


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[Gilberdyke John]

Have you shot rats.? .

Yes, in my youth, with a .22 underlever. They're not easy to get a clean shot unless they can be encouraged to sit still to feed at a bait point. Even then they are wary and can sense human presence, in which case they're remarkably quick. More often than not a coup de grace with a sharp spade is required.
Poisoning or trapping works most effectively, and doesn't involve wasting time sitting uncomfortably with a gun.

 

[Millet]

Yes, in my youth, with a .22 underlever. They're not easy to get a clean shot unless they can be encouraged to sit still to feed at a bait point. Even then they are wary and can sense human presence, in which case they're remarkably quick. More often than not a coup de grace with a sharp spade is required.
Poisoning or trapping works most effectively, and doesn't involve wasting time sitting uncomfortably with a gun.

You are spot on John, they can be extremely difficult to shoot in good numbers and they are tougher than you think, unless you get a clean head shot they will run on wounded and die slowly, thermal image or night vision scopes are the way forward if you want to go down the shooting route, but a tad expensive.

 

[masterBK]

I was told that unless you kill a high percentage of a local rat population it has little long term effect as all you are doing by killing some of them is reducing the competition for food etc between those that are left which then have bigger and more litters and also more survive out of each litter until the numbers reach former levels and you back where you started.

 

[Itchy]

True MasterBK. It all depends on the situation locally. If the rats in your yard are the only ones locally, then killing ALL of them will solve the problem for a while. If there are chickens or avid bird feeders nearby, then they will be back. Similarly, if you only kill some of the rats, and the food source locally remains, then the population will regenerate.
Get rid of all food sources, water and cover, then there won't be a problem.

 

[Millet]

I was told that unless you kill a high percentage of a local rat population it has little long term effect as all you are doing by killing some of them is reducing the competition for food etc between those that are left which then have bigger and more litters and also more survive out of each litter until the numbers reach former levels and you back where you started.

They can not have more litters than they already do as they are near the maximum production already, that is what they do through evolution , if the food is there they will breed, if the food is not there they will move and breed elsewhere or eat each other and breed till food is found.
You can wipe them out but once you have rats you are nae on certain to get them again, they leave a musky oily residue where ever they go, mainly through holes in walls or fences, the smell lasts for years to a rat and any nomadic rats quickly pick up on that smell.
If you have trouble keep a few fenn mk4's and keep them set change the trap weekly/fortnightly to save the spring.
Once you have them you will always get them unless you move.. lol.

 

[pargyle]

Have you shot rats.? .[/QUOTE

I have and do ... from an upstairs window it's about 40 feet to the bird table and I get them when they can't resist the seed we put out for the birds - being higher than them they don't seem to spook as easily as when you are at ground level and the few seconds they are still when feeding is enough for a shot. I have a Weirhauch HW77 springer with an upgraded (but still legal) spring and piston assembly and a Tasco scope - I use H&N Barracuda extreme which drops them like a stone (they are supposed to be longer range than 40' but the kill at this range is usually pretty near instant, they sometimes twitch for a second or few but I can live with that). The underlever action means you don't have enough time for a second shot but I've only had one that limped off very slowly and the second shot finished it quickly. I don't like killing things but rats are an exception. The ones I get are relatively small - I don't know how my .177 would deal with some of the 18" monsters you seen on you tube hunting vids ...

I'd love an HW100 PCP but at £800 it's out of my budget for killing a few rats. I have been thinking of making one of these as I'm pretty sure there are a few that only come out at night - it's not as pretty as the real thing but at a fraction of the cost worth a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg5-z_RXQp0

There's a few variations on the theme - but mostly use the same bits off Amazon or ebay and the only difference is how you mount in on the scope.

 

[Hivemaker.]

[QUOTE;568798][/QUOTE
I don't know how my .177 would deal with some of the 18" monsters you seen on you tube hunting vids ...

I'd love an HW100 PCP but at £800 it's out of my budget for killing a few rats. I have been thinking of making one of these as I'm pretty sure there are a few that only come out at night - it's not as pretty as the real thing but at a fraction of the cost worth a try.

A decent .177 will kill them no problem, also good for rabbits, pigeon, squirrels, etc, I have one, an old springer in 177 and they do give a much flatter trajectory (believe it is what Millet also prefers) but I still prefer a .22 and have a collection of those, the oldest being a 1913 Lincoln Jeffries underlever, which still gets used, but now mainly use an AAS400 pcp and for night vision have one of those ready made video camera offerings, pretty much as described in the you tube video, but found I don't like it at all, too many bits getting in the way, so now have one of the cheaper models of night vision scopes coupled with an extra nightmaster ir light, where I can look directly down the scope.


... would of liked an Archer like one of my sons uses on his .243 but could never really justify the thousands those cost.