We have rats, perhaps due to neighbours having chickens…..

They reckon they are doing everything they can,but of course they blame the woods at the back, building work going on etc.

We have had the rat people out, but want to set up some bait stations in the garden on a semi permanet basis. What do you use?

We have a Jack Russell minus nuts (rescue dog, so they came off before we got him), so he likes a chase but no killer instinct.

I had success with PIR floodlights.

Rats are a bit photophobic and a big old floodlight that lights them up every time the move discourages them.

You do occasionally see rats in daylight, so it’s not 100% but it worked for me.

Weve had some recently, used these and caught quite a few:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roshield-Snap-External-Rodent-Protector/dp/B00XL388GQ/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1P97O6OG36ZDJ&keywords=rat+trap&qid=1555499980&s=gateway&sprefix=rat%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-7

the boxes can be fixed down, and can be used with traps or bait. Also the boxes are locked so kids / pets cant get into them.

Not much you can do, chickens will be the source of food and unless you can remove that source rats are going to keep coming. Best you can do is thin the herd either by traps, bait or lead. If you are looking for someone to put some lead into their diet then asking on an air gun forum would be your best shot, we tend to be a responsible lot and know what works in terms of power for ratting and what the law is (we can only shoot on properties with permission of the owner so no taking pot shots in your neighbours garden).

If you go for the trap option you need to lay them on the rats normal path (they are very habitual) and bait them but don’t set it. Once they take the bait you can set it but check it every 24h. I would advise having an air pistol to despatch any detainees, a cheap Crosman 2240 would be fine for traps.

If you want to kill them, the Goodnature traps seem like a good way of doing it:

http://collinsnets.co.uk/product-category/vermin-control/goodnature-traps

Friends used to keep chickens and they attracted an endless stream of rats fwiw. It stopped when they got rid of the chickens. Maybe you could swap your Jack Russell for a fox.

We had rats from the farm next door. They used to come into our roof and race about at night.
The rat catcher cleared them out but couldn’t persuade our neighbour to fork out for his services until they discovered that the rats were costing more to keep than getting rid of them.
The rats were eating the feed and ruining what was left.
Trying dropping weils disease into a conversation as in have you had injections against or if they are having anyone doing any work on site if they have notified them about risk?

I got the cheapest cat food I could find, more mush than meat. Put about half a can in a saucer visible from the back door. The rats try to eat the cat food by picking it up with their front paws but because it’s cheap mush that’s not so easy to do. So while they’re figuring out what to do, shoot them with an airgun. The other rats see free food so out they come. Shoot them too. Repeat until no more rats.

liquiorice is toxic for rats, so if you are worried about putting bait down becaus of other animals eating it that is a good alternative.

As above, buy an Airgun….. but use it shoot the chickens/neighbour.

.22 and patience.

Just get one of these:

We’ve got two. Despite living backing onto woodland, the only rats we see are the dismembered remains of the odd one that they leave out the back. The slinky black cat (Nelson) in particular is like all four horsemen of the apocalypse to the local rodent population. His best nights result was leaving four of the buggers, partially dismembered, by the back gate as a present for us. Thanks for those Nelson

I agree with Binners (!!)

Two cats = no rats. We have two; a wee 3kg, 15 year old scaredy cat, who is a total killing machine and just loves rodents. Her best ‘Rat’ day is also 4 confirmed kills.
All delivered alive by her, to cat #2. He’s generally known as the cat beast from hell, 9kg of bruiser and outright killing machine who prefers ambushing hares to second-hand rats. He still managed to eat two point five of the four that she brought him at the fireside that evening.

Get a cat. Or two…

You’re just imagining things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGs6TDeXo8E

Another +1 for cat food but on big nipper traps. Our cat is useless so its left to the traps to do their work. Last year i got about 6 in 2 days, but not had any for months until last week.

Irritiatingly for us, we have no chickens or food, but they still come back for more. I assume they’re coming in via next door who until recently only had half a roof and we could hear them in our roof spaces. It sounded like a family of bears was loose upstairs. Thankfully we don’t hear them anymore

Or a Jack Russell

Also, make sure the trap is appropriate to the rat. I had a cry for help from a neighbor when their glorified mousetrap failed to ‘deal with’ the black rat that had moved into their loft.

