[Kate and her Ducks]

I've used eradiabit and was very impressed by it.

[Kazoo]

Get a bait box with poison blocks, they are safe to leave down with no danger  to your chooks, birds or any other wildlife.  I got one from my local country store fairly cheaply and its been brilliant,just check the bait now and then to keep it topped up.  One night I counted 21 rats in my garden and within 2 weeks they had all gone, just leave it down all the time now and have not seen one since.

[Bodger]

Even poison blocks can be nicked by the rats and then lost. Its much better to try and fix the blocks to something.

[kentishlad]

Hi,
How good are rats at climbing? I fear they are pretty good. We lost 2 six week old chicks recently (they were on the ground) where a rat got in and killed them so I need to get rid of them to prevent it occurring again.
My first problem is the broody coop for the young chicks (1 day to 6 week) I have a breeze block built outbuilding and have created a high level area (3 ft high against a wall like a wide shelf) to accommodate the chicks. my intention is to use an old fire guard made out of thick wire to create a cage around them. (What's the smallest hole a rat can get through, any ideas?)
Is it likely that a rat will climb the 3 feet bare wall then attempt to nibble into the wooden floor of this?
In the last attack they nibbled at ground level through a wooden door to get to the chicks and kill them, they didnt eat them just killed them that I found strange. So if I use sheet metal at ground level around doors etc is that generally enough or do they just climb higher and start nibbling?
I like the idea of 3' pipes to use as bait stations. Has anyone else used this eradibait and found it good? I like the idea that its not poisonous as such, what does it do, expand in their stomach and kill them or something?

Thanks in advance,

[Kate and her Ducks]

"Like a rat up a drainpipe!"

[Bodger]

We've all heard experts say that you are only ever so many yards from a rat wherever you are, but many people don't realise that a good many of them are actually above head height. By this, I don't mean that they are blooming mahoooosive and very tall either.    

[happy chick]

Euuuck  :shaking:  :shaking: saw 2 today so have now put out more poison.  Trouble is we inherited a bl***y great big asbestos shed monster with gaping hole under and until we get rid of that i don't think we're gonna shift the blighters.  They really make my skin crawl.  Our next door is also maniacal about feeding the wild birds with feeders everywhere; has been ever since we moved in.  Funny thing is, if anyone complains about the rats it'll probably be them blaming our chickens  :roll:  I'm just waiting for a complaint from the council!

[desandchez]

SATURDAY EVENIG I PUT SOME POISON INTO A LENGHT OF DRAIN PIPE IN A KNOWN RAT RUN WENT HOME HAD MY TEA AND THEN WATCHED CASULTY (MAN DIES FROM WELLS DESEASE) IM EVEN MORE DETERMINDED TO GET RID OF THE NOW. CHECKED THIS MORNING NO SIGN OF ANY BAIT TAKEN PERHAPS IT WAS TO COLD FOR RATTY (-3) ANY WAY LAID A FEW MORE BAITS TODAY LETS SEE WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS :evil:

[Ygerna]

I trap 'em alive in mink traps. I used to shoot 'em then, but now I just throw the trap in the boot, drive to a little wood I have down by the river and let 'em go.

I thought it was illegal to release vermin once they have been trapped. I have been told that once caught they have to be killed :?

Can anyone clear that up for me please?

[karlooben]

great advice guys , but i could not and will not kill anything wether its a rat or not. they used poison at my works as we back onto thames water land to kill the mice and i went round moving the poison { not good i know } .
i am now paranoid though as i have gone from 13 eggs to 5-6 eggs to 1 a day from 20 girls and half of me thinks the rat is taking them or my girls have just given up on laying , or they are stress out as they dont have nest boxes at the mo  :?   .

if i can find the man power then i am going to left the house up onto blocks the weekend but before i do that the roof needs to be rebuilt properly .i have spoken to ppl at the council an the e-a, but all they are saying is make sure the food is rightly kept an that there is no scrap on the ground which i am doing .

[Fen]

Rat proof food containers need not be too expensive. Look in Wilkinsons or Tescos for plastic kitchen waste bins or similar, Try and found one a couple of feet high, a lid isn't vital as rats can't climb the straight sides. Just make sure that are not placed against a wall or anything that a rat can climb onto. I get 20KG bagfulls in mine. Plastic dustbins are even better. Make sure that you don't drop pellets or grain onto the floor for the rats or mice to clean up.

[Spadefighter]

We had them in our loft 2 years ago, they climbed up the inside of the drainpipes. Had massive take of poison yesterday so have topped it up, can anyone advise when to remove this? Dont want to attract more rats, but need to deliver a decent dose on the ones we have.

[Bodger]

I'd advise that you leave it down permanently.

[Njal]

We found a rat living in our compost bin yesterday - one of the standard black ones.
The wife went to tip in the daily hen cleanings - some newspaper, straw, sawdust and plenty of chicken poo.
The rat had made a little nest in the top of the bin out of straw.
Seems it had dug a tunnel up through the inside of the bin!

Anyway, I tipped a load of orange peel and broccoli stalks in last night and when I put the chicken stuff in this morning it was all gone!

So I guess the rat is easting that.

Anyway, it's about 10m from the henhouse.
Our hens do tip their food all over the place - after filling up their dish at 7am this morning it was all gone by 8am and I can't believe they ate it!

So, does anyone know where I can get one of those £4 spring feeders mentioned earlier?

Thanks.

[karlooben]

my guys are pretty much clearing up all thier feed daily to me there looks like nothing that a rat would want to eat .

if i lift the house up it will only be about 5 -6 inches of the ground is this enough . suppose it will be enough for me to check wether anythings living under it { really cant wait tell the weekend to finally get the housing and run sorted for good }.