Rats !!

[grizzly]

Saw a rat today around my hives and stored equipment, the very thought of these things climbing all over my gear makes me cringe.

Does anyone put down any traps/bait boxes, could you recommend any good ones ?

 

[Poly Hive]

Buy and set up a rat trap, preferably two.

Make a run, an "L" shaped tunnel to lean against a wall, with a brick on top to stop pets getting at the traps. Bait with smoked sausage and deal with corpses with rubber gloves.

PH

 

[Frisbee]

The other alternative is to poison. Use a length of pipe and put the poison partway down it (rats love a pipe) I use Neosorexin Gold. I have poultry so rats are inevitable. Modern poisons are species specific but it's best to keep them away from something that may try to eat it so the pipe works well. Mostly the die in their holes and you just realise they are gone because you don't see them anymore.

Frisbee

 

[grizzly]

my equipment and hives are on pallet bases, i think they may travel around under the pallet gap, as its quite dark under there that may be a good spot for a couple of bait boxes (with poison)

smoked sausage is an interesting bait, i was told they also love peanut butter ?

 

[VEG]

They love snickers (marathon in the old days)

I have just bought one of these they work well

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RAT-CAGE-TRAP-TrapMan-MULTI-CATCH-HUMANE-RAT-TRAP-BNIB_W0QQitemZ250332190826QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET?hash=item250332190826&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

 

[hedgerow pete]

rats love over cooked till its dry sausage , peanut butter more than your kids do, mars , snickkers any thing sweet the just love as for poisons well what do you want to spend, two crush paracitomol will kill stone dead any fox or animal that size so it will give a rat liver failure in less than a day or two max, either sprinkel ontop of muesli not whole grains or mix with peanut butter or in with tuna in a tin with the lid off, just what ever you put it in nail or peg to floor or they will take the lot in one go home,

if you need more rat advice let us know i have bean killing things for years

 

[Polyanwood]

Pete,
great advice. Cheap and effective and no nasty residues.

 

[Frisbee]

Yes peanut butter works well as a bait for a trap, but if you are using bait boxes you will put poison in them wont you? The poisons are designed to be highly palatable to rodents so no need for anything else.

Frisbee

 

[grizzly]

thanks for all the advice, theres enough there to get going with. will put some bits down this weekend.

Yes Frisbee, i found the Neosorexin Gold and will use this in any pipe or bait box, i thought i would put down a variety of weapons and let battle commence.

 

[BKF Admin]

It can become very addictive,man versus rodent.

 

[Polyanwood]

Unless of course they are giunea pigs.... feel the love.

 

[FenBee]

I am sure many of you already know, but one point that should be made is to be very careful when handling rats, always wear gloves as they carry Weil's Disease (Leptospirosis). Also, consider eye protection too. See ...

http://www.leptospirosis.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weil%27s_disease

 

[hedgerow pete]

if you dont know weils, starts off as a heavy flu most doctors or quacks as i prefere vermin to be called dont know what weils disease is or its treatment so always remind them that as a paitent you know more about you than they do, i use disposable gloves and throw rat and gloces into the garden fire but dont leave it out for the fox unless you want a dead fox, my last suggestion it try several baits and find they one they take and then start to poison it. be carfull the hunt to eradicat rats is all consuming i spend hours making rat traps and improve them ,great fun

 

[Haughton Honey]

I am unfortunate enough to have had Leptospirosis three years ago (the cattle variant, otherwise known as 'Dairyman's disease'......even though I keep beef cattle!).

All I can say is that you really wouldn't want it - it took five attempts at my (now ex) GP surgery to diagnose it and to persuade them and ensure that they sent a blood sample off to the labs at Hereford once I had an idea as to what it was that I was suffering from.

It's a terrible disease with a high mortality rate if it isn't caught early on.

Please wear gloves!!

Cris

 

[hedgerow pete]

i was lucky were i used to live in south warwickshire my old quack knew what to look for it being not his forst case but since then i have never meet a quack that has treated it in the uk, they told me i had a bad case of jet lag when i came home from africa with malaria !!!"!!

 

[RickTee]

rats love over cooked till its dry sausage , peanut butter more than your kids do, mars , snickkers any thing sweet the just love as for poisons well what do you want to spend, two crush paracitomol will kill stone dead any fox or animal that size so it will give a rat liver failure in less than a day or two max, either sprinkel ontop of muesli not whole grains or mix with peanut butter or in with tuna in a tin with the lid off, just what ever you put it in nail or peg to floor or they will take the lot in one go home,

if you need more rat advice let us know i have bean killing things for years

Hmm seems like a bad idea, might kill your own dog or a neighbours cat, birds, hedghogs etc.

 

[Hombre]

The idea of fitting a neighbour's dog, cat, bird or hedgehog etc into the end of a bit of pipe appeals to my sense of humour. I'm sure that despite the reference to museli, would be placed safely in the confines of a pipe or other protective structure to prevent accidents, and not in one of the bowls that are likely to be used by the three bears, Goldilocks or perish the thought her little dog.
I never thought of paracetamol and peanut butter. it does sound very effective as long as the little bu**ers will scoff it. You don't have to prime them with beer first, so that they take the paracetamol for the headache and peanut butter to settle their tummies?

Good thread.

 

[hedgerow pete]

A vadid point Ricktee but all you have to do is put it either inside a card board box or a wire cage over it just make the max size hole less than 3 inches and you will only kill rats hedgehogs only 4 inchs and above as for cats where i live they are as bad as the rats so i ant worried and the only other thing to eat either is foxes and i still ant worried there is not birds because of all the feral and pet cats eating every thing that moves except for eating rats, i know it sounds harsh but a good rifle and a few days would make a massive contribution to the wild life in this area, it would have a chance to live long enough to grow and breed

 

[hedgerow pete]

a rat can only swallow they can not fart or burp because of there gag refelx is so strong. so the list of what to put down it is short but very deadly when your a country lad. the two paracetimol was developed to kill badger and foxs because of meddel some townies, as for the rats try this lot depending on your views of crulty either great or reportable.

crushed light bulbs in mussel must be under 3mm square it goes down but splits them open on the way out,
paracetimol you know but try other tablets you can over dose on like nicotine!
buy a packet of tobaco 50 gram or a buket of fag butts from the pub boil with 4 pints of water and then simmer for an hour sieve contents to remove waste then simmer down to a one pint quantity what you then have is a deadly toxin that will kill you through bare skin so lets be carfull inject 10ml amounts into very small eggs , we used to use quail and leave around empty nests for the rats to take home and the family has a egg dinner all including you will have a massive high as per drugs but you will dead in three hours. also works for foxes just use 20ml. the list is endless just as the nimbies ban something the people how suffer just move to some thing else, and normaly its what i refere to as old medicine rather than safer modern stuff. they recaon a chemist can build two bombs and kill every one else from the bathroom and kitchen cupboards and when you get to talk to people i can belive it

 

[Hebeegeebee]

The only good rat is a dead rat

A picture for you Hedgerow Pete