Rodent damage

[user 20297]

This is getting ridiculous; 27 sachets of this so-called " pasta" bait in 21 hours. The rats are almost taking it out of my hands.
A tip that I should have known anyway...get the stuff from your farm supplies shop as it's less than half the price there for the same number of sachets.

 

[user 20297]

I had rats around my chickens too. Traps sometimes caught them in non-humane ways so I abandoned them. They seemed to get wise to poison, which I didn't like using either.
An air rifle with a night vision scope eradicated them quickly! Head shots only. Peanut butter on a stood-up paving slab is a great bait as they stay still to eat it and gives a safe backstop.

At least you caught some.....my rats were getting the peanut butter off the traps without setting them off!

 

[Ian123]

A mate with a couple of Jack Russels is effective too. Then you can still feed the Kites

I’ve got a corgi that will give them a run for the money……..it’s still a ratter but a slightly better class

 

[Erichalfbee]

I’ve got a corgi that will give them a run for the money……..it’s still a ratter but a slightly better class

Of course. Your avatar

 

[Ewart]

The electronic (battery powered) traps are genuinely excellent. I cannot recommend highly enough. Clean, more humane than other methods, and no risk to other wildlife. And very efficient.

 

[Poly Hive]

When using traps it pays to chain them to a log or something solid as if you get a partial catch and they are still mobile they and trap will vanish.

PH

 

[user 20297]

When using traps it pays to chain them to a log or something solid as if you get a partial catch and they are still mobile they and trap will vanish.

PH

I've experienced that., or rather, one of our rats did; I found the trap under a pallet two years later.

 

[pargyle]

The electronic (battery powered) traps are genuinely excellent. I cannot recommend highly enough. Clean, more humane than other methods, and no risk to other wildlife. And very efficient.

I've never had any success with those - I wish they did work - less messy than the traditional spring traps. I must admit - an air rifle, some cheese or chocolate on a piece of board - a deck chair and a bit of patience is my favourite ratting tool.

 

[JamezF]

I can't recall if it was one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films where the suggestion was to catch a number of rats and put them in a barrel without any food. When there's only one left, you release it

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I can't recall if it was one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films where the suggestion was to catch a number of rats and put them in a barrel without any food. When there's only one left, you release it

James

Boarded a ship years ago in Newport (Nigerian 'River' boat IIRC) it was alive with rats - so many, the Port Health ratcatcher we called in was given permission to use something a bit stronger than usual. He decided to stay onboard to observe, The first one took the bait, dropped dead, then the next wake came along, ate the recently departed, dropped dead and.....................

 

[Garry R]

Boarded a ship years ago in Newport (Nigerian 'River' boat IIRC) it was alive with rats - so many, the Port Health ratcatcher we called in was given permission to use something a bit stronger than usual. He decided to stay onboard to observe, The first one took the bait, dropped dead, then the next wake came along, ate the recently departed, dropped dead and.....................

Was the ship called HMS Ten Green Bottles?!!

 

[user 20297]

Forty three little pink packs of pasta poison later there appears to be no more rodent activity. I'm keeping a watch on the remaining two uneaten ones.

I took apart my stacks of boxes and inspected the frames last week. There is no rodent damage nor anything by waxmoth. The frames were treated with the kurstakii bacterium in the Autumn.

 

[Ewart]

I've never had any success with those - I wish they did work - less messy than the traditional spring traps. I must admit - an air rifle, some cheese or chocolate on a piece of board - a deck chair and a bit of patience is my favourite ratting tool.

I’m sorry to hear these didn’t work for you. I spent years getting frustrated with mechanical traps, which the light footed mice often strip of bait without triggering, and periodically, with great regret, resorting to poison.

I’ve found the electronic traps work incredibly well. So effective that the bait almost never needs changing or topping up because they meet their end before getting a tooth into it. One smear of peanut butter and they just keep coming, even long after it has turned green and furry.

I wear disposable gloves when handling so as not to put them off with my human smell; possibly makes a difference? Also, peanut butter is definitely a firm mouse favourite.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I’m sorry to hear these didn’t work for you. I spent years getting frustrated with mechanical traps, which the light footed mice often strip of bait without triggering, and periodically, with great regret, resorting to poison.

I’ve found the electronic traps work incredibly well. So effective that the bait almost never needs changing or topping up because they meet their end before getting a tooth into it. One smear of peanut butter and they just keep coming, even long after it has turned green and furry.

I wear disposable gloves when handling so as not to put them off with my human smell; possibly makes a difference? Also, peanut butter is definitely a firm mouse favourite.

Peanut butter certainly works well with grey squirrel traps.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Peanut butter certainly works well with grey squirrel traps.

It does. We had them all over the place two years ago. They were taking over the owl boxes wrecking all the bird feeders and robbing out nests. We got 8 in two days and the Buzzards had them.

 

[Poly Hive]

Beebe if it helps yeas ago I know a pest controller and he told me that he was called to a chicken farm. There were "basements" below the bird sheds and down there he found the very expensive sachets of poison the farmer had invested in neatly stacked up for a rainy day....

Some years ago we had a rat problem here or rather our neighbour did as they were under his house. The PC set traps and I asked why rather than poison and the answer of course was who wants rotting rats under the floorboards. If you know where the entrances are put a tunnel next to the hole as they like to run along walls and set the trap in there. "Tunnel" meaning two bits of wood supported by bricks so that curious pets are protected. Bait with chocolate peanut butter and secure the trap with a light chain (B&Q) to a decent sized log. Sorted.

PH

 

[Mabee]

I have a cat which is a very good mouser, I don’t know how long the poison takes to work (i’m thinking not instantly though) but i’d be devastated if my cat caught one someone had poisoned and got sick or died as a result.

 

[user 20297]

Beebe if it helps yeas ago I know a pest controller and he told me that he was called to a chicken farm. There were "basements" below the bird sheds and down there he found the very expensive sachets of poison the farmer had invested in neatly stacked up for a rainy day....

Some years ago we had a rat problem here or rather our neighbour did as they were under his house. The PC set traps and I asked why rather than poison and the answer of course was who wants rotting rats under the floorboards. If you know where the entrances are put a tunnel next to the hole as they like to run along walls and set the trap in there. "Tunnel" meaning two bits of wood supported by bricks so that curious pets are protected. Bait with chocolate peanut butter and secure the trap with a light chain (B&Q) to a decent sized log. Sorted.

PH

Thank-you for that advice.
I've tried using rat-trraps multiple times baited with peanut butter and secreted in a similar way to your description. I've caught several innocent woodmice and when I caught a robin, that was the final straw.
Baby rats (cute) were appearing from under the shed throughout the day.
You're right, they have a subterranean world where they might be stashing things. But the forty fifth sachet is still untouched, which I'm taking as an indication that they are all very poorly.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Beebe if it helps yeas ago I know a pest controller and he told me that he was called to a chicken farm. There were "basements" below the bird sheds and down there he found the very expensive sachets of poison the farmer had invested in neatly stacked up for a rainy day....

Some years ago we had a rat problem here or rather our neighbour did as they were under his house. The PC set traps and I asked why rather than poison and the answer of course was who wants rotting rats under the floorboards. If you know where the entrances are put a tunnel next to the hole as they like to run along walls and set the trap in there. "Tunnel" meaning two bits of wood supported by bricks so that curious pets are protected. Bait with chocolate peanut butter and secure the trap with a light chain (B&Q) to a decent sized log. Sorted.

PH

When I were a lad I knew an old guy who was a whiz at setting traps "tickle" (his phrase - so close to the edge of the action they could be triggered by the lightest touch of the bait). We never found a trap empty with bait missing after he set them. His speciality was gin traps in a tunnel of bricks with a bit of old bacon rind tied to the plate. We also had a lad, Brian, who occasionally did casual work in the greenhouses. Brian's brother owned Monty a lethal ratting dog so a few times a year we would have ratting days when Monty came to help. Memory fades but if I recall correctly Monty was an un docked JRT. Fast and could kill in one shake of his head.

 

[Pembroke]

Theres a channel on yotube which reviews mouse and rat traps. The simplest and most effective one he's ever seen, and it works multiple times as it's self resetting, is called the dunk the mouse / rat trap.



Fairly simple to build rather than buy, the only decision you need to make is will it be a trap and kill (fill it with water) or a trap and release (something soft for them to land on, but not too hard that they can jump out again) and what bait to use. Peanut butter as mentioned before is a favorite.