I hope you get a handle on it quickly. I hate finding crunchy little poops anywhere.
NFR Rats in the garden
- Thread starter Evan B
- Start date
Non-fishing related
Trout Trekker
Steelhead
Sounds to me like you have the same problem we have here. Our neighbors have defective cats.
Tomcat works great if it's really fresh. It should crumble under a little pressure or have some give and have a strong scent of very sweet fruit. Most of the stuff I've come across in HIC's is pretty old, somewhat dried up and lacks that sweet strong aroma. I've found that feed stores turn over their inventory for this item faster and usually ( at least here ) have fresh TomCat.
Tomcat works great if it's really fresh. It should crumble under a little pressure or have some give and have a strong scent of very sweet fruit. Most of the stuff I've come across in HIC's is pretty old, somewhat dried up and lacks that sweet strong aroma. I've found that feed stores turn over their inventory for this item faster and usually ( at least here ) have fresh TomCat.
I wanted to do those, but not sure there's anywhere I can put them in the back yard where the chickens or cat won't get to them. I'd have to build a box just for the trip. Not totally against the idea though.
That's what my son found, keep it clean and tidy, keep feed in animal proof bins, well stored straw or whatever bedding, treats eaten when given, ect.
We had a cat that would eat it all and leave the heart on the back sidewalk. If we were into collecting rats and mice organs we would have a nice collection of organs. When we moved to Montana she stayed behind. She took off and we couldn't find her. That house and the one on the corner were torn down and some duplex's were built on that spot. So much for the cat.
A
Anonymous member 148
Guest
Not a rat but this is what happens when you forget to put the lid back on the scratch bucket 1 night!
Yuck. My son could be lazy at first and I'm sure that was the issue, but his wife grew up in 4H, she's training him.
Exactly why I went out there afterwards and spend the time to capture them all - nervous the dogs would find one and try to eat it. Ew.
Denwor54
Life of the Party
When I moved into our house the garage was a hotel for them and I went to town on them. I used everything except poison and still had a problem but decided nobody can resist bacon not cooked. Problem solved but they still came back and I continue to kick there ass. Remodeling my garage and had one get in not sure how but he did fall for bacon on first try. The trick with bacon is to tie it down with fine mono and they can’t remove it.
Buzzy
I prefer to call them strike indicators.
I found that the rats were entering our coop and eating scratch. Good luck.
Pink Nighty
Life of the Party
Mink are awful little creatures. Had one take up residence in my shop as a kid, spent a whole day trying to chase it out and it flat refused. Had to trap it eventually.
I grew up in an old house in New England. A drafty, not well sealed house.
There was a reason my dad kept one of my pellet pistols on the end table next to his recliner.
Not rats but the mice who used the space behind our TV//record stand as a super highway.They often met their end popping their heads out from behind the bottom shelf.
Friends: “what are those holes in the wall”.
Me: “Nothing….”
Buckeye chickens eat mice. Not sure about rats.
Putting a cover on or removing the feeder can help. There are also anti-rodent feeders with a treadle that will lift its cover from over the food when a chicken steps on it.
Wife didn’t want to spend the money on a anti-rodent feeder, so I chose a boy cat the next time she wanted another cat. He did a pretty good job, as far as I could tell. Then we decided to adopt out our last hen. Sunny boy (Pablo) still has to hunt, though. Even twice brought in young bunnies alive into the house. A new anxiety for my wife.
Those rats in the video would probably agree with you.
This summer I learned that baby bunnies make a terrible screaming sound when a cat is attacking them.
My wife’s anxiety.
Porter2
Life of the Party
I’m serious when I say our two cats, RIP, and brothers purchased from Masers pet store in Kenmore in the early spring of 2004 cleaned up the neighborhood. Back then Kenmore had a European Deli store, a dollar grocery store type market, Ostroms drug store, and some restaurant/bar. The alley which was about two blocks from our house was a dumpster of food. We had two neighbors with chickens at the time. One directly across the street from us and another down the street 4 houses down. When we first bought our home I remember being on the phone and looking at at our backyard rockery and seeing a couple rats running around. Immediately I started the cat shopping but it took several months to land the type of cat(s) I wanted. At masers someone had bought one of the brothers. I bought the other. Then when I came to pick up they said other party dropped out. So I paid another 75.00 and brought both home. They were young. So it would be a while. Meantime I had discovered rats in our 8x10 shed and our greenhouse. Yuck!!!
For a couple years those two ( after being 8 months old starting catching 2-3-4 Rats a day for a solid two years. I stepped on several guts bare foot many a mornings retrieving the newspaper …. Ah back when you had a paper delivered to your porch. Habit of dropping unwanted organs on the porch or sometimes the full meal deal. They were so proud. This also included squirrels (yep unbelievable), snakes, mice, moles, numerous birds
, rabbits, and bats.
Our neighbors knew our cats well and loved them. Actually had requests if they could be borrowed.
I saw how they worked. They did a perimeter check every day around the house. And if they saw one they are so patient. They sit on a firewood pile for an hour waiting for the thing to poke his head out. The one thing I didn’t like was sometimes it was a game and they toyed with them…. In summertime our doors are open so we had some scatter-mad-house run-ins inside our house. Some damage can be created from a 15lb cat running wild in your home chasing a rat.
Any ways within 3 years or so the neighborhood was near rat-less. Not 100 percent but there were no more infestations like before. We had the only cats in the neighborhood. Some had dogs but no cats or minks
But you want certain cats. The Tabby types are solid. Plus you can leave them up to 5 days alone … with food and water of course outside. They’ll be fine. But they do wander, you might not see them from time to time for 2-3 days. Not sure why. But they always come back unless killed or injured as I have found out.
For a couple years those two ( after being 8 months old starting catching 2-3-4 Rats a day for a solid two years. I stepped on several guts bare foot many a mornings retrieving the newspaper …. Ah back when you had a paper delivered to your porch. Habit of dropping unwanted organs on the porch or sometimes the full meal deal. They were so proud. This also included squirrels (yep unbelievable), snakes, mice, moles, numerous birds
, rabbits, and bats.Our neighbors knew our cats well and loved them. Actually had requests if they could be borrowed.
I saw how they worked. They did a perimeter check every day around the house. And if they saw one they are so patient. They sit on a firewood pile for an hour waiting for the thing to poke his head out. The one thing I didn’t like was sometimes it was a game and they toyed with them…. In summertime our doors are open so we had some scatter-mad-house run-ins inside our house. Some damage can be created from a 15lb cat running wild in your home chasing a rat.
Any ways within 3 years or so the neighborhood was near rat-less. Not 100 percent but there were no more infestations like before. We had the only cats in the neighborhood. Some had dogs but no cats or minks
But you want certain cats. The Tabby types are solid. Plus you can leave them up to 5 days alone … with food and water of course outside. They’ll be fine. But they do wander, you might not see them from time to time for 2-3 days. Not sure why. But they always come back unless killed or injured as I have found out.
