Oh rats!

[The Mouse]

The security light outside our backdoor came on the other night, and our son looked out to see what he described as "huge" rat.
Next morning, my OH went off to buy a trap (the 'nipper' type), because poison put down by pest control never seems to have any effect. He baited it with peanut butter and put it in place, out of the reach of cats.
Next morning he went out to check it. I watched through the kitchen window as he stood there looking around, scratching his head and looking puzzled. The trap had completely disappeared!

Either that was one very large and very clever rat that decided to safely dispose of our trap, or there is a rat out there with a very sore tail - or worse!

Apart from shooting them (we did that once, but the neighbours were not very happy), any hints on how to either use the replacement trap more effectively, or other tried and tested ways of killing the rats?

Oh, and my OH says a cat is out of the question, which is a pity because it would help solve the rabbit and maybe even the mole problems too!

[Nature's Babe]

Hi Mouse, If it is a very large rat you might need a larger trap perhaps a squirrel trap,they trap but don't kill, so you need to consider how to dispose of it once caught. I live in the country and have seen some enormous rats cross the road when out in the car. Ensure nothing like bird or chicken food is left out to attract the rats at night, by giving only what they will eat in the day early morning and remove chicken feed pm after feeding We have cats and they are a good defence but not all cats are good ratters

[richard p]

attach the trap by a chain to something solid,

[The Mouse]

[quote="richard p"]attach the trap by a chain to something solid,[/quote

Why didn´t I think of that!

But I´m still not sure what my OH will do if he finds a live rat caught in his trap - he is so scared of them that he might want me to put it out of its misery!
On reflexion, maybe it is better if they do just disappear with the trap!!!

Dear Nature's Babe,
We stopped feeding the birds a long time ago because of the danger of attracting rats, but unfortunately our neighbours still put food out for them. And the neighbours on the other side, who never touch their "garden", have several very overgrown apple and plum trees whose fruit is left to rot on the ground over winter. Yet more food for the rats!

[Catherine]

We put bird food out for many years and never had problems with rats until last year. Then our next door neighbours said that they were regularly seeing a rat in their garden. So we pulled all our feeders in, we only saw two rats in our garden, my OH put a rat trap out and caught both, we have never seen any since.

I really want to put the feeders out again this year but am worried that they will come back, but we really miss having birds in the garden. Any suggestions?

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Catherine, if you just put very small amounts of food out, maybe two or three times a day, but making sure there is none left at night, should cure the problem.

Dear Bert, regarding the poison, if the poison is kept replaced until no more is being taken, then this should have the desired affect.

[Catherine]

I will try that this time then and see if it works.

[Monika]

Catherine, we stopped several years ago to put bird food out on flat areas, that is, bird tables, ground feeders, the ground etc. and only use two hanging feeders, one with fat blocks and one for a mixture of sunflower hearts, peanuts and suet granules. Both feeders have built-in floors so that any food dropping down doesn't reach the ground. Hopefully, any rats cannot get to the hangers. It does mean that the ground feeding birds lose out but when it gets very cold and frosty, I do throw out a little mix of ground up peanuts, sunflower seeds and currants, but I would only do that in early morning so that by darkness everything is eaten.

We are also surrounded by berrying bushes so that the thrush family and others can feed on them.

[Catherine]

Thanks Monika, I have several feeders but only one with a bowl to stop food dropping to the floor. I will buy another couple of feeders with trays and see what happens.

[Geoff]

We lost a mouse trap we set in the Strawberries to catch voles this year (know it was voles because replacement traps caught them). Be careful with traps though, we were very sad today. I picked some apples a couple of days ago but left them on the garage floor because I hadn't got time to sort them into the vermin proof cupboard. Today when sorting them I found mouse damage. To fit them in the cupboard I had to remove some potatoes so I set two traps each side of the potato sacks at the back of the garage. Sadly an hour later both traps had gone off, one catching a mouse but the other the tame robin we have been feeding outside the back door.

[Catherine]

Geoff unfortunately we caught a blackbird in the same circumstances.

[The Mouse]

Dear Bert, regarding the poison, if the poison is kept replaced until no more is being taken, then this should have the desired affect.

Dear OH

That is exactly what the local pest control man said on one of the many occasions we have got him out, but when the poison was still disappearing at the same rate some months later, he refused to put down any more, arguing that it simply couldn't be rats that were taking it.
It was a couple of months after that when I found the stuff buried just under the surface of the soil behind the shed - I couldn't believe my eyes when I started digging and the soil started turning blue before my very eyes!

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Bert, i think he should have tried a different type of poison really, but who am i to be telling a proffesional how to do his job.

[jane E]

We have a smallholding and so a plan of action against rats is essential up in the barns. All food in the barns is kept in metal containers. We watch for the telltale signs of rats - droppings, bite marks etc. We leave poison down in 'safe' places which the rats are used to frequenting all the time and when it starts to go we keep putting it down until they stop taking it. What they do is store it, so they may take a lot. A safe place is an old drainpipe and we usually thread it into that on wires or one of the rat poison containers, which they go into. We also have little nooks and crannies behind things that nothing else is likely to push down. One trick is to put a bowl of water down with the poison. If the rat can drink as well as eat, he will stay and gorge rather than just try to run with the poison. Always remember that you are aften invading the rat's habitat - not the other way round. Also the rat will change his way of life according to the seasons and the weather. The cold weather will bring him inside barns etc from the hedgerows, which are his summer dwelling place.

[The Mouse]

Thanks, Jane. There are some useful tips there - like the one about putting water down too. Will definitely try that next time.