rat problem

[Breezeblock]

i have been keeping my eyes on a few holes in the chicken coop and we appear to have a problem with rats i can't put poison down incase the dogs or the chickens eat the rats so have went with a trap but i can't catch any i have tried baiting with mars bars etc and no joy any other baits that i can try

[C.J]

Peanut butter.

[Stubby]

Peanut butter.

 

Yea Peanut butter is a goodun . Also Bacon .

[Breezeblock]

i never thought about that cheers

[peatff]

Bacon rind is a good one they love it but rats will quite happily eat anything. They ate the carbolic soap at my mate's yard and they can live on cardboard if there's nothing else, Mix some plaster of Paris, flour and sugar and leave it where they can get at it, they eat it and get bunged up and die. I put it under a slab leaned against the wall.

[rustcutter]

Rats are difficult to trap; I think I worked it out but can become an obsession.

What exactly is the problem with the traps?

Not taking the bait; try to remove or make inaccessible other food sources.

Traps going off but no catch; I use Fenn mk4 traps not cheap but proven their worth, look out at car boots for ones which have come apart go back together no problem. Triggers are variable sometimes need a bit of tuning.

Fix the bait to the plate with string/cable tie so its not too easy to sneak off with. Also Fenn mk4 has safety catch so set trap safe until bait starts to be taken and rats are used to the trap then set with catch off. Wham! caught one by the balls once couldn't believe my eyes no wonder the shrieks woke me up. Make sure the traps fixed down with the chain and peg and make ABSOLUTELY sure that no livestock or pets or non target species can get to the trap with a cover and old car wheel rim is good.

Never handle the traps with bare hands for scent and not healthy anyway; once trap has caught I find that it seems to be marked with "scent of death" even if not bloody which is unusual and won't catch for a while. I leave them outside hanging in the elements for a while if they are spare.

Some cage traps are good but usually for juvenile rats which aren't to wary.

I have a good cage trap but have had to weight it with two bricks to stop the rats turning it over rather than go in it to get to the food.

[54gka]

Liquidised cat food air rifle with night vision.

[Peasgood]

I like these traps. Very easy to set with just one hand.

Place them as in the pic so the rat crosses over them as the run by the wall. Rats have poor eyesight and prefer to hug against walls when they travel.

[TreeswingerPerth]

I use tunnel traps , been very productive for me .

[mendiplogs]

I like these traps. Very easy to set with just one hand.

Place them as in the pic so the rat crosses over them as the run by the wall. Rats have poor eyesight and prefer to hug against walls when they travel.

 

HI PEA MOUSE pea our RATS down here are larger then that trap thanks jon