if you have any slugs in your garden they can eat the bait off of a trap and not set it off or set it off and just crawl away. happened to me until i caught em doing it. Havent tried the big foot trap but will look into em. thanks for the info.
NFR Rats.... @#$%ing rats.
- Thread starter Josh
- Start date
Non-fishing related
There is nothing better than a "natural born killer".
Ours came from a woodpile and would hiss and refuse to approach us for two months. Then we started talking about getting rid of them and they decided that it wasn't that bad of a gig working for us.
My favorite memory was the black and white when she was a kitten. Our house overlooked a farmers field and I could see her hunting in the short grass. My comment was "isn't that cute".
She then leaped into the air and landed on top of rooster pheasant, who took off flying with her holding on for dear life. She fell off after about twenty feet, but what a ride.
Rats are awful difficult to get rid of without a cat. Cat less, I used a box with hole on top and a large baited Victor trap at the bottom. It took a couple of weeks to get rid of it.
Can you "rent" a cat from friends. Cats are also good for getting rid of rattlesnakes that hide in your garage.
We had trouble until we
A. Had an exterminator do an exclusion study and plug all entrances. And
B. Bait
I think you’re going to have to gently mislead your wife about the characteristics of the bait being used. I was kinda nervous about the bait until Pete brought in a rat in its final throes because
1. Gross,and
2. He didn’t suffer any secondary effects, and
3. You haven’t lived until your terrier comes through the dog door with a dying rat in his mouth
A. Had an exterminator do an exclusion study and plug all entrances. And
B. Bait
I think you’re going to have to gently mislead your wife about the characteristics of the bait being used. I was kinda nervous about the bait until Pete brought in a rat in its final throes because
1. Gross,and
2. He didn’t suffer any secondary effects, and
3. You haven’t lived until your terrier comes through the dog door with a dying rat in his mouth
I especially like these for indoor use.
Denwor54
Life of the Party
Bacon is the best, use old school traps and tie down the bacon with fine mono. The smart one figure out peanut butter and bacon by far works every time for. I don’t like poison as you find them latter by smell. I have tried many methods and I have had my best luck with bacon.
wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
Josh, on holes in structure, we used a combination of expanding foam with rodenticide and steel wool to plug them up. Haven't seen one since.
I've had pretty good luck baiting a small cage trap w/ cheap peanut butter. When some small rodent is trapped, I just submerge the trap in water for a minute, "empty" it and then re-set it. Some mornings it's squirrels, some mornings it's rats......... I'm not picky.....
Replicant
Life of the Party
Back in my Wallingford days, I would set about six traps a night, turn off the porch light and hear them all go off in about thirty nine seconds. Set em' up again and repeat. Did this every night for weeks, until they got the message. Over here in south central WA, we have two feral (neutered) cats and one house cat. They clean up. We just don't have small critter problems. Skunks and Raccoons are a different story.
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At one point our house was completely surrounded by dog owners, all of whom kept a
bowl of kibble outside in case Fido got hungry. The neighborhood was a cafeteria for rats, skunks, possums and raccoons. When the fall rains came all the rodents began house hunting. It was nasty. I discovered that if a poisoned rat dies in your crawl space things get ugly inside the house quickly. Crawling around under the house trying to locate and remove said dead rodent while gagging on the stench of putresine is a lifetime memorable event.
As a result, I think traps are better. I really like the Guarden traps. Setting is simple, just push down on the back end, no messing with those damned wire hold-downs while the bail is waiting to break your knuckles. With the Guarden traps your hands aren't near the killing end. And they work!
bowl of kibble outside in case Fido got hungry. The neighborhood was a cafeteria for rats, skunks, possums and raccoons. When the fall rains came all the rodents began house hunting. It was nasty. I discovered that if a poisoned rat dies in your crawl space things get ugly inside the house quickly. Crawling around under the house trying to locate and remove said dead rodent while gagging on the stench of putresine is a lifetime memorable event.
As a result, I think traps are better. I really like the Guarden traps. Setting is simple, just push down on the back end, no messing with those damned wire hold-downs while the bail is waiting to break your knuckles. With the Guarden traps your hands aren't near the killing end. And they work!
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I have been at war with the rats in my yard for many years. I have wood piles, a nice veggie garden, nearby woods, and chickens, all of which attract rats. I used to get them inside my house on occasion, but exclusion efforts fixed that. Make sure your crawlspace entrance is sealed tight. For exterior rats, traditional Victor snap traps with the metal triggers have worked best for me. I tried the plastic fake cheese triggers and it's too easy for the rats to get away unscathed. I prefer peanut butter for bait. If they clean off the bait without setting off the trap, try dripping melted cheddar with a little garlic powder on the trigger. Trapping is most effective in winter. In summer, there is risk of the little sugar ants swarming the bait. If that happens, you won't get rats. I set traps at dusk and check them before daylight in the morning, otherwise there is risk of catching birds or squirrels. That's tough in the summer when it gets light at 4:30. That's when I think a pellet gun is the best option. I have probably killed more rats with my old Crossman .177, but I upgraded to a Sheridan .22 pellet rifle with scope a few years back and it's definitely more up to the task.
JimTravers¤£a!!Travers
Steelhead
You gotta just BEAT THEM UP!!! Gotta just beat them!!! Just reach into the durt and GET THEM!!!! THEN BEAT THEM UP
Try putting a few moth balls down the burrows and cover with a little soil to trap the fumes,
Chinook Angler
Steelhead
Has anyone tried cottonseed oil bait for rat control? It's supposed to act as a natural contraceptive. The commercially available Evolve product uses the cottonseed oil as the main ingredient. I was just thinking of mixing DIY bait chunks.
Ouch, did not need that reminder. I managed the Wallingford QFC during the great rat incursion of 2014 and it was not fun. Google 'Wallingford rats'. We spent tens of thousands of dollars controlling them, up to and including night vision CCTV in the suspended ceiling. Do. Not. Like. Rats.