Rat

Lex Luthor

I thought what I saw was a field mouse in my shed a few weeks back when I was clearing out....definitely not a rat from what I remember and no way the size of what I have just seen.

He came out from underneath my shed and helped himself to 5 or 6 pieces of bread the wife had thrown out for the birds. This was a big one too....well fed by the looks of him.

So I got 2 traps and loaded them up and have left them out for the night...

A bit puzzeld though as to how he came in....the estate is well established (10yrs) and normally this sort of thing from what I believe only happens when new developments are going up, but nothing in the vicinity for years..

I put a compost bin in the garden 2 months ago and have started to fill it...would that have attracted it in? Its only grass/veg/fruit etc. I thought they were only interested in meat composters?

So if I'm lucky there is just 1....could I be that lucky? DO they live in packs? Wife is freaking out as he was only 10ft from the back door and the kids had been playing out the back garden all weekend and now she thinks the place is covered in rat pi$$.

Any other suggestions to catch this fella? I thought about poison but the last thing I want is it dying away under my shed. I want proof its dead. I was contemplating getting in a Black Widow catapult and taking pot shots at it from the bedroom window.

muffler

Get a trap type cage and that way you have the best of both worlds. You can catch him, have him inside the cage and then enjoy killing him if you are into that type of thing.

Dont forget to check for a nest

crosstownk

I know a few people who put similar food waste in composters and most have encountered rats. I'd say stop putting food in the composter if you think that this is what is attracting them. If you do get traps don't use the Snapper brand - they are useless IMO. Get a good quality brand and set it with the trigger on a hair breath.

Have a peek at this for more info http://www.metrokc.gov/health/env_hlth/rats.htm

FranknFurter

Rats are everywhere, usually tho they keep out of sight.
Wherever you are or live, there is at least one rat within 300 meters of you, either above ground or below (sewer, drainage shore etc).
The funniest thing is that you are much more likely to see or be near a rat living in the city or town than out in the wilds of the country! :0))

Nice thought eh?

b

Lex Luthor

could only get the wooden type last night in woodies and both were triggered last night. One looked like it got him but he broke his way out of it leaving the trap in a right state.

any suggestions to get better stronger ones or the cage type? Would B&Q or Atlantic H have a better choice?

Poison was recommended to me but that website recommends not to.

viking

Screw the trap down if you can to prevent him setting it off before he takes the bait.

Also, now that he will be wary of the trap you might want to bait it but not set it so that he gets used to the trap and will take the bait . Do this for a couple of nights and then set the trap, he should take the bait and then SNAP!

When you catch him, wear rubber gloves to remove him and triple bag the rat and trap in black bags. Chuck him in your wheelie bin immediately and disinfect the area where he was caught as there will probably be blood etc and you don't want that around your garden.

It took a few nights for me to catch the one in my garden, clever little fecker too he was taking the bait (sausage) without setting the trap off. Here's a pic but its a bit gory so don't view before food etc

smashey

I had a similar experience recently. I saw two rats coming from under the fence at the rear of the house. If there are two, that usually means there is a nest somewhere. :eek: I went to the local co-op and bought some poison. The poison is in the form of little blue blocks. I laid it as per the instructions and within two hours it was gone. I laid some more and every time it was taken, I replaced it. Over the next two days, I laid out more and more and eventually the last four blocks remained for over a day. The good thing about the poison is they carry it to the nest and you get the lot. Nuke them.

