Is it just me or is anyone else having this HUGE rat problem? This year the rats have invaded after never having noticed a problem before. Now they are
everywhere, come out boldly in the daytime, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, there has got to be HUNDREDS of them EVERYWHERE! The cats & dog do NOTHING! So I am about
to resort to poison. It is that severe. I tried the 1c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. baking soda, all they do is scamper right in front of me to get to the water. I
have tried the CocaCola thing, I think that idea was put out by the Coca Cola Company to sell more soda! These rats have NO FEAR! Traps have caught a few
(these are the Victor & HAV-A-HART ones) but way many more have been sprung without catching anything. At first I tried the catch & release thing, but
these ARE flea & tick ridden vermin that carry disease we are talking about here. So I will go poison shopping today! It is the LAST RESORT! We locked up
all the food & only put it outside for the birds in the daytime now (oh, and the dozens of rats who we see scurry across the lawn to get it!) Anybody have
any good solutions out there that WORK?
0 Kudo
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Anyone else notice a Surge in Rats this year?
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 KYbirder |
Anyone else notice a Surge in Rats this year? |
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Posts: 27 03/25/08 09:00 AM |
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BeckT |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 4449 03/25/08 02:25 PM "Birds of a feather flock...to ME!" |
This is what we have done in the past when the rats got bad out at the dog runs. We plugged as many holes as we could find and then took the riding mower and
put it on half choke. Made it run real rich. We took an exhaust hose and put it on the exhust and then into a rat hole. Waited at an open hole and shot them as
they came out. Later that year we got tons of rain and the buggers were flooded out of their runs and were sitting in the rafters of the dog run so we just
started shooting them that way. Now I just use poison to get rid of them. They have not been to bad this year. But the mice have.
I'm no spring chicken, but I'm still kickin
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eggchel |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 2258 03/25/08 02:34 PM Moderator |
We have had a ton of mice this past winter, gaaaaaaah! I hate them.
What kind of poison did you get? Chel |
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BeckT |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 4450 03/25/08 04:47 PM "Birds of a feather flock...to ME!" |
The brand of poison I use is Hawk. It works great. . They love eat it and then die. Works great on mice also.
I'm no spring chicken, but I'm still kickin
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KYbirder |
What kind of gun do you use? Not a good shooter (but what better way to practice) I will look for "Hawk" but I just hate the thought of poison | #4 | ||
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Posts: 28 03/25/08 06:14 PM |
Thanks for the replies! Didn't make it out for poison today, I know I gotta do it! I did put out a tasty concoction of corn meal (self rising!), sugar
& mason cement (at one plate I saw a dozen rats eating to their hearts delite!)-that's what I had around the house, more PB in the traps, a tasty dish
of diet ginger ale & tried the contraption where you half fill a bucket of water, ramp to bucket, leaning over water smeared w/ pb underneath. They are
supposed to fall in the water & drown. .. I am just so worried that a bird could get ahold of a poisoned rat (or the cats & dog). The rats I don't
care about (just don't look at their sweet little faces) but would sure hate to unintentionally kill a bird especially an owl or a hawk or God Forbid,
sicken or kill my pets. I guess once they meet their demise, I will have to go dead rat hunting! Is there such a thing as a poison that they will eat & die
close to where they ate it? Does the "Hawk" do that?
So what kind of gun would you use? I would be afraid I'd "shoot my eye out!" Not much of a shot but maybe I'd consider it. |
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bigbull338 |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 226 03/25/08 07:11 PM |
when i cleaned my henhouse up last week.i only saw 1 mouse running round.i figured id see more since i had to move stuff around.
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BeckT |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 4451 03/26/08 04:34 PM "Birds of a feather flock...to ME!" |
Usually when the rats die they die in their runs, but not always. I have found the bodies on top of the ground. If you have a Rural King store neer you that is
where I get mine. I buy the bucket full of packets cause when I feed them suckers they are well fed. LOL As far as gun you can use a 22 or even a pellet
riffle. We have used both, but the pellet rifle is a little safer (maybe not) Just pratice shooting cans so you can get a feel for the sights of the gun and
get some pratice in. Who knows you might like it. Now for me there is a certain thrill of the kill, kinda morbit I know, but once you get some you won't
care. Heck even my 11 year old son was shoting rats that year.
