redcharlie43 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I know i shouldn't be so pleased but have just caught my first rat . I have tried one set of traps that were really useless. l got some basic ones made by rentokil, baited them with peanut butter and got a large rat within 2 hours. I then got a mouse an hour later. I have spent the last few days watching the rats running around in broad daylight and scaring the chickens and waiting for the traps to arrive. I have become a bit obsessed about getting rid of the rats. unfortunately they have taken up residence in a load of garden rubbish that my manky neighbours threw over their fence which backs onto the chicken FR area. I won't be able to do anything about clearing it until the spring as its too wet and muddy now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackian Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Well done! I have not seen a rat for nearly 2 weeks now after putting poison down (beyond the chickens)I was and still am obsessed..The ones we saw were under next doors decking . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daxigirl Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Hoorah for you, Champion Rodentier. I get mice, and find the best traps them little nipper type ones loaded with the peanut butter. I had bought an electric one that ran off batteries but the only thing it ever zapped was a couple of slugs. (The mice were there when I moved in and well before my entry into chicken keeping, next door feeds the birds and it's always peanut stashes that I find.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Great news! You might be able to get the environmental dept of your council to have a word with them about the dumped rubbish. Is it actually landing on your land? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcharlie43 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 I feel awful now. I have just gone out after a bit of a lie in and the traps had gone! On closer inspection of the FR area one had been dragged into a corner which I think leads to a nest. It had just the head of a mouse in it. The body was gone and so was the peanut butter. Not so bothered about this one. However I am horrified that the other trap was on the other side of the FR area and there was a small dead Robin in it. It was my fault because I didn't get up before it was too light and remove the traps. I was going to leave them out all the time when the chickens were shut away in the run as I have seen the rats doing food raids in broad daylight. I will have to rethink that now. I feel like I've killed the spirit of Christmas With regard to the rubbish and the neighbours I suspect that the council will say its the chickens causing the rat problem. Most of the rubbish is garden stuff with the odd football and drinks bottles etc thrown over. It is not on our garden and we all back onto a strip of no mans land which backs onto fields and old bramble and hawthorn hedges. I will wait until the spring and get a skip and clear the whole area out including the topsoil bags and then pave and build a WIR. If they continue to chuck stuff over then I will complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Hurray for catching your first rat - I never managed to catch one, but they ended up moving out for me which was good. I always keep poison boxes down just in case. I think the mouse which keeps burrowing under our Elgu is a Field Mouse as its ears are huge, so I have left that alone and just kept filling up the holes it's made. I'm so sorry to hear about the robin though, I would have felt the same, sadly this is the risk we take with those sort of traps Is it possible to try poison boxes? x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heth1986 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Well done re the rats Sad news about the robin though I must admit that I was mortified when I caught a little finch in one of mine. Try covering the traps with a bit of cleverly moulded chicken wire with the open side up against where the rats come in... I did this and then pegged the wire down which meant that I could leave the traps out all day and catch the daylight robbers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I'm sorry you caught a Robin. We once used a friendly trap because I didn't want to catch anything else. And I'm glad we did because the next morning there was a hedgehog in it. The thought of him getting his little nose caught in one of those other traps was not nice. I'm glad you caught a rat though. Thats one less rat in the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Good about the rat, not so good about the robin.I used bait blocks when the rats were visiting at night and took them up in the morning. I found a dead rat under the hedge next to the banty run. We had a couple more visiting after that but touchwood no sign of them for the last couple of weeks. Maybe me brushing all the food up with a dustpan and brush at night has helped. Horrible things rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
