Just to set scene...My secure pen is on sleepers laid in a rectangle (15' x9'). On the inside edge of the sleepers we dug a trench and placed small hole chicken wire nailed to sleepers and going down into hole to a bepth of 80cms. We then filled hole with rubble and earth - this was supposed to put off badgers and foxes.
(The secure pen has 2 doors, one in/out on that opens onto a electric fence pen)
A few weeks ago I noticed some little mouse holes on the inside of the run, tiny ones thumd diameter size. I was not bothered, I live in the sticks and keep ponies (and chickens lol) so can cope with the odd mouse.
Then a huge hole was dug from the outside of the sleeper to underneath, I filled it with a brick and digging stopped (head in the sand, moi?) Then at the end of last week digging resumed with a vengance, I had to accept I had a rat! Then I saw it, the chooks had scraped away some of the easybed/auboise and earth so the wire net under the sleeper was visable and I saw the rat through this.
On Sat urday I noticed rat droppings in my feed/hay store inc on my hay - dirty buggers. In 3 yrs of keeping ponies here have never had a rat. DH peed in the rat hole frid night, whilst doing his fox prevention pee! The rat the dug all the wet earth out making a really hug hole, Sun am DH filled in hole.
So sunday pm (hole still filled) I took all the hay out which sits on pallets to allow air (and rats it would seem) to circulate. As I lifted the first pallet a rat shot out - shudder.
So I went to homebase and, after much deliberation, bought traps not poison - I think poison is much riskier to wildlife, risk of it getting into food chain etc and it takes longer for the animal to die. Put down peanut butter baited traps last night. (please do not flame me, I am an animal loving veggi but rats are beyond the pale)
This morning (STOP READING NOW IF EASILY OFFENDED) I went up to let chooks out, feed and check the traps.
I was confused as the trap was wedged in the big rat hole and had been sprung. Ha Ha I thought, but no in the trap was my little mouse friend - I was initially very confused as to how (and why) a trapped mouse would pull a trap 2 m backwards into a rat hole. I removed trap with my begloved hands and realised most of the mouse had been eaten by the rat.
The poor mouse had sprung the trap and then the blardy rat had thought, yum yum and tried to get it down the hole got it stuck and just eaten the bits it could reach.
Advice needed as to what to do next?