Rats, Rats and more Rats (1 Viewer)

[HantaYo]

I live in a rural area in the mountains of Colorado. I am experiencing an explosion in the mouse and pack rat population. They are causing damage to vehicles. Right now our 4Runner has a mouse nest in the heater vent. We just removed it and another nest was built the next night. Currently a pack rat is attempting to build nests in two other vehicles. One he damaged a wire which cost $90 to repair. Our neighbors car was totaled when a pack rat nest caught fire under their hood

Currently I place mouse traps at the wheels of each vehicle. These are too small for the pack rack. For the pack rat I have a live rat trap; however he barely escape loosing a portion of his tail in the trap. Since then he is not interested in the live trap. The Wildlife Coordinator where I work said to get the electronic rat traps. He only had one rat he could not trap with it.

What I am dreading doing is to stop feeding the birds. It provides so much pleasure to my wife and I. I know the bird seed is part of the rodent problem.

Any ideas of better pest control or removing the feeders?

 

[Warixenjalka]

Cat, ferret or snake. But they all threating birds also...:smoke:

 

[stuartvine]

You might try bird feeders with built-in seed catcher trays - less spillage to encourage the rats.

 

[HantaYo]

Well I almost caught my neighbor's dog. I put the manual rat trap on our front porch. Wife came running in the house said the neighbors dog set off the trap. No blood drawn just one scared dog. So put the trap in the back yard and finally caught the rat. So far no more have shown up.

I put out the traps when it gets dark trying to minimize unintended causalities.

For the time being will continue feeding the birds, mice and rats:eek!:

 

[Sannie]

Hi

The problem you have will grow, unless you are smarter than the rat.

Do not put any bird - food at all out for starters. That closes the first door. Barring asking someone to shoot the blighters you will need to tackle the problem this way. Use Electronic Traps only, because poison is something birds will eat, and a bird will also trigger those traps which have trapped millions of fingers.

You need to buy some Rat Zappers which can be seen on Amazon called the “ Victor Electronic Rat Trap”. The instructions tell you exactly how to bait them and what with (Peanut Butter). They will clear up your rat problem, regardless of their size, or numbers, slowly but surely.

No doubt you can buy these traps, from a source closer to where you live.

I do hope this may help.

Sannie.

 

[HantaYo]

Hi

The problem you have will grow, unless you are smarter than the rat.

Do not put any bird - food at all out for starters. That closes the first door. Barring asking someone to shoot the blighters you will need to tackle the problem this way. Use Electronic Traps only, because poison is something birds will eat, and a bird will also trigger those traps which have trapped millions of fingers.

You need to buy some Rat Zappers which can be seen on Amazon called the “ Victor Electronic Rat Trap”. The instructions tell you exactly how to bait them and what with (Peanut Butter). They will clear up your rat problem, regardless of their size, or numbers, slowly but surely.

No doubt you can buy these traps, from a source closer to where you live.

I do hope this may help.

Sannie.

The electronic trap I bought is called the Rat Zapper at Amazon (the Wildlife Coordinator where I work recommended it). First one I had to return as the startup light never activated. No rat yet. The directions say to use dry food only (dog food). Do you think peanut butter would be safe? Seems like it might trigger the electrical circuit if you get it on the plate.

Poison is not an option for us. I'll give up feeding birds before using it. Cornell's Living Bird Magazine had a great article on why not to use rat poison- it kills a lot of raptors and other wildlife. Too many dogs around here anyway (we have 3)

 

[ovenbird43]

When we lived in Tucson, we had success using peppermint oil to keep packrats out of my husband's truck. You can buy the oil in natural food stores, but we've also used Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap to the same effect. We fed birds all the time that we lived there, although we kept the seed sealed in a plastic bucket. Had to use live traps for mice in the house, but eventually we got them all.

EDIT: another/additional option for keeping packrats out of vehicles/getting them to leave it to leave the hood propped partway open. They don't like the light. My husband had to store his truck outside for 3 months during our cross-country move to New York, and between doing that and using the peppermint oil, there was no packrat damage.

 

[HantaYo]

When we lived in Tucson, we had success using peppermint oil to keep packrats out of my husband's truck. You can buy the oil in natural food stores, but we've also used Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap to the same effect. We fed birds all the time that we lived there, although we kept the seed sealed in a plastic bucket. Had to use live traps for mice in the house, but eventually we got them all.

EDIT: another/additional option for keeping packrats out of vehicles/getting them to leave it to leave the hood propped partway open. They don't like the light. My husband had to store his truck outside for 3 months during our cross-country move to New York, and between doing that and using the peppermint oil, there was no packrat damage.

My wife was laughing reading your post. She suggested peppermint oil a while ago and I just said it was another myth. Having tried drier sheets (mice just chewed them and made nests with them), ivory soap shaving, ultra sonic rodent deterrents, etc I was skeptical of yet another mouse deterrent. Well maybe I'll be looking for some peppermint oil. Cannot hurt to try!

 

[Sannie]

Hi HantaYo

The trap I mentioned has no competitor.

Others find even a slight cold – temperature can send their circuit board loopy.

If you follow my advice I guarantee you will defeat the problem. When a Rat eats Peanut butter for instance and returns to the nest, all the others sniff it, and if that Rat is alive next day, then they immediately assume that Peanut Butter is a safe meal to eat. Therefore, do not change the food.

You do have a serious problem and unless one is smarter than the Rat you lose. You asked for advice and I have given you the complete answer.

Good hunting

Sannie.

 

[ceasar]

When I moved to a rural area of NE Pennsylvania as a child we had a bad rat problem around our new home. That was a serious because we had started to raise chickens. My uncle gave my father a little Rat Terrier puppy which he brought home as a pet for the family. After a year he had reached his full size of about 7 pounds of muscle. He didn't have to be taught a thing. He got rid of the rats by killing everyone he came across and the rat problems disappeared in less than 2 years. Some of the rats he killed were about 1/2 as big as he was and they would fight back.

He was a good pet and great around children. He stayed in the house and during hunting season went rabbit hunting with my father and myself and our Beagle.

I used to see this breed of terrier advertised in outdoor magazines like "Field and Stream" and Outdoor Life." Most of the breeders were from the midwest; Kansas and Nebraska and thereabouts.

Here is a wiki article on them. They are a working dog and have been since at least the discovery of America. They were even kept on ocean going ships.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Terrier

Bob