A rat catcher's diary...(do not read if of a delicate disposition)

[MarmadukeScarlet]

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?

I did ask him, Marmaduke - he wouldn't even pee in a bottle for her.[shakes head despairingly emoticon]

Stealth, aren't you supposed to submerge them once trapped? Also re terriers, most won't dig for them - although if they do, makes a huge mess. We used to have to lift the bales/pallets on the farm to make the rats scuttle for the terriers to chase.

Sunny, I hope he has other, more redeeming, qualities?

Have baited the traps with melted marsbar - thank goodness for party bags!

Your chickens won't be traumatised if they're anything like ours, which actually eat the dead mice that the cats kill. In fact, are you sure that it wasn't the chickens who ate the mouse rather than the rat?!!

LOL, not unless they had escaped their fox proof pen and squeezed down the rat hole!

One of next doors 7 cats was sat by the hole this afternoon [hopeful]

This morning the marsbar had trapped.....(drum roll and long pause X factor stylee) 2 mice! AAARRRGGGHHH!

Cute little ones too, this is getting to be very frustrating.

Marmaduke, sympathies. Errgghhh it's horrible.

At our previous home we had a SERIOUS rat problem which started about two months after the hens arrived. Rentokil put down about 6 locked poison boxes outside but we were fighting a losing battle. Then they got in the house. That was really bad. They came in through the tumble dryer hose outlet More poison under the kitchen units. Ha, how the rats laughed at us.

What worked in the end? Cats. Re-homed 3 strays for the outside (lived in the feed store) another one in the house. I kid you not within 48 hours the numbers dropped dramatically. Within about 2 weeks we were rat-free. Hurrah! If it happens here I will defintely be onto the CPL for some feral cats.

My terrier could come and stay with you for a working holiday. He would defo dig for them - and it's a very quick despatch if the terrier is properly efficient. Quick shake and done. Much the lesser evil, I feel.

so GrabShell, given that next door's cats are outdoor-only cats, there could be a realistic chance of them dealing with the problem for me [hopeful]? I have had soft townie cats for so long I think I have forgotten that some mogs are actually useful .

Stealth, you stand a very good chance of them dealing with your problem. Seven outdoor cats shouldn't take any nonsense. Are they showing a big interest in where you think the rats are?

Although forgot to say mine were all young cats, i.e. under two. Think age does make a difference. Also the less domesticated the cat, the better the rat catcher. Your average moggy that feeds well and snoozes in front of the fire ain't too keen on going outside and earning a living I've found.

One of them was sat next to the entrance to the bloody great big tunnel that 'something' (DH is in denial) has dug into the chicken run

Our own cat is entirely useless (but to be fair she is 16 and lived the first 13 years of her life in a town)

Ok, so two more mice today - again the one by the rat hole had been dragged down and half eaten!

My Eradibait better hurry up as I am becoming increasingly frustrated.

You must be running short of mice now, surely?

LOL

You'd have thought so - I didn't realise there were so many out there, not noticed a major problem before!

I blame my DH (as usual) as this problem started after he'd ordered too much horse feed and one sack had to stand in the shed, rather than in a lidded bin (mice/rat proof) and something ate into the sack - as I told him it would.

He was convinced they would only go for chicken corn and wouldn't be interested in happy hoof! And who is it having to release mangled mice and risk maiming herself on the rat traps?

Actually, I feel bad. The one in the shed is tiny, like a baby, I'm wondering if yesterdays were his mummy and daddy and he's having to look out for himself now - poor little orphan

I fear you may be over-thinking the mouse thing .

..but where is DH, exactly, when there are dead rodents to be handled?

He would faint clean away if I asked him to extricate mangled remains. He doesn't do dead things.

(I don't let him use my power tools either, well apart from the chainsaw but he is well insured )

The eradibait has arrived, have made little bags out of cling film and am going to ram place them in the rat holes.

How's dem rats Marmaduke...

What GrabShellDude says.