We have rats

In the house big spring loaded traps, what works for bait will be a bit of trial and error but cat food and peanut butter both get reasonable results though your particular lot may ignore both, (peanut butter would be my first suggestion though as it doesn’t stink our go manky to the same extent). Best to wear rubber gloves wye setting traps as your smell is likely to be off-putting for the rat.

Outside, why bother unless they’re actually causing damage?

What CFH said.
We had a rat in our garden.
I have an old BSA Airsporter.
The rat is dead.

Cats are rubbish and cause too much collateral. Make some glue traps

Get a micro Tyrannosaurus, aka a Staffy.

I watched my son’s Staffy demolish a horde of rats in minutes when an old slab was lifted.

Catch, shake, it’s dead, next please.

Incredibly fast.

Rats you say? You gotta call Severn Valley Ratters………

Rats

.22 rimfire and peanut butter. Or this looks good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj188puvQBs

I got the cheapest cat food I could find, more mush than meat. Put about half a can in a saucer visible from the back door. The rats try to eat the cat food by picking it up with their front paws but because it’s cheap mush that’s not so easy to do. So while they’re figuring out what to do, shoot them with an airgun. The other rats see free food so out they come. Shoot them too. Repeat until no more rats.

for such a successful animal they have pretty awful senses, I walked up to one on the garden table an shot it through the head nigh on point blank range (it was too close to use the sights). Quantity over quality ! 😀

Get a ‘working’ Yorkie, use their evil for good

Polecats hunt rats, the name comes from the French, Pouletchat (chickencat) as they were often found in chicken runs hunting rats (though some egg borrowing may well also have occurred).

Ferrets (domesticated Polecats) have also been used as rodent control.

Where can I get one of those capacitors from? Just putting the finishing touches to our revamped chicken house/ run. I can see an arrangement like that being quite useful ( the one that killed them straightaway at least).

Not sure who it was who suggested glue traps above but I can’t think of anything less humane than sticking a rat to a board and letting it a) starve to death or b) chew it’s own feet of trying to escape.

I have absolutely zero qualms about killing rats as long as it’s done quickly and humanely.

+1 never use glue traps.

Proper dog is best, with ferret backup.

Will make it their mission to rid your garden of rats.

Funny all the folk suggesting a gun. This isn’t 1 v 1 deathmatch. This is the last level of Goldeneye. They’re not going to stop coming.

What you need to do is bury an oil drum with a hinged lid as a trap

Bait it with a coconut.

Release the last two cannibalistic survivors into your garden.

Are the rats in your kitchen? Not sure what you’re gonna do though.

That Border Terrier up there can’t catch many rats, it’s only got three legs

That Border Terrier up there can’t catch many rats, it’s only got three legs

The rats are the other one.

That Border Terrier up there can’t catch many rats, it’s only got three legs

The rats are the other one

Like pickle Rick? Does he have a laser canon?

Hahaha! Stupid predictive text.

Funny all the folk suggesting a gun. This isn’t 1 v 1 deathmatch. This is the last level of Goldeneye. They’re not going to stop coming.

Funnily that’s exactly what I said when I pointed out the only reason they will stop is when there’s no more food. But it will control their numbers.

My BiL used frozen melted chocolate on a saucer as bait, positioned under their bird feeder on the patio. The frozen hard chocolate meant the rat/s would have to spend time gnawing and scraping to get their choclatey fix, which gave him time to take careful aim from an upstairs window with his air rifle.

Excellent sport.

bigblackheinoustoe

Member
Cats are rubbish and cause too much collateral

Agreed. Cats are a bigger problem than the rats I’d say. Rats are just cleaning up the unused food/mess – cats are just indiscriminate killers of local wildlife.

Whilst the air gun method would undoubtedly be the most pleasurable method for the would be Urban-Rambo … it’s also the least effective.
If you see the odd rat during the day – you can guarantee you got many more in the same area during the night.

A good few Fen-traps placed strategically around known rat runs will fold a few of them over in no time; but poison is the best method … the rats will often take it back to the nest where other rats will also consume it.