AdrianR

Rats are everywhere, usually tho they keep out of sight.
Wherever you are or live, there is at least one rat within 300 meters of you, either above ground or below (sewer, drainage shore etc).
The funniest thing is that you are much more likely to see or be near a rat living in the city or town than out in the wilds of the country! :0))

If there is food available you will have rats, as simple as that, use a bird feeder that's rodent proof (If it's squirrel proof it will be rat proof). I was talking to a guy from rent-o-kill a few years ago he told me that a mouse can live for 3 days off the residue on the inside of a crisp packet so as you can imagine with the state of litter in this country the rats and mice have no shortage of food:eek:

Lex Luthor

got some bait today and will lay more traps tonight....Black Widow catapult arriving on Friday if I need it for some fun....

one of the traps from last night that triggered had some blood on it, so it just clipped him.

found me one of the caged traps....all baited up and ready for some action. 2 poison blocks out as well for the rest of the clan.

googs

man we are plagued with rats... tried the traps.. it's hit and miss, they are very adept at pulling the food off or if you tie it, they feel the string / fishing line and dart off.... b*stards... think i'll have to go with the rat poison.. Lex you said you are getting a catapult.. where would i get one of them.. had one years ago but sold it..

PoolDude

How about these:

http://www.brighterimage.ie/products.asp?CategoryID=1

http://www.thanedirect.ie/products/diy/pestmagic/pestmagic.php

Anybody know if these new models are effective?

Lex Luthor

googs wrote:

Lex you said you are getting a catapult.. where would i get one of them.. had one years ago but sold it..

Tried a few places around me...mostly the fixing tackle shops...none of them sell them, so I asked somebody I know who is in Cork at the moment to pick me one up from the Outdoor/Hunting shop in Patrick St., near the Guiness office...thats where I got one when I was younger....they hopefully still sell them there...pack of marbles from Smyths then for ammo or plum stones.

PoolDude wrote:

How about these:

http://www.brighterimage.ie/products.asp?CategoryID=1

http://www.thanedirect.ie/products/d.../pestmagic.php

Anybody know if these new models are effective?

I have one in the house for years and I've still heard the odd mouse run around the attic. Mine also claims to deter mosquitos so I've brought it on holidays but still get bitten, so I don't think they are that effective.:mad:

crosstownk

Plenty of fun for Lex tonight:D

You gotta get rid of them - especially if you got kids! Mice are not too bad but rats - :eek:

muffler

You could always get a cat.

Have a close look at the situation in the pic below. 2 cats - 1 mouse. I should add that the mouse was ate shortly after the pic was taken

TwistsAndTurns

smashey wrote:

I had a similar experience recently. I saw two rats coming from under the fence at the rear of the house. If there are two, that usually means there is a nest somewhere. :eek: I went to the local co-op and bought some poison. The poison is in the form of little blue blocks. I laid it as per the instructions and within two hours it was gone. I laid some more and every time it was taken, I replaced it. Over the next two days, I laid out more and more and eventually the last four blocks remained for over a day. The good thing about the poison is they carry it to the nest and you get the lot. Nuke them.

I myself had a problem with a rats under my wooden shed and found the blue blocks the best way of killing them. I put the blocks into a three foot length of 3" wavin pipe and placed the pipe behind the shed where it would have to run through. It took the bait for a couple of times and he was found dead in the back of a neighbours garden a few days later. Just to add he was the size of a bloody cat but have not had any problems since. LEX, Smachey advice is good and works.

PoolDude

[/QUOTE]I have one in the house for years and I've still heard the odd mouse run around the attic. Mine also claims to deter mosquitos so I've brought it on holidays but still get bitten, so I don't think they are that effective.:mad: [/QUOTE]


Not even the new ones?

I see one of the pages also has an outdoor version for your garden

Lex Luthor

PoolDude wrote:

I have one in the house for years and I've still heard the odd mouse run around the attic. Mine also claims to deter mosquitos so I've brought it on holidays but still get bitten, so I don't think they are that effective.:mad: [/QUOTE]


Not even the new ones?

I see one of the pages also has an outdoor version for your garden[/QUOTE]
I've just ordered one of those outdoor ones cos the wife is still nervous. No sign of any movement last night.

2 blue poison blocks were left alone and my cage trap was empty.

It was definitely wounded the night before from the trap closing on it cos I found a small bit of blood on the trap....could be lying up somewhere nursing itself or hopefully dead.

PoolDude

Let me know how the outdoor version works.

I'm moving to a new build in the country (Wexford) in a few months and I know there were rats on the ditch when it was pulled back to start open up the site.

AnnaStezia

Just to emphasise the advice about gloves.

Bloody rats are everywhere these days. You should wear gloves even when gardening to minimise the risk of Weil's disease / leptospirosis which might kill you !

You pick it up from the urine of an infected rat and it is contracted through any breaks in your skin like a cut on your hand.

If there has been an infected rat mooching around your garden you will probably not know as the little devils tend to be nocturnal. You might then pick up something on which the rat has urinated and get infected that way.

Underneath garden sheds and old style summer houses are great haunts for these creatures as well as anywhere that makes a nice nest and that includes certain types of hedges.

If you have small children and you know that you have rats take care. Don't leave toys lying around the garden overnight and try to avoid them running around barefoot.

Lets be careful out there and get those rats before they get us !!

Lex Luthor

AnnaStezia wrote:

Just to emphasise the advice about gloves.

Bloody rats are everywhere these days. You should wear gloves even when gardening to minimise the risk of Weil's disease / leptospirosis which might kill you !

You pick it up from the urine of an infected rat and it is contracted through any breaks in your skin like a cut on your hand.

If there has been an infected rat mooching around your garden you will probably not know as the little devils tend to be nocturnal. You might then pick up something on which the rat has urinated and get infected that way.

Underneath garden sheds and old style summer houses are great haunts for these creatures as well as anywhere that makes a nice nest and that includes certain types of hedges.

If you have small children and you know that you have rats take care. Don't leave toys lying around the garden overnight and try to avoid them running around barefoot.

Lets be careful out there and get those rats before they get us !!

Aware of all the diseases associated with Rats.....as for the kids toys..until we are 100% sure its moved on or died, any toys out the back garden are being left there. As soon as we get the all clear, my wife will disinfect everything.

Another night...no poison taken, no rat in the cage. Giving it till Saturday morning, if still no sign of it hanging around...the grass will be cut down and the toys cleaned. I'll leave the poison blocks out after that still just in case/.

googs

lex you should have a look and see if there is any runs/paths in the grass.. what i mean is they have a set path when going out to see what's to eat at night. Look for flattened grass / clay, it will be a continuous run about 3 inches wide and will lead from where ever the nest is.. eg from under a shed, a hill of clay or from a wall / ditch... you place the pipe along part of the run... Also the best bait to get for rats ( the one they prefer from my own experience of the little bast^&ds ) is grain soaked in chemicals, it's red in colour and is made by an Irish company. Can't remember where i bought it but think it could have been either atlantic homecare or woodies. The most important thing is to find the pathway they use for going out of the nest. Without this it will be just hit and miss. If there is no runs in the grass then the rat is not resident and only passing through. Hope this helps... anyway can't fuc3ing believe I sold my diablo

PoolDude

Well Lex, is he gone?

stereo_steve

Lex Luthor wrote:

could only get the wooden type last night in woodies and both were triggered last night. One looked like it got him but he broke his way out of it leaving the trap in a right state.

any suggestions to get better stronger ones or the cage type? Would B&Q or Atlantic H have a better choice?

Poison was recommended to me but that website recommends not to.

I used to work in woodies. Those wooden traps are really only for mice. You need the metal ones with teeth :eek: Doesn't matter how big or fast the rat is, its getting cut in two! I'd be scared sh!tless just setting the trap!

pnh

Several years ago I had a problem with cats-dont like them -woman next door has at least 3-they used my garden as a toilet.So I bought one of those sonic thingies and it worked a treat.Then I was planting something one day and a mouse ran right across my path.So it was the lesser of two evils.I removed the sonic thing and within a week found 2 dead mice in the garden.A couple of months ago the wife freaked out at a dead rat near the shed.
So cats whether you like them or not perform a valuable function and I now turn a blind eye when I see them stalking things behind bushes.
Oh I have also found 2 dead birds-presume they are responsible for that also.

