In a move of fluffy feathered kindness my missus has almost filled a small tree in our back garden with nut/seed/fat ball etc dispensers and over period of two months we have attracted a wide range of birds and this week one or two (that I have seen) tree climbing rats 😐

The two sightings look to be different sized rats, one is very big and they are fast and agile buggers.

These rats are going to have to go – yes I know we need to rid the tree of all the bird feeders and we are in the process of doing that but I don’t fancy rats being around us and I really dont fancy Leptospirosis (Weils disease).

Any thoughts on rat traps or other ways of killing the rats off,we don’t have a dog or cat and neither do our neighbours.

Air rifle.

I love shooting rats, but you do have to put the hours in.

Home made traps with a barrel and plank, treadle plate, sawdust or roller can provide great fun 😀

It would be worth having rats just so you could shoot them.

They’re outsude already you’ve just never noticed them. Remove the food and you’ll go back to never noticing them and you’ll be able to avoid starting a small scale rat war.

Don’t get me wrong I’ve destroyed a fair amount of vermin when it’s been in my house but seems a bit sadistic to start killing stuff when it’s outside. It’s nature init.

Have a look at the kids film Over the Hedge. Your garden will resemble that if you’re not careful.

I love shooting rats

Killing for fun. Nice.

Nope, you’re tying yourself up with a non sequitur – the killing is for entirely practical human and animal health reasons, enjoying doing it because it’s also bloody good fun is just a bonus 😀

Think of it like sex when deliberatley trying to get your wife pregnant because you’re planning another child. 😉

I’ve killed rats through necessity. With a big bloody trap. They were coming into the house at the time. Next door kept leaving food out for the birds.
I can’t say i enjoyed the experience and would have gladly let them live had they buggered off elsewhere.
Years ago i had some pet rats. They were lovely and very intelligent things.

Humane one is best. Then either drown or shoot.

Traps mean they can often (half) escape from…

My wife has got loads of bird feeder stuff and it has attracted rats.
My neighbour laid a trail of seed into his garden,then from his book depository window he picked them off with his airgun.

+1 for the airgun method if you feel the need to act. Trapping can be indiscriminate and just as likely to catch the birds, which isn’t nice. Got several live catch cage traps around the chicken houses that work to keep the numbers down and it’s surprising how many sparrows get in them. Of course need checking morning and evening and you still have deal with what you find humanely. Any bigger wiser rats get popped off with a air rifle when I see them getting cheeky. The cat does his share too.

Humane one is best. Then either drown (or shoot)

I kind of get the point, that if a snap trap doesn’t work then ratty has a rather unpleasant demise.

But humanely trapping, only to then unhumanely drown the fecker…… that doesn’t seem fair?

Yeah, you might as well set up a drown trap in the first place, equally there’s a dilemma with the multi catch live traps (like the barrel ones) that is it less humane to drown them or leave them tearing chunks out of each other all night (rats can be very prone to fighting and when en masse cannibalism is pretty common)

we had the same problem, making the feeders rat proof and getting them out of reach is the priority.

I tried trapping but they where just catching mice and a few birds so gave up on that. got a loan of an air rifle but it must have come from a fair as i couldn’t hit a barn with the bloody thing.

not seen any since we got a jack Russell and he went on a neck snapping and shaking frenzy:)

But humanely trapping, only to then unhumanely drown the fecker…… that doesn’t seem fair?

Only said ‘humane’ as an easy way to describe the trap.

But listening to the rat squeal as my Springer charged around with the trap made me realise it hadn’t been staked down properly…

mmhhh I need to find someone who will lend me an air rifle and then learn how use it.Many moons ago I went on corporate clay shoot, out of 12 peeps including two ladies I was the worst shot by some distance, the instructor reckoned it was because I had one eye lasered and the other eye was due to be treated the following year and as a result there was an imbalance, I think he was being polite and Im simply crap at shooting 🙂

ps I assume I would need a license to use an air rifle ????

Air rifle.

Buy the cheapest cat food you can find. Put it in a saucer somewhere you have a clear shot. As cheap cat food is more mush than meat they can’t carry it away so will stay at the saucer to eat making a clean shot easier.
Clear the bodies away though as IME, where crows see a dead crow as a sign to stay away, rats see a dead rat as a free meal.

pb2 – where are you?
EDIT – checked profile, too far away. Sorry or would have loaned you mine.

Licence depends on where you are but in england you can use one with landowners consent for target or pest control without licence as long as not highpower and away from the public. Lots of commonsense rules apply so best look at website info from SACS, BASC or similar. Misuse can be a serious offense.

But… if not happy with being accurate enough for clean dispatch, and safe you shouldn’t shoot. Unless you want to spend time learning maybe best to ask friends and family if they know anyone who can help? There’s normally someone nearby who knows what they are doing and may be better for you and the rats.

BBSB cheers for offer/thought ditto Dean on license info.

FWIW I reckon I could get up to speed on using an air rifle pretty quick so I dont envisage nicking the rats and if the first shot does not kill the rat then I dont see it being a big deal to dispatch it with a second shot.

ps I assume I would need a license to use an air rifle ????

Nope, nor to buy one.

.22 would be a good start, with a scope and get it zero-d in at the correct distance. Need a headshot really.

But, tbh a trap is waiting 24/7 – we’ve rifles, but traps work.

Hi br whats do you use, the metal cage one, the whizzy electronic ones or the basic big mouse trap variety ? thanks Paul

Metal cage