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rats revisited
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sean
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Fri Nov 22, 13 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

gregotyn wrote:

Is that a followup group to the boomtown variety, Barefoot?


More likely to be a Frank Zappa tribute act I reckon.

 
Piggyphile



Joined: 02 Apr 2009
Posts: 891
Location: Galicia
PostPosted: Fri Nov 22, 13 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I am putting poison down in the stables after the chickens are locked away for the night. A whole plate of 'sachets' disappeared last night so I will put more down tonight.

 
dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Nov 22, 13 3:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

planetman wrote:
What is everyone's preferred method of catching them, especially when they may be in with our chickens?


fenn or big nipper

gun is satisfying but etc etc etc

dig em out and clear as many hidey holes as poss is quite effective for larger numbers

best way is not to provide food or shelter but in practice this only works in sealed areas

 
dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Nov 22, 13 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

ps 3 chooks using a weaner gos as a digger put paid to a few nests

i will try to find the photos ,it was funny to watch as the chooks located a brood chamber,then steered piggy to the nest to do the hard work in exchange for some of the snacks.pinks are delicious apparently.a few hens will catch a half size rat but most run away (both rats and chooks)

i believe barrel drop traps are effective as the squeaking attracts more but then one must dispatch a barrel of rats in an ethical way which might be rather unpleasant to do.single beast live catch is a waste of time and far less ethical than mangled in a fenn

ps beware fenn traps ,unless one is always careful they hurt rather a lot

i dont care for poisons unless things are too extreme to have qualms about methods .

a very good tidy up and nest destruction is probably the best way to reduce numbers cos a homeless colony is usually mostly dead quite quickly

think like a predator ,study ones foe,shoot or trap in high traffic places(create these for convenience) and follow em home for "visits"

if they are established tracking them along scent marked trails is fairly easy even for a human

ps a pitchfork is a silly weapon but a spade works edge or flat if you can wield it moderately well

baler twine or similar on the trouser cuffs helps peace of mind on ratweek duty

GOOD HYGINE IS ESSENTIAL cos they do have quite a biological challenge such as leptospirosis ,all the enterobacteria,fleas,wiels etc etc as well as the risks from the biological challenge of rats nests,digging in muck etc

 
Jam Lady



Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA
PostPosted: Fri Nov 22, 13 9:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

In New York City they use dogs:

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/22/nyregion/in-manhattan-alleys-owners-send-their-dogs-on-a-rat-hunt.html?hpw&rref=nyregion

 
dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Nov 22, 13 11:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

jrt ,yorkies and similar will catch rats ,some are good at it ,most mutts dont like em but that can be useful for finding em,i teach mine to point rats but none have wanted to get stuck in with the messy business of dispatch

i really like rats and have had a rn that lived about my person as a chum(shaking stuff from ones shirt discretely gets easier) and a rr that i raised from a pink on my person until i returned it to the wild (attics are us)at about 6 months

vermin control and sport should not mix imho even though the successful hunt is satisfying and many hands n teeth make light work and doing a job well can be quite jolly,the necessity of the job should be the motive rather than the thrill of the chase .i present no danger to any rat that isnt causing a problem such as eating my shed or shedding fleas in the yard or annoying the livestock or being an economic threat or being a health hazard.

respect for ones prey is good and even vermin deserve a kind death

a good trap,or clean shot are kind
a similar terminal ballistic energy is needed for a rat as for a bunny even though they are different sizes, rats are a lot tougher .
the target area is a similar size ,head for bunny ,forequarters for rat ,a just non fac air weapon is ideal for sniping them,use soft flatish or domed heavy pellets for maximum energy exchange and minimum bounces if you miss,think backstop ,they do have a way of moving at the slightest reason such as the slight noise of a trigger sear or of clothing moving as you adjust aim .even if they cant see you they have ace smell and hearing,to snipe at long range reduces this problem so a target airgun is fairly suited to the job.a good short pcp and night sight can also do the job,silencers are good as a second rat is a possible and a plurp wont provoke a run like a bang .spotting ratty and aiming is not as good as aiming and awaiting ratty so bait a good killing zone .

therefore can you hit and mangle a wine bottle cork in the position and lighting you expect your rats to be in?shooting them is tricky but will get a few ,traps never sleep they just doze off a bit when full of dinner

 
leggy



Joined: 16 Jan 2009
Posts: 340
Location: Monmouth
PostPosted: Mon Nov 25, 13 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jam Lady wrote:
In New York City they use dogs:

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/22/nyregion/in-manhattan-alleys-owners-send-their-dogs-on-a-rat-hunt.html?hpw&rref=nyregion

I remember watching life of grime new York on tv,and the manager/caretaker of a apartment block,used to let his pit bull dig them out of a empty lot opposite.

 
Tavascarow



Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall
PostPosted: Mon Nov 25, 13 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

My preferred method is watching my two JRTs hunt them.
Both will now kill, but as with shooting not the most efficient manner.
Fenns in tunnels made from galvanise sheeting offcuts are my usual method but be 100% sure no birds can get into the tunnels.
Poison when there's lots of them.

 
DorsetScott



Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth
PostPosted: Mon Nov 25, 13 11:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Borrow Piggyphile's dog


 
Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Tue Nov 26, 13 12:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Piggyphile wrote:
I am putting poison down in the stables after the chickens are locked away for the night. A whole plate of 'sachets' disappeared last night so I will put more down tonight.


Those rats probably aren't eating that much poison, the dominant rats are probably taking and hiding the sachets away. As a one time professional pest controller, I don't rate rat poison in sachets at all. There's a lot of wastage with them, because the rats forget where they've stashed them. Its not unusual to find hoards of them in the spring, say when you've gotten to the bottom of the hay or straw store.

I posted this way back in 2006 and have to dig it up fairly regularly. The information contained in it still holds good today. Is it worth making it a sticky? Newbies and oldies might find it useful.

https://forum.downsizer.net/about13825.html&highlight=rats

 
sean
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Tue Nov 26, 13 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It's permanently enshrined in The Articles.

 
dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Nov 26, 13 7:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

what bodger said about denying them food and a home is vital to reducing them to manageable numbers

a neat trap tip is a bit of string tied to the snapper and just reaching under the box is a good way to know if it is sprung without disturbing a waiting trap.a moved box or human smell will put them off from investigating their doom.

they are neophobic so be patient with trapping,a new trap with fresh bait is much more of a worry than one with old rat ooze etc ,if you can set or rebait wearing mucky gloves do so,if it is too fiddly "farmyard"hands help mask human scent

 
dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes
PostPosted: Wed May 12, 21 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

rats very revisited last one i saw was a desperate drinker

this is awesome [/url]

 
Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15985

PostPosted: Thu May 13, 21 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

That's really awful for them.

 
dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 21 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

a silo of mice must have some value

high protein lunch for something, snake meat and leather is my first thought

 
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