The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: freyalouiseb on February 01, 2014, 08:55:04 pm
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Hello all, we have recently moved and are spending our first winter in our new place, since the turn of the weather, the rats have become more determined trying to find food, despite my efforts to keep all feed off the ground, we have so many animals this is somewhat impossible. They have chewed through the back of the stables and left lovely big holes that now flood the stables out. Brilliant :)
What welfare and environmentally management techniques can you suggest? I know due to my location they are going to be there, but I want to get a hold before I'm infested.
:thinking:
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a jack russel from a known ratting line...
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haha we have one of those, I run a doggy daycare centre as well as keeping small animals and some livestock and poultry. The JR is good, but not good enough, I also worry about a feral cat with this many dogs around?
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There is none traps and poison before they cause damage and remember they carry wiel s diseases
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other than cat or dog the only thing I can think of is to shoot em, best with an air rifle IMO. However, and I say this as someone who enjoys shooting and so on, shooting rats is a seriously dull experience, without even the possibility of a nice meal at the end of it.
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theres a jack russell and a professional working jack russell. mine is a softie and would kill a rodent but isnt comparable to a real ratter man and his dog. a rat man will know where to look and his dogs know they are there to work.
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I've just given a home to three feral cats. The rat population has reduced significantly!
Rescue centres find it hard to find homes for ferals, as they're unlikely to ever be very friendly, so if you could do this, everyone would benefit?
PM me if you want more details.
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Fenn4 snap traps covered over in the appropriate manner (I use ridge tiles) and laid along the rat runs. It helps if the trap is buried slightly and to avoid getting mud in the mechanism I cover the unit with a small piece of weed control fabric before the light covering of soil.
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Cats.
Ask the Cats Protection League for some that come from farm/agri backgrounds. Make sure they are young, fit and healthy and not too feral, and they will soon sort out your rats.
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Cats or air rifle :thumbsup:
Nothing else is as effective IMHO ;)
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Have a look at Nooski traps but consider dogs/shooting too
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The Barn Owl Trust have useful information and suggest Eradibait if it is absolutely necessary to use a bait. Have a look at www.barnowltrust.org.uk (http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk) under rodent control.
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As you already have gnaw holes you definitely have a rat infestation .
Warfarin based baits put in tubes and pushed in with a bit of soft sponge to the middle in such as laid down 3 inch drain pipe 1 mtr long laid by walls and staked down to stop dogs getting the bait are about the only effective way you'll ever get rid of them .
I have made my bait stations by cutting a " V" out of a four foot tube and inserting a vertical tube about two feet long into the " V" and fuse gluing it in place to make an inverted letter " T" About a foot in from the two ends of the tube that lays on the ground I've slipped in & glued a bridge about 10 mm high to hold back any bait & to help stop birds hopping in for a feed.
Once a month I use a small torch to look down inside the top filler tube , if the bait has gone I'll add another cup full and replace the old clear plastic pop bottle cap on the cube . If after four months none of the bait has ben touched I take the trap up , empty it into a bucket and replenish the bait with some new stuff .
Even then you'll still need perimeter vermin control stations for as long as there is food available you'll be a rats first stop off .
They usually die deep down in their holes after a feed , if it is a succumbing doe suckling her young , her milk will snuff out the baby rats very quickly . If they are of a meat eating size they will eat her and also die from her ingested poison .
Should you notice any of your dogs being unwell if they have eaten the bait or a bait fed rat an injection of vitamin K puts them right .
In the unlikely event of you finding a dead rat collect it in a poly bag and burn it ASAP , don't bury it , put it on the muckheap or leave it on a shed roof for the flies as a bird of prey or carrion might take it .
One of the best brands if bait I've ever used was called DRATT though I don't think it is available to non registered pest controllers any more ..I had to sign the poisons register for it . You add by the cap full it to mixed bird seed in a cement mixer along with with cooking oil , dried milk and cocoa powder.
A more common bait is the Neosorexin baits usually available in 500 gram and 5 kg buckets ready mixed from any horsey place or agricultural merchant . Don't buy the sachets of it as the rats drag them away to take them back to their nests frequently leaving them on the surface if disturbed by an owl or human etc.
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Cats.
Ask the Cats Protection League for some that come from farm/agri backgrounds. Make sure they are young, fit and healthy and not too feral, and they will soon sort out your rats.
yes - definitely not ancient, blind and without teeth like ours were. :roflanim:
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The best way to tackle rats is swiftly and with deadly force. As Clodopper mentions there will be young rats in the nest by now that cats won;t be able to reach. JR's or cats picking off adults on a random basis will keep numbers down but not eradicate them. Cats also carry Leptospirosis (Weil's Disease), which they will catch from rats and pass on to you or your livestock. Find their runs (look for droppings - dark brown cylinders about 1-1.5 cm long), tracks (about 7cm wide worn smooth through use) or their holes (about the same width, under a pile of wood or a pallet or under cover near the wall of a building). Pour bait down the holes or on the run and cover it up with a paving slab raised on bricks, so birds and pets can't get to it. It may take a few days but as soon as it starts to go down keep topping it up. You may never find the dead rats (they generally die underground), but once they've ingested about 15g of bait they'll die. When setting up bait stations use clean rubber gloves - rats have an excellent sense of smell and will be much more cautious about anything smelling of human. I've tried the eco-friendly version - they wouldn't go near it!