[newatthis]

hello, not sure if this is in the right place or not if not please feel free to move it mods.. thankyou

right back to my question... what is the best way to deal with rats, i have a problem with them and i dont want it getting out of contral, oh it's up my allotment not at home,
how i know i have rats, well there are holes around the sides of the pen which i found last night but cant get to as there is a rasied bed next to 1 ( about 3ft high so no chance of mr fox getting in to that 1 but will have a go at filling it ) the others i can move coop to get to which is being done to day...
what is the best way, traps? bait/poison?,  any idea's would be great, 1 person did say about putting pea gravel down the holes to stop them digging them out again not sure if that works or not but might give it a try.. Oh the problem i have is next doors run is full of holes to a point that it looks like the moon, but he choose to take his hens home over wintre and left it as is, i think thats where they are living and coming over to mine for breakfast and dinner and tea.., he's not due to bring his lot back till spring which is months away.
Please help thankyou and if bait / poision which 1 works best..

[min200]

I would go with a few traps if its on your allotment and there are rat holes in your chicken run.  This is because if you poison them and they die in the run your chooks will eat them and end up getting poisoned themselves.

Wilkinsons sell rats traps at a good price so set them along the edge of wall/runs (rats tend to run alongside something rather than out in the open) Bait with peanut butter spread or I find coconut chocolate from a Rosies tin works very well!

Pop back a ew times a day for the first few days because it sounds like you have a real infestation so the traps should be going off alot!

Dont bother with pea gravel down the holes as rats can chew through concrete so gravel wont fase them much but I would give each hole a good "dig over" with a spade.  It wont stop them but may upset them a touch!

Hope this elps and dont panic about them you will win over time!  Im dealing with rather alot of mice at the moment who have decided that living under my sheds for the winter is a good idea!

[newatthis]

thankyou, i will try and get some traps today or monday, i did have a live trap set up but it didn't go off  but they did go in it as the food i put there has gone  so will get the other 1's today from b and q, the wooden 1's

[joyfull]

live traps are only ok if you are going to cull the rats in a humane way once caught as it is illegal to set the rats free once caught.

[RichardA]

I find that mice often get the bait without setting off the traps but more importantly I have heard of hedgehogs (who still move about on milder days even in winter) getting caught and being injured. I put all traps in a tunnel made of a few bricks to reduce risk of hedgehogs, cats etc being hurt. I also look out for signs of rats routes to and fro and move traps around a bit. Wear gloves as rats urinate continually so if they were there then risk of infection remains. Also gloves reduce smell of human interference, best if gloves kept near or rubbed with "animal feed" of some sort so any smell is atractive to rats.
R

[Matisse]

I have an 'Indian game' chicken that chase them! (even chase rabbits!  ) she is very 'protective' and I've been told its a great chicken to have around for that very same reason. So that's an idea!   I used to have rats in the chicken area (17 other chickens, different breeds), and now not a single one since the Indian Game arrived last year! 

Hope this helps!
M

[newatthis]

hi, thankyou for the idea's, Indian game sounds a good idea but the rats are there in the evening when the girls have gone to bed.
the traps im setting are in the metal shed where the rats are going and i will set some at night in the run area on their walk ways and then taking them out in the day, but with it being on the allotment it is going to be very hard to kill evey rat but i will try and keep the numbers down.
live traps, there is someone on the allotment that will get rid of any rats if any that get caught, he take's the cage with rat and then brings back the trap empty for me.

[peter rooster]

Hi

I use a combination of traps and posion (wish I could spell) I put no 4 fenn traps in boxes against walls were they run bit tricky to set but very powerfull. Then put eradirat (does not harm cats and dogs) in bait stations away from the cchickens.

peter rooster

[joyfull]

eradibait doesn't harm chickens either 

[newatthis]

here's an up date on the rat problem...
thrusday afternoon, both me and my partner saw a rat running around in next doors empty run(he has taken his home for the winter), which now looks like the face of the moon.
friday i noticed some fresh dug soil so moved a few compost bins to have a look and yep 2 big rats ran across my feet..
they ran towards my next doors run,
up till thrusday they have been eatting the stuff i have been putting down but since thrusday/friday it hasnt been touched does this mean that
they are dead?
or moved away and wount come back?
do i still leave the stuff down and keep an eye on it to see if they eat it?
sorry for all the questions, i would love it to be the end of the rat problem but i dont think it will be some how

[joyfull]

you will never get rid of all rats - they are everywhere, however all you can do is minimise the risk of them. Keep putting down the poison and keep your chicken run clean and don't leave any feed around. Make sure they have no places to make nests.

[newatthis]

thankyou joyfull, i know i cant kill evey rat on the allotment, i will keep the poison down and put the main coop on legs and not on the ground( im hoping to up it by 2ft), the small coop is already of the floor by 18 inches, so all i have to is sort the floor out, at the moment it is just mud, i do put bio-dry( i think i have it right) on once a month, is their any thing i can put on it to help,. As for the food i put it a way at the end of the evening ( in to the coops).
is there anything esle i can do???
thankyou

[orchardlady]

I would also have a word with the person that has the allotment next to you. Work on the basis that you are wanting his help rather than "Your blooming rats...". They may be completely oblivious to the winter problem...or....have they taken their hens home for the winter because of a long term rat problem? It might also be helpful to speak to the people who organise and run the allotments, again seeking their support to get everyone working together to address the problem. Rats will come to areas like allotments wether there are hens there or not. They as you've found out love the warmth of the compost bins and the fact that people are not about that much at this time of year, so don't be afraid that fingers will be pointed at you it's a group problem. As joyful has said you will never completely eradicate rats only control them. Good luck.

OL

[newatthis]

thankyou orchardlady, i have spoke to the people that run the allotment, they have said they will ask the people on the next plot to see if they can do something about it, but i've not seen any since friday and the poison hasn't been touched since then so i may have either killed the rats that where there or i may have sacred them off for a bit, so i will keep the poison down for now

[cockahoot]

Hi there i just joined this site and read your problem i also live in Northamptonshire and i might be able to help with your problem if the rats come back,i clear a lot of rats for different people ie pheasant pens, farms,hen runs, sheds etc,i use a small petrol engine with a pipe as a form of smoke/gasing set up, it is very effective humane and safe way of dealing with those little blighters also have a couple of terriers just in case any rats get away.
I stress im not a pest controller and there will be no charge at all!,im a builder who likes ratting.if your rats come back and depending on where in the shire you live pm me i might be able to help.