Rehome a couple of feral cats and you will be free! Tis the only way if you want to keep chooks and have a rat free area.

I had a rat living in one of my kitchen drawers and it thought it could outwit us...well it did until we rehomed a couple of ratcatchers. We are now rat free!

Contact Cat Protection - they will have tons of ratcatchers all too happy to be back on duty.

marmaduke - I've had Eradibait down for two weeks and nothing has touched it. I'm only feeding the chickens what they can eat and not leaving any food out. The horse food is all in galvanised bins.

So, A). why won't the rats eat the bloody eradibait and B). why are they making more and more tunnels into the chicken pen when there is no bloody food in there. Grrrrrr.

In years of keeping chickens, this is the first time we've ever had rats. Apparently, rats have had a longer breeding season this year but the very wet weather filled all the drains/gulleys/other ratty homes and they have migrated. Farms are reporting much worse infestations than usual etc. Which may explain it.

Will a feral cat be quick & smart enough to stay out of my dogs jaws d'you think?

There is an 'electric shock' trap, that costs about £50, and zaps the bastards as soon as they get to the bait.

Does anyone know if they're any good?

(I don't think it would get any mice because since the rats arrived, the mice have all disappeared).

I've heard that Eradibait is fairly useless. The horse place sold me some tuff that goes in a long pipe, an a friend uses block bait on a Tom Cat trap, that seems to work.

The earth they churn up is beautiful, but my shed is on the move as they are living beneath it!

I'm calling the ratman in, I'm sure they were rat poos in the chicken house, cos they didn't look like chicken poos, they were long and thin!

Sorry, been busy!

Sadly Mr Rat is still with us, although he has taken some of the eradibait. I made up little clingfilm bags and pushed them into the holes, when I pulled them out they were chewed and nearly empty.

Still only catching mice on my traps, although the trap by the hole is empty every morning with no trace of rat nor mouse - the clever rat can obviously trigger it and come back to eat the mars bar when disarmed.

I pick up all food at night, all horse and chicken feed in rat proof bins - I haven't seen any rat droppings in the feed/hay store since removing the hay (it is in the winter feild shelter, which I will need for ponies shortly).

I am going to have to get some better traps or the rat man...

Well it has got much worse today.

Yesterday as I went to get chooks into 'indoor run' before dusk, my friendly Robin hopped around for his treat (which I gave him) and I set the traps and told him I'd see him tomorrow. He is the father of the robins that nest in my shed every year, he comes right up when we are in the vegi patch next to the chooks and comes down into the chook run every morning for his pellets with them.

(You know where this is going, don't you?)

Despite the fact I had fashioned an old wooden port box into a rat trap cover to stop other animals getting into it - we have lots of hedgehogs etc. When I went to let the girls out this morning no Mr Robin hoping along the fence waiting for his breakfast.

Thought it odd, let out the chooks and checked the traps - there he was.

He had gone into the gully where the rat trap and cover was placed (we are having new rabbit proof fence put around the veg garden) gone under the cover and tried to get the peanut butter. Not only had the trap got him the bastard rat had eaten part of him too.

I cried actual tears as I got him out and buried him. I cannot tell DD, I will just have to pretend he has flown off.

I admit defeat, I am a wildlife murderer and will call the professionals tomorrow.

PS 500g of eradibait put down.

Oh no Marmaduke that's awful. I did something equally awful ages ago - at our old house we had a little sunroom attached at the front, which was open at the front. It got loads of flies in the summer so I hung some of the sticky trap thing up and caught a wren. It was still alive, and it was the most horrible thing I had to do. It was about 10 years ago, and I've never hung a sticky thing up again. I really think you should find some terriers to come and have a go, and at least try and get the cunning b***ds that are in residence. Then you can clear up, do some more proofing and start again. Try where you buy horse food from - ours has all sorts of ads up, or try a gamekeeper, or local farmer. Have a look in the local paper too, ours has some ads for "vermin clearance"...