Doesn't matter the size... still scared apparently

[ladysown]

So I have a momma rat hanging around having babies. Been working at get rid of them.

My son dearly wants me to catch them alive and I've bluntly told him NO, NO WAY. rats bite not doing it. I'm scared of getting a wild rat bite.

Anyways, tonight out getting feed for the bunnies and I hear scurrying and I think ah.. dumb rats gotta move that tarp. Moved it and it happened to move over a pail I have sitting there... I go about my business wondering that that odd noise was.

Look in the pail and voila!

CAUGHT ME FIVE babies... jumpers I think...

It surprised me... even though they were very cute the idea of sticking my hand in there to remove them from life alarmed me.

I found me a big hunk of wood.

The rats are now in the freezer awaiting a trip to the raptor rescue.

Surprised me though... the strength of my "ah no! NOT doing that!"

Did learn something though.. rats will chew off a foot if the trap doesn't catch them right. So somewhere I have a three legged rat somewhere.. a big part of me is hoping it slows the rat down enough that the resident rogue cat can dispatch it.

 

[dayna]

I've had many pet rats in my life. I am terrified of wild rats, of any size. So I get it!

We have a bad rat problem here and I wish I had the answer to get them to all go somewhere else.

 

[Homer]

We have a bad rat problem here and I wish I had the answer to get them to all go somewhere else.

Give this a try.

LOL

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Pet rats are fabulous, but wild rats are evil!

They will leap at you if cornered- we had one in our small laundry room in our former house, and it must have jumped at least 4 feet, straight at me. :x

 

[Homer]

we had one in our small laundry room in our former house, and it must have jumped at least 4 feet, straight at me. :x

He LIKED you. :laugh2:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

MamaSheepdog wrote:
we had one in our small laundry room in our former house, and it must have jumped at least 4 feet, straight at me. :x


He LIKED you. :laugh2:

Liked me for dinner, maybe! He didn't like our Shepherd/wolf dog Nevar much though. He dispatched the nasty critter in seconds flat.

 

[Oscar]

Rats are gross where I am we only have mice.

 

[skysthelimit]

Once again some have taken up residence in the barn. The no good cat (anyone want a useless cat) doesn't do anything. I went out one night last week with the flashlight, over turned a dish and it jumped out the cage, into my bucket of feed and got away. Dogs tried to bring that thing to justice (breeder trains gsd's for barn rat hunting) but it got away. Haven't seen rat droppings since them.

 

[ladysown]

so mama rat is smart... I don't want to do poison so how I catch the stupid thing???? (unless it was her foot in the trap)

the snap trap isn't working for her.... Though it's reducing the mouse population quite handily which I didn't expect.

 

[Homer]

Pellet gun and a light taped to the side of barrel or better yet a friend to spotlight for you. Have them stand behind you so you can see down the sites. We use to shoot rats at the dump all the time. When the light hits them you have about 3 or 4 seconds to fire. :mrgreen:

 

[coyotejoe]

so mama rat is smart... I don't want to do poison so how I catch the stupid thing???? (unless it was her foot in the trap)

the snap trap isn't working for her.... Though it's reducing the mouse population quite handily which I didn't expect.

You already have your answer as to how to trap her, the old bucket trick. Just fill the bucket about half full of water and float some bait on top, dry dog kibble or corn or anything that will float. The rat will jump in and drown. I place a board to form a ramp up the outside of the bucket with a bit of bait on the board to encourage the rat to investigate. There are many complex variations on this theme, boards that tip or plastic bottles that spin to drop the rat into the water. They are cool if you have a fascination with Rube Goldberg contraptions as I do but they don't actually catch more varmints than the simple water bucket.

 

[ladysown]

i will do the bucket trap. I want these rats gone before winter hits hard. (hoping that it will hit hard...this cold/warm weather is got good for the bunnies...)

 

[FourRingCircus]

Spiders and snakes? No problem...

Mice, rats, and roaches? Heebie jeebies.... they are about the only thing that will make me truly scream. I had a roach dive bomb me in college and I am pretty sure I was thisclose to a full on panic attack from it...

I had a good mouser or two. One is now being fed a LOT by our tenant, the other mysteriously disappeared (if curiosity would kill a cat, it would have been her. The kids were out back shooting, and she thought she would go check out the target... another time she stuck her head in the hole where the lawn mower blades were. Mower was on, but blades disengaged. Hitched a ride then hopped out of a trailer before we could stop (saw her pop up in the side view mirror, then bailed at about 40 MPH). My guess is she hitched a ride in someone's vehicle - UPS, FedEx, maybe even the Southern States trailer that was being filled with hay at the top of the hill. She disappeared sometime around when they switched them out.

Anyway, back to searching for another good mouser. They are so worth having around! I am a dog and cat person They each earn their keep in one way or another... Although, even my 9 year old dog got a mouse/rat (not sure, it was either a HUGE mouse, or a small rat... how can you tell a difference?). <br /><br /> __________ Fri Dec 11, 2015 12:41 pm __________ <br /><br />

i will do the bucket trap. I want these rats gone before winter hits hard. (hoping that it will hit hard...this cold/warm weather is got good for the bunnies...)

We have had an odd December here as well. A few nights of cold, but mostly just warm. I have the windows open right now... according to the home thermometer it is 73* out!!

 

[MaggieJ]

I had good luck with the pedal type rat traps baited with dates, which compress nicely into the little bait container. I have also trapped them in a small live trap and dispatched them through the bars with the pellet gun. I'm going to have to get the traps out again . . . I think we have one in our mudroom. :shock: