Rats The Size Of Cats!!!!

[chickenjane]

Going to try the repeller and borrow Furballs cat, if that doesnt work going to ring the swat team, any one know how much the swot men cost?

I think it varies from area to area.some councils charge & some are free.plus you can find them through yellow pages.
I'd start by phonong the vermin dept of your council & go from there.
we have rat probs of varying severity.One year they got into the hpuse & ate through some wiring.the first we knew the central heating wouldn'twofk.council rat-man did the trick.Rat holes in the chicken run vary from year to year.This year none,last year awful.

the best you can hope is to keep on top of them ,never be rat free.
also am told that there is a rat trap that uses electric shock & has a wire tunnel shape, chooks wouldn't be able to get into that.

good luck.

[sewer rat]

If you find their run, you can sit beside it at night, shine the beam of a torch down it and if you can imitate a rat noise it helps - they will walk right up the torch beam (foxes do the same if you scream like a rabbit !) then you can tw*t them over the head with a big stick - used to do this for entertainment on the farm where I worked as a kid.
Personally though, i'm with Nog - I'd shoot them now.

[Alice]

Gee whiz Yoanbob - have you still got those rats. Likely to be twice as many as there was before.

[yoanbob]

thanks Alice, thats reasuring.
been looking for their run and cant spot it, may be under the chook house, waiting for repellers to arrive, if that doesnt work itrs the swot men, bit dubious about involving the council as stricktly speaking we are'nt allowed livestock, even tho there have been animals on the site for over 60 years.
anyone got a gun we can borrow?

[dwrudd]

Hey Yoanbob,

you should consider looking for a local air rifle club. If you can't find one ask BASC ( British Association for Shooting and Conservation) to advise you. You will find that there are shooters who would come and help clear the problem for free. They would be fully insured, which is covered by BASC membership and responsible shooters who could use silenced air rifles to clear the problem whilst you would not be disturbed. Also any local terrier clubs would do the same although I have not met a Jack Russell who knows that chooks are actually allowed to be there .

Don't get hung up about a Rambo image with bullet belts strung up over his ( or her ) chest as the shooting community prides itself on its image of good practice and good sense.

Other than that, I can give you the details for a fen type scissor trap in a wooden box which give a quick end to the rat and will not let anything larger in ( cats etc ) but you do have to empty and re-set the trap yourself. Its not expensive and I would be happy to teach you how to use it correctly. It is not expensive either. But I would seriousley recommend looking for a local air rifle club.

If you need any further help in this way, let me know by pm

Regards

Darren

[yoanbob]

thanks for that darren, we had the local shooters come look at the possibilityof shooting the foxs, but because of where we are they would loose their licences, the rat deterrents came and have seen no sign since, the chooks and ducks are mostly indoors at the mo due to a recent fox attack and their outdoor feeder hasn't gone down, even the sparrows dont notice the repeller, the neighbors with cats have had more "presents" since we got them. so all good on the rat front! however if you know anyone with fox traps their willing to lend let me know!

[terrier]

Evidently, in Montenegro, they have got rats as big as dogs eating their way through a concrete dam at a hydroelectric plant. Now THATS a problem. The little girl top left in the picture dispatched her first rat when she was just 6 months old. We also have a cat that is a good ratter and she doesn't harm the hens. If you want to put poison down, put it in a large cardboard or wooden box with a small access hole not big enough for the hens. As for food storage, I use galvo dustbins, the rats can't get into those.