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Help - I have too many rats! (1 Viewer)

cooperk

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Help - anyone got any ideas about how to get rid of Brown Rats - the local influx (I think it's migratory), but my wife and neighbour think it's my feeders that are attracting the little (and not so little brown jobs).....I completely cleared my barn (where I assumed they were nesting - but apart from a single tunnel which I blocked with cement, there was absolutely no evidence of breeding, but there were literally hundreds of droppings...I have tried ultrasound - i'm not confident that it actually works, poison - taken readily but no bodies found? I've also shot a good number and hung the bodies - this did work for a month or two, but the location of the new infeststion makes using firearms a tad dangerous. Has anyone got any ideas re. the effectiveness of dogs - I know Jack Russell's are supposed to be good ratters, but I really fancy a Border Terrier (anyone out there know about their ratting capabilities)....
Last bit - I live in a remote house with a neighbour on one side and a chicken farm on the other (yep - it's a rat magnet), plus my garden runs into a 100 acre wheat field - all prime rat locations...I know that the rats leave the fields in August-September and return about this time of year so the current activity may just be rats on the move (at least I hope so)
 
cooperk said:
...I have tried .... poison - taken readily but no bodies found?

Hi, we live in a rural location and had a major rat problem for a while. Persist with the poison (but for God's sake ensure you put in suitable bait/poison holders, short lengths of drainpipe works well.) You will not find many bodies because the poison works in such a way that they go off looking for water and usually die underground in their runs.

Best of luck.

Edit: More info,

Just had a thought, which type of poison? You can get some kind of "Natural Rat Poison" that looks like brown pellets - don't bother! A good country store and some garden centres will sell 1Kg tubs of Rentokil poison. That's the stuff to use. It is blue stained, impregnated grain. Why blue? Birds and other non-target species will not touch it 'cause blue is not a natural food colour. I again re-iterate, please use it as instructed on container.
 
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cooperk said:
I know that the rats leave the fields in August-September and return about this time of year so the current activity may just be rats on the move (at least I hope so)


Sorry, I'm not much help... but I imagined your garden like this.
 

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cooperk said:
Help - anyone got any ideas about how to get rid of Brown Rats - the local influx (I think it's migratory), but my wife and neighbour think it's my feeders that are attracting the little (and not so little brown jobs).....I completely cleared my barn (where I assumed they were nesting - but apart from a single tunnel which I blocked with cement, there was absolutely no evidence of breeding, but there were literally hundreds of droppings...I have tried ultrasound - i'm not confident that it actually works, poison - taken readily but no bodies found? I've also shot a good number and hung the bodies - this did work for a month or two, but the location of the new infeststion makes using firearms a tad dangerous. Has anyone got any ideas re. the effectiveness of dogs - I know Jack Russell's are supposed to be good ratters, but I really fancy a Border Terrier (anyone out there know about their ratting capabilities)....
Last bit - I live in a remote house with a neighbour on one side and a chicken farm on the other (yep - it's a rat magnet), plus my garden runs into a 100 acre wheat field - all prime rat locations...I know that the rats leave the fields in August-September and return about this time of year so the current activity may just be rats on the move (at least I hope so)

i would love to reply and help you (i've been a pest controller for meny years) and use terriers for clearing rats only at the weekend me a 2 mates with our dogs caught 143 rats on a chicken farm. but every time i post any thing about pests being controlled or anything about falconry/hunting the mods delate it. which is a shame as this is a good site and you have asked for help which is what it is all about but i aint no longer going to waste my time.
 
andy2 said:
i would love to reply and help you (i've been a pest controller for meny years) and use terriers for clearing rats only at the weekend me a 2 mates with our dogs caught 143 rats on a chicken farm. but every time i post any thing about pests being controlled or anything about falconry/hunting the mods delate it. which is a shame as this is a good site and you have asked for help which is what it is all about but i aint no longer going to waste my time.

I know what you mean - a case of 'townies' trying to impose their will!
 
Just had a thought, which type of poison? You can get some kind of "Natural Rat Poison" that looks like brown pellets - don't bother! A good country store and some garden centres will sell 1Kg tubs of Rentokil poison. That's the stuff to use. It is blue stained, impregnated grain. Why blue? Birds and other non-target species will not touch it 'cause blue is not a natural food colour. I again re-iterate, please use it as instructed on container.[/QUOTE]

Thanks - it is the blue Rentokil stuff that I use....I have had sightings of a couple of rats going mad - i.e. leaping up and down as they cross the garden - I guess this may well be a result of the poison....
 
cooperk said:
Help - anyone got any ideas about how to get rid of Brown Rats - the local influx (I think it's migratory), but my wife and neighbour think it's my feeders that are attracting the little (and not so little brown jobs).....I completely cleared my barn (where I assumed they were nesting - but apart from a single tunnel which I blocked with cement, there was absolutely no evidence of breeding, but there were literally hundreds of droppings...I have tried ultrasound - i'm not confident that it actually works, poison - taken readily but no bodies found? I've also shot a good number and hung the bodies - this did work for a month or two, but the location of the new infeststion makes using firearms a tad dangerous. Has anyone got any ideas re. the effectiveness of dogs - I know Jack Russell's are supposed to be good ratters, but I really fancy a Border Terrier (anyone out there know about their ratting capabilities)....
Last bit - I live in a remote house with a neighbour on one side and a chicken farm on the other (yep - it's a rat magnet), plus my garden runs into a 100 acre wheat field - all prime rat locations...I know that the rats leave the fields in August-September and return about this time of year so the current activity may just be rats on the move (at least I hope so)

Hi cooperk ,

The most humane (apart from ferrets) way to keep your garden clear of rats is to buy a Fenn Trap or two and keep them permenantly set (if you're regularly troubled with rats). Rats tend to run around the base of walls, etc. rather than venturing out into the open, so construct a box (or simply lean a plank against the wall, giving enough clearance for the trap to close) and attach a pipe to either side (see attached). Place your Fen trap in the box (set side on so that the rat's caught in the middle of the jaws across it's body). You can cover the tunnel with turf, etc. to make it inconspicuous, just make sure you have easy access to the lid as you must check it twice a day. Make sure you can't see daylight through the tunnel - otherwise birds such as Dunnock may enter, and place a few twigs agross the mouth of the pipes to restrict access to hedgehogs if they're on the large size.

Much better than poison. Apart from secondary poisoning and direct danger to domestic animals, poisoned rats tend to feel cold and may try to enter property seeking warmth. If you're really slewed out with rats though it may be neccessary to poison first then keep the Fenns set to catch any rats that attempt to recollonise.

Forget 'humane' traps - one still has to kill the rats, or release them and break the law. Few people can kill a rat as quickly as a Fenn trap will.

Borders are decent ratters and have a nice, quiet temperament. Be sure to buy one from a working strain rather than a show strain. Fells, Patterdales and working Bedlingtons are also decent dogs, I find Jack Russels a bit excitable, though again it depends on the strain.

saluki
 

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