Lex Luthor

PoolDude wrote:

Well Lex, is he gone?

Update is I haven't seen any sign of activity since last week.

Didn't take teh bait in the cage type trap, no sign of any activity around the compost bin as I put new bark mulch of a different colour around the base and it hasn't been disturbed yet and didn't take any of teh poison blocks I left out either over the last week.

Just for good measures I got one of those ultrasonic gadgets for the back garden and have it out since Wed night so hopefully it is the last I'll see of it.

I'd still like to see evidence of one dead though or a few poison blocks removed.

I might swing by Ted Johnsons in Naas tonight and see if he has any of those metal traps.

ScottishDanny

Well Lex,
Did you get rid of them once and for all? I discovered a young rat about 3 feet from me in my garden while enjoying the Sun on Saturday :eek: I put down poison on their run and found a dead one this morning (it was in the centre of the garden so maybe a cat got it). I wanted to get a .22 air rifle to pick them off on their run (a 4 foot long corner of our garden that they use to get to another garden) but apparently you need a firearms licence (not so strict in Scotland). I had some glue left to make a glue trap but I watched a big one get stuck and then wriggle off it before I could get near him. I must have made 5 or 6 sightings over the weekend but none since last year, all in broad daylight too!

If anyone knows where to get the strong glue please let me know, I'd like to catch 'em alive :cool:

Lex Luthor

He's back....!!!!!!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad:

CJhaughey

It is common enough to see rats this time of the year, they are laying in food for winter.
I used the wooden traps with great success, and I found that setting them on a hair trigger was the least successful method, using the release set with about 3mm of movement would allow the rat to get comfortable and start dining with gusto - then SNAP!
I used to set 3 at a time and would commonly find 2 rats in a night, sometimes you would only find traces of blood and no rat sometimes you would find half a rat the others eat dead ones in my experience.
edit: Grilled ham or bacon rind works really well and is robust enough to not be ripped off immediately

muffler

Lex Luthor wrote:

He's back....!!!!!!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad:

Be afraid, be very afraid.

If someone tried to poison me I would be back with a vengance

dubtom

I had a bad problem with rats a while back in a rented house I look after.They were in the walls, attic everwhere, scaring the sh*it out of everyone. I got a guy in who used choclate in tied down plastic bags in every hole he found to determine where there run was. The idea being that he can tell by how he stuffed the hole where they are coming from. He eventually put down cages with poison but we caught nothing and we have since had no problems. We had to cement every crack and hole that we could find because even if their big they can still get through very small holes.He advised me to only put down sonic devices at least 48 hours after poison has been laid, because they eventually become used to the noise, if you wait untill their sick from the poison they are far more likely to leave.Btw the corpo will come to your house free and lay poison, even if you own your house so don't rule them out.Also the advice on weils diesease is good, I recently met a guy who lost a leg, He scratched himself while walking in a flood some years back, was taken to hospitable, fell into a coma. It was only several days later that it was realised that it was weils, but too late to save the leg. He spent a year in beaumont.
Btw lex, I have a thing with a scope that you an borrow if you fancy your chances, fast feckers them rats.

artieanna

food is always the issue with rats, if food is about for them they stay. the problem is they may not be getting food in your garden lex and usually if there's one there's more sorry. mention to your neighbours that you have seen a rat and alert them as they may not be aware and they maybe more cautious about leaving food around.

I live in countryside and only time I have seen rats is if animal feed or seed is stored in sacks (they'll eat through the sack) make sure if you can that the food supply is cut off.....

I have heard that the posion in the woven pipe is best also wrap the posion in paper & they think they getting lovely stuff:cool:also you'll know if they've been at it. try putting posion in a few places.
Good luck