Rat!

ladysown · Oct 19, 2012

this kit was fine until Oct 16. Had a rat or something come through.

it has lost weight since then and is hopping funny...more like a hesitating hop. (not sure how else to describe it). It is eating and drinking just fine.

any thoughts on how to help this kit without messing with him too much? Just watch and wait has been my thoughts thus far.

So... to kill that rat without killing the nice neighbours cats...How do I do this?

What mix of plaster of paris to cake mix? and does it matter what type of cake mix?
How big of a bucket trap needs to be built?
What do they like eating the most?

help please.

tm_bunnyloft · Oct 19, 2012

Rats swim very well so I would go with the cake mix. I am not sure the ratio but I believe there was a post about rats just a week or so ago with it in there.

__________ Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:25 pm __________

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Rat-Poison

also try 1:1 ratio PB to Plaster of Paris.

And another one:
Stuff you'll need:
1 Cool Whip or similar plastic container
1/2 to 3/4 cup of plaster of paris
1/2 to 3/4 cup of peanut butter
chicken feed, bird seed or ground corn (optional, but effective)
rubber or latex gloves

Pour the plaster of paris in the container. With gloves on, work enough peanut butter into the plaster of paris until you get the consistency of cookie dough. If it's too dry it will harden fast, so you want it pliable and slightly sticky. Form small balls (about 1 inch) and roll in the feed/seed mix. My experience is that the cracked corn was much preferred by the rats. Your mileage may vary.

I placed about 8-10 balls on a bucket lid or feed sack and placed it in areas of the coop/barn where the birds would not access it. You could put them into a critter cage if it makes you feel more comfortable. You will be amazed how fast the rat balls disappear. I made fresh ones every few days and added more as they ate them up. We've had VERY cold temps here (near zero) and freezing was not an issue. I think most of the rats die in their little rat holes. I only found one or two dead, fat rats. (borrowed from a google search)

MaggieJ · Oct 20, 2012

A five gallon bucket trap should work fine. You need enough water in it that the rat is not able to push off from the bottom of the bucket and leap out... About 6 inches should be enough. If you can, you might want to bring the kit into the house until for a few days, until you get the varmint. If it is not a big infestation, the new type snap traps are good. You can bait them with the trap not set and then just push down the pedal... very safe compared to the old style traps.
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/trapp ... -p-95.html
I found dried dates to be a good bait. Rats have a sweet tooth and the dates mashed into the bait container very nicely.<br /><br />__________ Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:28 am __________<br /><br />

ladysown · Oct 20, 2012

i could see combining those two methods. I really need to get rid of that critter....

AnnClaire · Oct 20, 2012

6" water depth????? Wow, the brown field rats we have out here are 6-8" in body length alone ... it takes at least a 10 gallon bucket ... a 55gal drum is the barrel of choice out here :laugh:

MaggieJ · Oct 20, 2012

Okay, point taken, AnnClaire. You must have very large rats and you would no doubt need a greater depth of water. But jumping out of the water is more difficult than it seems, so for most rats you would certainly need need no more than a foot. I can't imagine using a 55 gallon drum... It would be so difficult to empty or fish out the dead rats.

Piper · Oct 22, 2012

chocolate is a poison, in it's self (for dogs and other small animals), so I would recomend a Chocolate cake mix, if you go that route.

Diamond · Oct 22, 2012

MaggieJ":9jmafg51 said:
A five gallon bucket trap should work fine. You need enough water in it that the rat is not able to push off from the bottom of the bucket and leap out... About 6 inches should be enough. If you can, you might want to bring the kit into the house until for a few days, until you get the varmint. If it is not a big infestation, the new type snap traps are good. You can bait them with the trap not set and then just push down the pedal... very safe compared to the old style traps.
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/trapp ... -p-95.html
I found dried dates to be a good bait. Rats have a sweet tooth and the dates mashed into the bait container very nicely.

__________ Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:28 am __________

Works very well.... I learned the drowning method accidentally. Moved into a barn infested with wharf rats. Had a horse who 'dipped' his food in the water trough - took a bite of hay or grain, dipped the mouthful in the water, and ate it. (He was an Arabian horse with dust sensitivity and invented this on his own).

So there were a lot of hay/grain pieces floating on his water tank all the time, which I cleaned out in the mornings. One day the horses were not drinking from the water tank. So I tipped the whole tank over and 3 dead rats were at the bottom.

The rats had jumped onto the "Hay island" to get the pieces of grain they saw. And drowned. Since then I have researched and seen several water-bucket type rat traps that utilize the bait/ drowning method.

personally, I just use the bait bars. Never had trouble with cats or dogs bothering them. In the chicken coop I place them under a loose floorboard (rats burrow under the floor). In the rabbit barn I put them behind the feed bin. In the shop and greenhouse I put them in the back corners of shelves. In the horse barn they go on the horizontal supports of the wall behind the hay stack, and also behind the feed bins in the grain room.

AnnClaire · Oct 24, 2012

Gee thanks MaggieJ

Devon's Mom Lauren · Oct 24, 2012

I got rid of a large rat once just by using a rat trap... the ones that spring closed and kill them, just with a bit of peanut butter on the trap latch thingy. Just put it where you see the rat traveling, in my case it was on the floor in front of a ginormus hole that suddenly erupted up through the cement floor.Next day large dead rat and that was it. So the cat doesn't get it just put it in a empty cage that the rat can get into but not the cat. I don't know how you would keep cake mix that is poisoned away from cats etc. The wooden trap will be cheaper and way faster/easier. Less chance of getting other animals with it.

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