tommy64 Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 i was just making some lunch today when i heard one of our chooks squaking so i went outside to find both chickens safe and sound in the garden. i then saw a huge thing scuttle throuhg the run . i went over and saw a rats head peering out of the house. i shut the rat in the house and then thought that the only thing i could do was to let it go so i let it come out of the house and it ran into the alley outside our house. any suggestions on how to get rid of this rat because i thought about putting poison down but then that would harm the chooks. any help would be appreciated thanks Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bantambabe Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I had a rat tunnel into the eglu run and steal eggs a few weeks back. I bought some rat poison pellets from Countrywide stores and put it under our garden shed - the chooks couldn't get to it there. It was all eaten very quickly so I've been putting it out weekly since and not seen anymore rats - although the bait continues to disappear. I did see a rather poorly looking mouse the other day - it was sort of jumping (rather than scurrying) across the lawn, a bit like a gerbil. It froze when I went out into the garden and let me walk right up to it, I left it alone and it disappeared (don't think it was long for this world). Some of the places that sell poison also sell special containers that the chooks wouldn't be able to get into but the rats would - bait stations - but it worried me that the rats might drag the poison out into the open. I put netting up to stop the chooks getting close to the shed, then if the rats pulled to bait out from under the shed, the chooks still couldn't get to it and it bought me a bit of time to notice and shove it back under. Taking the food in at night will help, I've posted this before as well, but if the rats have access to the pellets then the poison won't work as the Vit K in the pellets acts as an antidote to the anticoagulant in the poison. Trapping or poisoning has to be the way forward though - you could have a hundred rats within a few months otherwise good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bantambabe Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 sorry, didn't mean that to be such a long "lecture". wasn't meant that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omletina Kyckling Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Gosh, that's scary stuff......cornered rats can be pretty nasty, they say.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy64 Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 thanks for that we might put some rat poison down the alley way if its ok with our neighbours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester_H Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Hi we had a (only ever saw one but..) rat last year. We contacted the council (even though house is private) - they were VERY good. Man came round within a few days - understood importance of not poisoning chickens, our hedgehogs, wild bird, frogs etc. - laid bait that kills rats ONLY. He returned to check a few times and we've never seen another rat. No charge. Thoroughly recommend this route if your council are as good as ours (Oadby&Wigston, Leicester). H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 The bait boxes are designed so that the bait cannot be dragged out. The bait is in blocks with a hole through the centre and they thread onto a pole inside the box that is fastened at both ends. The rats eat them in situ. I have several round the garden and as long as I keep checking them and refill as necessary, I've had no further rat sightings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 My Mum had the Council Pest Control out as she believed there were rats in her garden. They said it was only squirrels. 1 month later they still believed there were rats in the garden and set up a camera overnight. They were right! It had been eating next doors vegetables and using my Mums for a rest stop and a drink before scurrying off under some bushes. They baited with poison but no luck, in the end they had to use a rat trap to kill it! Hope your council are a bit better! Im probably not allowed to name this particular local authority, so I wont! I think they would have been more vigilant if it was on a council owned property! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barkisland Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 On the subject of councils, I'm a community nurse and one of my (severely disabled) patients lives in a council property, and has a mouse problem. The council told her to get some traps and sort it out herself, because they would charge her a lot of money to sort it out. Nice huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlbird Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 On the subject of councils, I'm a community nurse and one of my (severely disabled) patients lives in a council property, and has a mouse problem. The council told her to get some traps and sort it out herself, because they would charge her a lot of money to sort it out.Nice huh? increased local taxes and decrease in services arrived more or less together didn't they? we don't put down poison any more - we used to but realised that we no longer had owls in the garden - we've been told it's possible they might have been killed off by eating poisoned rodents. We stopped using the poison and now rely on the owls and other birds of prey* to rid us of rats. * sparrowhawks and red kites are regularly seen in and over our garden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Some info **here**. I swear the bloomin' things get bolder. I have tried everything to get rid of my current resident. He can remove bait from traps without setting them off. Have sent for a Fenn Trap as a last resort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barkisland Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Can anyone remember who posted about these traps? http://www.nooski.com/ They sounded good and I was hoping there would be some feedback whether it had been effective or not. Maybe I missed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I think it was Egluntine and the last I heard it had not done the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 We had rats tunneling into the run when horses moved into the field next door. In the end I got a man out who laid the type of bait boxes that Snowy mentioned. They work really well After 5 weeks we have had no more sightings/evidence of rats. Will keep topping up the bait box just in case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 The only rats I see are dead and at the foot of my stairs - the evil cat likes to kill fully grown ones and leave them there as a present for me - 6 this year so far! ...if I could train him to leave the chickens and pretty birds alone and just focus on rats that would be good. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barkisland Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I think it was Egluntine and the last I heard it had not done the job Ah, thanks Redwing. I guess she would have mentioned it if it had been any good. Shame. It looked quite convincing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 It was me. It cost 20 bloomin quid and hasn't caught a single rat. Someone else had more success though. Can't remember who. This has prompted me to email the manufacturer as I think the mechanism on mine is too stiff and the rat is entering it, removing the tasty morsels, and it isn't being triggered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 That's a shame - I'm looking for something like that and was hoping it had worked. We've had to bait recently - but then stopped because Jazz is quite a good ratter! She's been eating lots of baby rats and we're worried that she might eat a poisoned one......we also have both Tawny and Barn Owls.......... We use gravity bin type feeders where the hens have to peck at a spring, so there is no feed to bring in at night, we're running out of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I'm convinced my Nooski is faulty. I'll let you know if I get a response from the manufacturer. I have a treadle feeder in the walk in run. I don't hear it banging at night, so am hoping that it is doing its job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3happyhens Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I logged on to find some advice about rats & found this thread ... Our Eglu is close to next door's fence (a nice sheltered spot). Their shed is alongside the fence & on Saturday I discovered rats are tunnelling under the fence & continuing on under the Eglu. I always bring in the food & water but the chooks are messy eaters & throw their food all over the run, so handy for the rats! We have a cat so I'm concerned she doesn't get poisoned along with the any rats. Any further advice? Should I look up "Pest Control" in Yellow Pages? It doesn't sound as though Local Councils are always interested in this problem. Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomS Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 If find a .22 air rifle (with 4x telescopic sight) from the bedroom window to the back of the head does the trick nicely! Just make sure the rifle is sighted properly before trying this as a wounded rat is not a nice sight. Got 5 like that in a week last summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoice Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 After discovering extensive tunnels from under my shed (Part of which houses my girls) into the girls run I set about laying poison. I also noticed a trail leading from the shed along my fence to my compost bin nearer the house (Where I also have decking ) With all the chicken feed spilled by my messy girls it was rat heaven. Not anymore **She hopes ** I poured loose bait into the two tunnels entering my compost bin which was soon devoured. I put the rest into a large plastic cider bottle (Classy chick eh?) with one end cut off and anchored in into the ground with tent peg and string combo and placed it where nothing else could get to it by my shed. I then bought a proper sturdy filled bait station from B&Q for the 'rat run' along my fence under a thick bush. I back-filled all the wholes with soil in the run that i could find and buried some chicken wire flat under the soil in their run nearest the shed. I also invested in 'Ratty' an organic rat repellent I bought in Tesco Extra (Or Robert Dyas sell it). I sprinkled it all over the places I'd seen Rolands presence, around shed, in compost bin and in the tunnels under my slabs. It must work as the tunnels under my slabs have not been touched since (As a bag of bait has been ignored too) No new tunnels anywhere since and it's been almost two months. Hopefully the combination of bait, ratty and removing feed at night has done the trick and will continue to do so. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
