War on Rats

just so you know... the trap was set, the rats grabbed the backend and were trying to pull it into their hole.

not laughing at a suffering animal.. just at their ingenuity. I am horrified that some of you would think I would do that. I guess I should have been more clear in my statement.

we don't laugh at suffering animals around here.. we fix them up or end their misery.

Just an update though...

1. some of the poison is being eaten
2. as smart as the rats are.. the games they play are catching up to them a bit... one's been tripping a trap and this morning finally got caught... Another I dispatched as I saw trying to trip another one (wasn't paying attention to me too intent on the trap)
3. pretty sure it was the possum that went after the rabbits as since it was caught more of my babies have come out of the box and even with rat poop around the cages, none of the babies have been hurt other than one nibbled toe....and that I might have missed from the possum.
4. the number of rats we see scurrying about is dramatically lessened.... not sure if it's the sulpher burning their feet so they take off, or that the poison set out is freaking them out, or if my traps are working, or what... I'm just happy not to have them running over my feet. <br /><br /> -- Sat Apr 02, 2016 5:01 pm -- <br /><br />

Justify it all you like, but laughing at the suffering of an injured animal isn't right... infestation or no infestation.

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I NEVER EVER said there was an animal IN the trap.. just that they were trying to pull a trap INTO their hole. Heavens... I'm just not happy with the assumption I would laugh at a helpless animal. I know that YOU don't know me.. but many on here do and should know enough by now to know I wouldn't NEVER do that.

ladysown - don't let him get to you... it is obvious he trolls this site for only one reason (not entirely sure why RT???)

Where are the rats coming from? Are they just breeding in your property? If they are coming from some where else you're not going to get rid of them unless you remove what ever is attracting them.

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Still working on this end of things.

I can't stop feeding the rabbits and my son's mice. We keep the feed as tidy and cleaned up as we can.. everything is stored in bins.

In the summer we don't feed the birds since they can feed themselves in the summer. I know I have a nest under the shed and some that move under the rabbit cages...but I don't think those ones are breeding.. think they are youngsters branching out.

Not sure what else is attracting them.... the compost only gets things the mice and rabbits won't eat (and their droppings). It's a battle we'll fight for a spell yet...but we'll get there yet.

Ladysown, no reputable member of RT is going to think you or your family would find anything amusing about any animal suffering. You've been with us from the beginning and we know you better than to think that!

I thought that macsmom98 made that perfectly clear in her two posts--and I thanked her for them--but perhaps I should have posted about this myself.

Glad you're getting the critter situation under control! We had a rat in the mudroom (Jenny :catmoon: keeps them out of the house itself) but it got into a box of rat poison we had stored there . . . with predictable results.

When I had the problem I saw a lot of young rats but never saw any big ones. I think the older ones learned not to be seen while young ones would scramble from the bin feeders when they saw me. I used Tom Cat rat poison and was able to get rid of them. I figure it cost me around 50 cents per rat. I used to keep boxes of vegetables out in the yard which probably was what attracted rats in the first place.

We got your back Ladysown! That poster has not even shown they belong on here really, never posted anything about rabbits. Seems to be an animal rights activist who is specific to rats and mice......don't let him get to you at all

I've had good luck with the Victor rat snap traps (say that quickly three times!), the classic old style the same as a mouse trap but bigger, wooden back with metal snap parts. I think placement is important, I put one in my feed shed where they have to make their way around a stud in the wall and have caught more then a dozen in it since last summer. Unfortunately I have also caught chipmunks in it too but they shouldn't be in the feed shed anyway and sometimes you can't avoid collateral damage.

I know there are a lot of different kinds of mouse traps but I have had the best luck by far with the classic Victor traps, even the ones with the plastic slice of cheese work well. I've probably caught 30-40 mice in them in the last few years.

Of course, having the two mink around here has really cut down on the rat population but I don't recommend getting a mink...

I have the wood snap traps as well.. they are much harder to set and kinda scare me but they are highly effective and when they get a rat, they get the rat properly.

The plastic black one we have sets really easily but I've learned it will get a foot or a tail about as often as it gets a proper head snap. Not sure why this is... it is also the trap they will try to pull into their nest.

I am learning where to place them.. between the mouse cages I have found works really really well. Still figuring out the best placement elsewhere... thinking of getting a three set and setting them around the bird feeders but then I'm afraid I'll be getting our squirrels.. not that I mind reducing the squirrel numbers but if it isn't a clean kill my son and hubby will be terribly upset....and it's hard to keep squirrels out of things as they can fit into the same space that a rat can.

I'm learning better where they run so am thinking of trying some glue traps again and placing them by the legs of my rabbit racks.. they like to dig holes beside them... Do you think that would work well???

it's definitely a learning experience.

For instance: I put sulphur down in front of the rabbit racks as that's where they were running out of. I placed it everywhere except around the bait stations. They no longer run out the front of the rabbit racks .... but have made tunnels under the rabbit rack legs and run out that way. which is why I am considering putting the glue traps there.

thank you all for helping me through this invasion.. it means much.

Might want to try a small dish of antifreeze. I here all animals love it. So be carefull because it will kill all animals wild life and pets. Just my 2 cents worth.