I'm no spring chicken, but I'm still kickin
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eggchel |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 2260 03/26/08 07:37 PM Moderator |
Id sign up for the pellet rifle, but those mice are pretty small. Besides, my aim might not be so good. One day I threw a rock at a feral cat that was
prowling a little too close to some chicks..... but instead it hit a barred rock hen about 10 feet away. B'gawk! Maybe I could just use the pellet
rifle on bigger, slower, targets, like raccoons and possums.
Beck, If I use the Hawk poison, do I need to worry about the hens eating the mice after the mice eat the poison ? KYbirder, How did that bucket trick work? Have you tried the Rat Zapper? Chel |
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KYbirder |
Homemade Bucket Rat Trap & recipe ideas | #8 | ||
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Posts: 29 03/27/08 07:54 AM |
Back to the drawing board w/the bucket idea, the PB was gone but no rats! They are such crafty little buggers! I will try this:
http://unexco.com/popups/trapper.html As far as poison, I did get a Tomcat bait station & some bait for that, we'll see how that works (some nibbles on that). Also a couple Tomcat black rat jaw things, got one in an hour last nite reset it but nothing this AM. Homemade concoctions I have tried: 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. baking soda 1 c. oatmeal, 1 c. plaster of paris 1 c. cornmeal, 1 c. plaster of paris (actually used old mason cement the 1st time) They have been eating this stuff, but maybe too soon to tell if it will work. A note on the live traps, get a SMALL one (1/4" space between wire) bc the ones we have, the rats will trip the trap then squeeze out thru the 1/2 in. wires! I caught a rat half thru the wires, that's how they've been springing them & escaping! BUT I did get the KING of all rats last wk-shoulda got a pic of this thing-big as a full grown cat! Also we have started to clean out the clutter-its BAD (do we really need to keep EVERY plant pot of every plant we have ever bought in our whole lives?) & need to plug up holes, we have a metal shed on dirt floor & there are lots of tunnels all around the perimeter w/some raised wood floors where they hide. I may invest in a pellet rifle, our 22 I'd be afraid of ricochet. Don't want to "shoot my eye out!" Thanx for all the replies, we'll get them yet! |
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BeckT |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 4456 03/27/08 02:40 PM "Birds of a feather flock...to ME!" |
Chel, Yes I would worry about the hens eating a mouse after it ate the poison. The reason I still use it is because the place I put it the chickens do not have
access to. It's kinda funny I don't have a mouse problem in the big coop and never use it out that way. Now the banty coop right next door I do. Maybe
its cause the chickens are so small they don't go after the mice like the big girls. But I have a plan on making that coop mouse proof once spring gets
here and I can tear the walls out and redo it. Oh, another thing. I would not use a pellet riffle on a coon or oposssom. I find a 22 does a much better job.
The last opossom I shot was a die hard had to shoot it at leat 5 times before it decided to die.
I'm no spring chicken, but I'm still kickin
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judyjengo |
#10 | |||
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Posts: 884 03/29/08 05:17 PM |
For those with rats abounding, what is the draw? Are they able to access the chicken food supplies? Are they accessing shelter in with the chickens?
I found that once food was inaccessible at night (I keep all food in metal cans with ample weights on top) and once I fortressed the coop (hardware cloth on the interior floor and 6 inches up the walls) I never saw a rat again. As for mice, rarely a mouse either. I get one once in while and this is not a problem. If I start to get more, I am going to try Mouse Magic, a nontoxic repellent that friends have had success with. I will never use poison for so many reasons. JJ |
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rebeccajoy100 |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 14 03/29/08 05:44 PM |
If you have my luck the rats will go away and you will be overrun with snakes. I would get rid of them quick however you do it.
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FoxTrapperSteph |
#12 | |||
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Posts: 1580 06/17/08 07:24 PM |
I've had rat troubles too this year. I have killed over 50 recently. About 24 with traps, 6 by shooting, the rest with poison, and there are STILL rats.
