Rats

[RogGriffin]

Hi,

We also have a rat in our garage. He (it ?) always used to feed off food for the chickens and guinea pig. But we now put all the food in a old galvanised dustbin, so it has no chance of getting any of that.
We have been putting out rat poison (the blue corn looking stuff from rentakill). The rat has been taking the poison for about a week now and I re-fill the area where we place the posion daily as the rat appears to be eating it all every day.

How long should it take for the Rat to die ?

I beleived that it would be instant, not a gradual thing !

Thanks

 

[Bazdaa]

Maybe it's a SUUUPPPPEEEERRRRRRR Rat.

Seriously, How do you know its the same rat!

After reading this I think I'm going to store fish pellets properly in garage rather than just lying in the plastic bag!

 

[Nige F]

Hi,

We also have a rat in our garage. He (it ?) always used to feed off food for the chickens and guinea pig. But we now put all the food in a old galvanised dustbin, so it has no chance of getting any of that.
We have been putting out rat poison (the blue corn looking stuff from rentakill). The rat has been taking the poison for about a week now and I re-fill the area where we place the posion daily as the rat appears to be eating it all every day.

How long should it take for the Rat to die ?

I beleived that it would be instant, not a gradual thing !

Thanks

You killed my brudder, you dirty rat, an now you gonna die .slowly

 

[breezer]

get a rat trap, much better
rat poison kills rat slowly, then it rots attracting flies, rat trap instantly kills it, put dead rat in bin, use trap again

 

[snapdragon]

Let me say it loud and clear: the ultrasonic things DON"T WORK. I think a good old fashioned "snap" trap for rats would be your best bet if you don't want to poison. Rats are very wary, and are suspicious of anything new in their environment. They also tend to keep their trails along walls. My recommendation is to put the baited but un-set trap in an area you think they are likely to frequent, replace the bait for several days, and then set it, with the same bait, once they are used to it. Good luck. We have rats, too (chicken coop), and I'm too lazy to follow my own advice!

 

[poppins]

Ultrasonics can work, but only if the rodents are actually nesting in the house/garage. This is because they annoy the rodents rather than scare them off, so eventually they will move nest if they can't get a good night's sleep! They are also difficult to place properly because ultrasonic sound doesn't bend round corners as well as ordinary sound (because the wavelength is so much smaller) so they do not get into nooks and crannies very well.

If you are squeamish about snap traps then maybe invest in some electric traps, but they are quite expensive and it's always best to have quite a few traps to put out simultaneously (to kill as many rodents as possible before the survivors learn to avoid the traps).

Keeping everything clean, firmly securing anything edible, and blocking up entrances can work wonders though.

 

[timtheenchanter]

rats are rather clever tho, you will need to keep moving the snap trap, because once they figue out that you die if you go there, they stop going there. Most councils will sort rats free of charge, give them a ring, they will at least come out and give advice

 

[Gary_M]

Hi,

Did you know that some rats are also attracted to dog poo? Thought it might be worth a mention, as the focus is on the bird food (which may not be the only cause of your problem). Of course - I'm not suggesting you have a garden like a farmer's wellie

Do/Did the dogs get fed outside? Rats are quite partial to pet food too

Oh, and sometimes they will be attracted to a compost heap - especially if you are throwing rotten food onto it.

Here are some of my suggestions to help get rid of them:

- Ensure that all potential foodstuff's (including dog poo) are removed from the area. Don't feed your dogs outside
- Try to remove any possible 'nesting material' (particularly wood) to an area that is impossible for the rats to get to
- Don't put any foods into your compost bin
- Place 'snap traps' around the garden. Good idea to look for an area that has quite a bit of rat poo and put a few around there.

It would also be worth considering these things:

- Check to ensure that there are no 'entrances' for the rats to come into your house - remember that if they are already in your garden, and you are going to be removing their source of food and nesting, they are going to be looking for somewhere that can provide this close by
- Keep your drains clean - rats love dirty sewer pipes
- Look for potential 'nesting areas' - shed, under boulders, in long grass, in hedges, basically anywhere there is some shelter

Contingency Plan

1. Get a bl**dy big cat
2. Wait until the cover of darkness, collect as much bird food, dog food, wood and dog poo and lob it as far as possible into your neighbour's garden

Anyway, good luck and hope you manage to get rid of them soon.

Gary

 

[toffee]

we too have had rats and I think they are back. we got the council out and they charged us 40 pounds as the the rats were not in the house (which would have been free). we actually saw a rat previously but have noticed that there are holes under the shed again and think they are back.
I was wondering... we have seen a dramatic reduction in eggs and I wondered if the rats could be eating them?

 

[toffee]

sorry.. I thought Id said... the rats are under bantam shed!

 

[breezer]

dont know if its true, but i heard that 2 rats will steal an egg.

one rat grabs it between all 4 legs, the other rat drags first rat

but why not lay rat traps under shed and find out

a slice of mars bar is good for bait

 

[toffee]

where do I get a rat trap?

 

[breezer]

believe it or not i got mine from b & q

the one on the left is a mouse trap, the one on the right is a rat trap, and yes that is a mouse in the middle

 

[MD01]

I get rats in and around the chicked shed - big fat ones. They crawl up the chicken wire like the SAS and get in through any small hole. I bought a large bucket of poisen - like washing tablets - I put a few of these down every rat hole I can find and then seal the exit. Repeat regularly.

You can get boxes to put the poisen in, or make your own. They need a hole big enough for a rat to climb through. I can't use traps because of the ckickens.

Old fashioned method is broken glass in hole then seal it. Gruesome but works.

One problem poisening rats in the house is that they find somewhere warm to curl up an die - usually around a hot water or heating pipe. Could get a bit smelly so traps are better I think.

Md

 

[breezer]

One problem poisening rats in the house is that they find somewhere warm to curl up an die - usually around a hot water or heating pipe. Could get a bit smelly so traps are better I think.

Md

i am glad some one else said that too. ( a previous post said it is not true, or similar)

i also watch life of grime,one the blokes who kills rats uses poison, and then later you see him checking for dead rats, and then he takes them away, could it be to prevent the smell?