Chicken bald back

[heth1986]

I know it sounds like a strage question but...

I spotted a rat in the run 2 weeks ago panicked like a gooden and quickly purchased myself a couple of traps. They seemed to manage to doge the traps quite well at first but I started to see them on a daily basis, at least once, sometimes more. Then 3 days ago I caught 2 baby(ish) rats This made me panick even more, thinking that if there were babies then there would be hundreds more to come, so I bought 2 more traps. Since I caught these 2, I haven't even seen one, let alone caught another one and this has baffled me

Are rats clever enough to realise that I'm on to them and thought better of coming back in my garden?! I've been following all the other ratty related advice on here too, bringing food in at night etc but I saw them in the middle of the day, when the food has to be out, so I thought they'd carry on coming!

[Tweety]

They are very clever, but also have a phobia of anything new which is probably why you haven't seen them since you put out the new traps. Give it a bit of time, and I'm afraid that they will definitely be back!

And you are right to think that there will be lots more of them, so don't give up on the traps too soon.

[sjp]

it normally takes them about a month to get used to new items in their patch if after about 6 weeks the traps still haven't court anything them change the bait. them leave the traps be for another month if they still haven't court anything move the traps to a new spot ideallly on a 'rat run' or a known feeding spot but to be honest they won't take a new food source until they are desperate ie when all the good stuff is gone

[heth1986]

That makes alot of sense, thankyou! I've been using peanut butter as bait, with some of the pellets stuck in it... I thought that might coax them in a bit seeing as it will have been the pellets that attracted them in the first place. I'll keep on with it and hopefully catch the little wotsits!

[Egghead68]

I am having terrible problems with rats. No luck with traps. My latest effort is to block all their holes with wire wool - apparently they can't dig through it.

[stu]

I'm sure I've said this before...

The best thing to fill their holes with is water, and don't handle the food you intend to trap them with.

I still use a few lengths of drainpipe with plant pots plugging one end, and crushed rat poison wrapped in newspaper tossed inside (the best bait is one they have to eat on site, rather than carry off, and they 'will' eat the best thing available, if it is a couple of weeks there and doesn't smell of people.

 

Rat traps are a permanent feature. If you get them, they keep coming back. Sorry.

I think they are tenacious rather than clever.

 

Also... get a hungry cat.

[jeshen]

Tried planting lots of varieties of mint (spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, lemon mint, apple mint, banana mint, 'berries with cream' mint, catmint, eau-de-Cologne mint!!) all round our chooks' run. They're supposed to hate the minty smell and I have to say we haven't had any rat visits since planting. (We're next to a farm so can't avoid them being a possible threat.)Have also stuffed some of our retriever's dog-hair under the shed where it appeared from as that's supposed to give them the jitters. Ammonia in a coffee tin also makes them relocate fast, apparently. We've also got a couple of bait boxes around, but these need checking regularly as (before the mint-planting) I found some bait had been left outside a box and would obviously have been fatal for the chooks. As others have said, it's important to take food and water away every night. Good luck!

[heth1986]

Hi Jeshen, thanks for that extra bit of advice! I shall go mint shopping this weekend!

 

I have since caught a couple of small rats since my last post and have only seen the big one once since, but I'm pretty sure it's still about... just avoiding my peanut butter!

 

I've always been scrupulously clean with the girls, but the blinking rats are so brash that they come in the day time so it's proving to be difficult to get the traps / poison in useful places but I'm sure we're getting there. I'll give the mint and dog hair ideas etc a go, whilst I'm sure these ones will keep coming back until I catch them, I'd rather not have any more follow!

[merlina]

I'm still struggling with a rat problem. It's very annoying, a year of chicken-keeping and no sign of them and now they're regular visitors.

My trap is designed to get rats and only catches field mice

 

The mint/hair (I use my own hair from my brush!) etc idea works to an extent - altho I'm not sure if that's because it's a 'new' thing or they actually don't like the smell. I covered the hen coop with prunings from an overgrown rosemary bush that worked quite well until it all wilted away.

 

I used to leave food overnight, but have been bringing it in. That's a pain because I sometimes need to go away overnight so have been driving back at stupid o'clock to make sure the hens don't go hungry

 

I have a cat which decimates local wildlife - but not rats it seems - grrr!