Shooting them was fun. Some I staked out a hole and nailed some as they came out, others were behind these nest boxes. I used rat shot in 9mm, I'm a silly one, but it's safer around the birds than a big ol shotgun, and a lil pistol can get into those tight spots. Only problem is rat shot is EXPENSIVE! 14.00 for 10 rounds? But I really got into the hunter thing when I staked the hole out, and that was satisfying. Look at that big rat I shot, in the pic! YUCK! The poison killed a bunch more big ugly ones too. 
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Debra 123forMe |
#13 | |||
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Posts: 3 07/07/08 07:39 PM |
The mice this year have been UNBEARABLE!! I have lived here for 7 years and have NEVER seen it so bad. We live next to cane fields so you can expect there is
going to be lots of mice and snakes. But this year I have seen so many mice. Way more than I have ever seen in my entire life! And a lot more snakes coming
over onto my property. For the mice I use some blue blocks I get from the pest control people that does just WONDERFUL. And for the snakes I use moth balls.
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ML |
#14 | |||
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Posts: 705 08/28/08 06:44 AM |
For mice got sevearl Victor Tin Cats traps. Wow they are great, just bait with some bird seed and give them all swimming lessons the day after. Sure
you can find the same thing in rat size. So had it with pests this year.
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robin416 |
#15 | |||
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Posts: 3716 08/29/08 05:10 AM |
The Hawk brand poison that was mentioned works very well. I was told that the rats/mice become ill and head to water away from the coop. I found one dead mouse
in the coop, the rest just dissappeared. But I've had to use it way more than I've ever had to this year. But we had quite a bit of rain this Winter so
I figured that explained the population explosion, got the extra bugs to go along with them too.
But here's what happened recently in my coop. I moved my feed tub and uncovered a nest of mice. The Silkie chicks came up, stretched their necks out, slowly moved closer, then screamed in alarm and ran the other way. The Dutch chipmunks wondered what all the commotion was about and ran up. Same thing, stretched their necks out, approached with caution, screamed in excitement, each grabbed a mouse and ran like the dickens. Then the chase was on, the Dutch with a mouse each and the Silkie chicks hot on their heels. |
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BeckT |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 4649 09/04/08 04:33 PM "Birds of a feather flock...to ME!" |
Robin, I can just see the chicks doing that. When I tore the walls out of the banty house this spring I was shocked st all the mice in there. All my girls
feasted that day for sure. The ones that were big enough to try & get away got smacked and thrown into a tub and fed to the hens.
I'm no spring chicken, but I'm still kickin
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mjw15618 |
#17 | |||
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Posts: 72 09/30/08 06:40 AM |
I have a terrible rat problem, too! I remove the feeders from the coop every night to try and deter them and we keep filling in their holes but nothing is
working. The chickens have killed a few, I've killed two with a shovel and I found one dead in the garden after it apparently gorged itself to death on a
few rows of Black Aztec corn. Gail Damerow has a plan for a poison bait station in her "Chicken Health Handbook" that I'm going to try. It's
essentially three pieces of PVC pipe - two 2' pieces placed horizontally on the ground and a 3' vertical piece held together with a t-joint. Two
baffles are placed about half-way in to the horizontal pieces to keep the bait from being kicked out by the rats. I don't like the idea of using poison but
I'm desperate at this point. My coop is within 40 feet of my house and I don't want those little suckers finding their way in to my living space this
winter.
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- General Discussion
- The Social Side
- Poultry show and swap meet listings
- From Egg to Hatch
- Raising Baby Chicks
- Emergencies!
- Coops and Runs
- Feeding Time
- Predators and Pests
- Diseases and Cures
- Chicken Behaviors
- Buy ~ Sell ~ Trade ~ Giveaways
- Other Poultry
- Meat Birds ETC
- reference material, med and disease info
- Breeds in General
- What Breed Or Gender is This?
- Breeders & Backyard Hatcheries
- Where am I? Where are you!
- BYC Website/Forum/Chatroom
- Rabbits and Cavies
- Egg & Chicken Recipes
- Games!
- Notable Archives
- Chickenstock 2008
