Part 0800.0005

[LisaJane]

Hi all,

 

Rat problems I'm afraid....

 

I am relatively new to the chicken keeping world and have a & in an eglu and run.

 

The girls are on bark as the grass got absolutely trashed, so they have their own little bark garden. I noticed a couple of holes appear in our lawn the other day, and also that their food and straw was going missing. So at the weekend I lifted the run out, banged the grouond and three rats emerged. They had made a nest in the ground underneath the girls run and were popping up through for food and bedding .

 

So we formed a plan of action, put wire mesh down so that it lapped up the side of the fence and shed on two sides (stapled in), and the edging on the two other sides to prevent burrowing up and under the run. We then worried that the girls would hurt their feet on the wire when they scratch at the bark, so put two layers of heavy duty ground cover over the mesh, then put a deep layer of bark over the top. Two 'rat killer boxes' strategically placed at the bottom of the garden and job done.

 

But now I'm worried firstly that the girls can no longer scratch for worms in the dirt and they will be unhappy (they free-range at weekend but are in the run while we are at work in the week as we have local foxes). Also that the rats will return, burrow and gnaw up through the heavy duty mesh and all will be in vain.

 

What have other Omleteers done in this situation? Any advice would be great as I'm worrying myself over the whole thing.

 

Many thanks x

[Busybird]

Our run is on mud (used to be grass). We had a rat problem last winter.

 

First we moved the Eglu and run onto a paved part of the garden and were vigilant about removing all food overnight.

 

We bought good quality rat poison and three enclosed bait boxes that we placed along the 'paths' that the rats used to get to the Eglu. We also put poison in sealed freezer bags and stuffed these down the obvious holes made by the rats before blocking the holes. We also put several bags of poison under the shed as the rats appeared to be hiding there.

 

We placed snap traps baited with peanut butter either side of the Eglu (the rats had been running underneath).

 

We caught and killed two rats in the snap traps. After this there was no obvious activity (we had been able to watch the rats 'at play' at dusk before taking action). After four days we moved the Eglu and run back onto the mud (I wasn't happy having the girlies on bare slabs but needs must and it was only for a short time).

 

The rats had been coming in from our neighbours garden - they have a lot of decking. We noticed at around this time that they had a pest control man in. After a couple of weeks two more tunnels appeared in the run. Again, we moved the Eglu and run, stuffed bagged poison into the new holes and blocked them. We set the snap traps but this time caught nothing.

 

After four days we moved the Eglu and run back. We have seen no further rat activity but I now keep the enclosed bait boxes in the garden at all times. Over the summer I was also leaving the food in the run again.

 

Good luck sorting your problem.

[C&T]

A good quality poison in sealed bait boxes is the way forward.

 

I know it's not "nice", but neither are the diseases that rats carry. And they will breed like I don't know what if you leave them to it!

 

Good luck. Strike quickly, and fingers crossed you will get rid of them before there are too many.

[Egluntyne]

Article in the FAQ section about dealing with rats.

 

**Click**

[Chucky Mama]

No real advise but just my sympathy. I hate rats with a passion and I would have died on the spot if I'd been you when the rats came out

[sjp]

rat bait and traps are the best option keep the bait boxes topped up and in place even if you think the rats have gone.

it could take up to a month for them to start useing the bait boxes so don't be tempted to move them before the month is up I've also found that they leave them alone from time to time as well.

I've got 8 boxes out on the allotment some weeks I've not had to top them up others they've emptied some of them. I've used nearly 10kgs since August a lot of that since October when I thourght I'd got the rats under control

[Egluntyne]

I have my Eglus on slabs, topped with Aubiose, and the hens are perfectly happy scratching about in this when not free ranging.

 

I have found bringing the food in at night has made a noticeable difference to the amount of tunnelling.

 

Schlepping up the garden in PJ's in the pouring rain first thing can be a bit of a pain, but it is worth the effort......and wakes you up very effectively.

[Valkyrie]

I agree with that - go down bleary eyed and when those drips come of the leaves and go down the cleavage or the back of the neck - I assure you I am very awake by the time I get back indoors!

I also take the food in once the girls are in bed. We had a rat in the compost bin and I'm pleased to say that the Neosorexa Gold (thankies for the recommendation) did work magic so quickly. No sign of any life there at all, no new burrow and no sounds of movement. But the poison is still there just in case another comes along to visit. Hmm nice warm compost - ideal winter home.

And now we have a mouse in the loft. Yep, winter's here.

[LisaJane]

Thank you all for your advice and reassurance!

 

Three days in - no sign of tunnelling and chickens much happier.

 

I have been bringing the food in each night which definitely must help. No sign of dead rats yet but hopefully the bait boxes will have done the trick! Fingers crossed that the nasty creatures do not return as it does my nerves no good creeping around the garden with a torch in the pitch black trying to get the food in and being certain I will come face to face with a pack of rats!!!

[Valkyrie]

You will need to keep an eye out, because other rats will venture in where a space has been vacated. There have always been rats here even before the chickens. It was just our turn this time, last year under neighbour's decking - apparently it's an ideal situation for rats because it is a large undisturbed area which also provides plenty of cover. A few years ago it was another neighbour's compost bin. Pesky varmints.

[Olly]

Hmm, reading with interest because I haven't seen any tunnels or other evidence, but I found a large dead rat on the lawn on Saturday! I presume it was left there by my cat.

 

I don't bring food in overnight, but I might start doing that - my girls will (I hope) be moving to a WIR in a few weeks which will stand on slabs, so that should put an end to the problem.

[Jools]

One of the best things you can do is to remove the food source, that'll send them looking elsewhere quicker than anything. But whatever you do, never underestimate a rat, their teeth and tenacity are scary. They'll chew through wood, plastic food bins and chicken wire no problem at all. Now I've just remembered why I keep a couple of terriers!

[sjp]

yoy won't all ways find the dead rats as they die in the tunnels or under a hedge in you are useing bait