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gavclojak

Houston we have a problem (RATS)

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I have the same problem - the rats tunnel under the hutch of the Eglu and then eat the chicken food. I spent £50 a week on rat poison for 2 weeks and the blighters ate it daily but still keep coming back. My guess is that there is a huge number in a block of flats nearby and they are foraging far and wide in the cold weather.

 

Now I move the run every day. For the last week we see rats occasionally but at least they are not tunnelling into the hen run.

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Please help! I need some reassurance...its been a week and four days and I have for ur bail boxes out. Two inside the enclosure and trip outside. I have only had takers for one box and that was for the first two days but nothing since.

The rats are still happily visiting despite covering the food area in ground sanitiser every night and not seeing or leaving any any food/water out!

Getting desperate now!

Should I leave well alone, move them, cover the bait box with something to tempt them in? Change the bait???????

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I'd leave it all alone if I were you, it is usual for it to take about 3 weeks for them to go, longer if there are lots of the little blighters! Just make sure the bait is topped u pm all the time.

 

Thank you. I will leave well alone, it remains topped up as they are not eating any unfortunately:((( I will give it another couple of weeks and then I will have to call in the big guns aka "the terminator"

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Still no takers, I have tried painting the bait with peanut butter, I have left alone and not touched for a while, I have moved them next to a hole under the tool storage....I have not seen them in the enclosure for the last few days but I have seen them running along the front trying to get in and I fear it will not be long before they break the perimeter fence. :evil:

Time to try a different bait or call in the ''TERMINATOR?'' :anxious:

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We too are suffering with rats this winter. I have two bait stations which they seem to have taken bark chips into but not eaten the bait, although I haven't looked for about 5 days. The stations have been down for three weeks now. We have been removing the food every night but they have still been tunnelling in to take a look. :evil:

 

I found a dead mouse in the garden but the eats remain unmoved. Some are living under our summerhouse, and some in a compost bin which we plan to move tomorrow. It had mesh under it but they had found a way around it, the same has happened with one in our front garden too. They do a good job of turning the contents over but this is no reason to allow them to stay :twisted: .

 

I haven't actually seen them but there are plenty of tunnels and holes.

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Funny enough I didn't see them for a night or two then night before last saw it just sitting there on one of the roosting logs I have in the enclosure and I swear to god he flipped me the middle finger in defiance :shock:

 

I sought advice and I am "apparently" doing everything right. I have four bait stations I have changed the bait but still nothing....I have now escorted to a nasty looking trap that I will try over the next few days.....as soon as I block a hole the chew another in the sides or top of the enclosure that isn't corrugated...... :twisted::twisted:

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Strangely the food has gone down again in the rats favourite grub but there is no evidence at all as to how he got in.

I'm hoping the girls have been extra hungry and I hadn't filled it as much as I thought.

 

Have set up a spy camera inside the run so we can see what goes on in the run at night time ( I got the camera for my birthday last week :dance: ) . Been wanting a camera for ages but not for watching rat features in my run :evil:

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If I hadn't seen them I wouldn't have known they were getting in, I have had tunnels. I have a cube inside a massive enclosure so it is a tad more difficult to see where the point of egress is. I can honestly say there is no access to the enclose via gaps but they chew through the very top part that is covered with thick fruit net.

 

I have not seen them for a few days and have noticed next door, where I suspect they have been living, have moved stuff around the garden so they may have had the nest disturbed?

 

I only ever saw them when I popped the back garden light on and caught them unaware...gosh I actually hate them as it's become a war of attrition!!! It's me or them...save yourselves I hear them shout!!!

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Is that one of the nasty ones ?

Make sure you bring it in before the chickens wake up in the morning.

 

Still no sign of ratty on my camera :D so I'm pleased about that, but I'm sure he is lurking somewhere in the garden.

 

Yes it is one of the nasty ones in afraid:( I have to let the girls out so I remove the trap first thing...nothing has happened yet but it's only been out one day...

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thats not good. When we had them we used Eradibait and wrapped it in a little cling film with peanut butter inside and out and dropped it down the hole they were using and in the compost bin - they died and did not come back. Then we had another lot years later- I bought bait boxes and put them where they were running to get to the eglu - the hopper we used pushed food out the back and the rats were getting that - My husband sorted that and they ate the bait and lo and behold never to be seen back since then. The hopper was my way to go and i had to rat proof the bird feeders by putting a cover over them ( small round plastic tub) so the rats could not slide down and help themselves so again they have disappeared for the moment.

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