Rats and more rats! What's the best way to kill them?

[Poliwag]

I have an unknown number of rats hanging in and around my coop. I have caught one rat with a (spring) rat trap with just bread as bait. I tried it again and again and tried using meat as bait and cheese but the other rats won't go near the traps. The bait is still there

Here's one of two I saw in the coop when I went down with the camera (took a few tries to catch them with the camera as I think they are camera shy):

I have thought of rat posion but I fear for my chooks

My chooks don't seem to be harmed by the rats... yet. They must be just after the feed but I am not sure how they get to it as it is hanging from the celling with a very smooth string.

Any idea what I should do?

 

[nivtup]

peanut butter

 

[Little Ameraucana Mom]

I use peanut butter also, it works great !!!!

 

[Camelot Farms]

DH shoots them.

I am always worried that our other animals will get caught in a trap or eat the poison.

Nasty things!

 

[Ridgerunner]

They can climb down the string or jump real well. They would be attracted to the feed that is spilled on the ground too.

In addition to the spring traps, you can get a live trap, probably at the hardware store or maybe feed store. Do not get the huge raccoon traps or the ones that open on both ends or, if you do, leave one end closed. Those just give them another escape route. I've caught rats in a live trap that is about 6 or 7 inches square and about 16 inches long. If you can find them, a little smaller might be a little better. Peanut butter is usually a good bait and easy to use, but if that does not work, try a fresh slice of apple with a drop of vanilla flavoring on it.

I built a small bottomless box with one end open that fits over my live trap so the only way for them to approach the food is through the trap door. It seemed to help.

If you live where you can shoot them, that works too, but many of us don't. I had a neighbor that killed them with a pellet gun.

Good luck.

 

[shelleyd2008]

You can make 'poison' baits with equal parts peanut butter and plaster of paris. Mix them together (adding a bit of vegetable oil or similar) and form them into a ball. Place the baits where the chickens can't get too them and watch them work!! The chickens can peck at any dead ones they find, and the 'poison' won't harm them.

 

[patman75]

You could try the "50 gallon Barrel of death".

5 Gallon for Mice, 50 gallon for rats

Fill a 35 or 50 gallon plastic barrel or garage can 1/2 or 2/3 full of water.

Put a piece of wood like a 2X4 across the top/opening and along the sides as ramps.

Put of heavy layer of sunflower seeds in the water, the seeds will float and it will look like a bucket of sunflower seeds.

The mice, chimpmunk, rat, etc will jump in the barrel to get the sunflowers and then drown because they will not be able to get out.

Just make sure there is a good gap between the top and the water level so they dont get out.

Cheap and easy. Good luck!

 

[dragonlair]

I use the chunks of rat bait, stuff them in rat holes I find or in places the birds, dogs, goats, horses etc can't reach.

Those super sticky rodent traps work well and are not really dangerous except maybe to chicks.

Cats? Jack Russell Terriers? (horse people up here use the JRT and they are tough on rodents but not on poultry) My Malamutes kill them when the rats try to run thru the dog pen, but I can't let them run loose or they would kill my chickens, goats and try for the horses!

Quick Bait or Golden Marin mixed with Coke and put out of the way of other animals is rumored to work very well.

 

[nnbreeder]

From my experiance a used spring trap will not catch as many rats as a new one, must be something to do with the scent left on the trap. The closest thing that ya'll have to peanut butter there, depending on location of course, is Vegamite but I don't know it's consistancy or how well it will stick to a plate on the trap.

Heavy steel barrels is the way to go with feed storage and make sure they have good lids on them too. If using a barrel that had something like motor oil in it be sure to clean very well and then use a plastic bag as a liner so if there would have been any residue left it won't contaminate your feed.

 

[Berkeley_Chicken_boy]

The rats are not just attracted to the feed (though they can definitely get to that). Chicken poo is also plenty delicious to a rat. You should see how my dogs happily chow down on chicken poo.

Rat poison works by disrupting blood clotting mechanisms that are unique to mammals, so it is actually essentially harmless to birds. There are plenty of bird islands down there in Oz that are effectively coated in rat poison, since there are no native mammals on them, but plenty of endangered birds!

The bigger worry is that the rats will then get eaten by something like a dog that is indeed sensitive to the poison. We have had some success with balls made of 1:1:1 olive oil, peanut butter, and plaster of paris, which kills the rats (not sure exactly how, probably by blocking them up...) but doesn't make them poisonous.

more posts on rat balls:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=183374

As with most pest control, the best option is to eliminate the habitat. I am currently in process of building a rat-proof chicken world. It is neither easy nor cheap. I just finished digging the 2-foot deep, 1 foot wide trench, and putting in the L-shaped, 1/2 inch hardware cloth (to stop them from burrowing under). Next, I am building up with walls and ceiling, also of hardware cloth. I will post more details and pictures in the coops section when it is all done!

this is where I got my information on how to keep rats out:

http://www.twpinc.com/pdf/RODENT-EXCLUSION-MANUAL.pdf

Incidentally, if you live in the states,www.twpinc.com is by far the cheapest place to get big rolls of hardware cloth, even with shipping.