Rats/mice

dan1988iel

Whats the best thing to do to completely get rid of rats and mice from outhouses and make sure they get nowhere near the house.

Is getting a cat/s a good way to resolve the problem?

Does it matter what type of cat, what kind would be the most effective or are all cats the same?

If u look at this vid., then this is what I don't want!
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=vbocOHswrTs

ashlingm

Ive been told in the past that you dont want to get a cat as they tend to play with them first and then kill them however they can let them of and die somewhere...which is often in somewhere akward and only ever discovered once they start rotting and smell. the same goes for poison - it will kill them , but it gives them plently of time to go somewhere to die. Also becming a problem is rats and mice built up an immunity to the poison so you could be wasting your time and money..

your best bet is probably a good jack russel terrier who will catch them and kill them straight away by breaking their necks, enquire around as many farmers have experienced dogs who know what their doing and do it well! It means they can control the rodent population with out the use of chemicals which could harm other animals.

Bricriu

My uncle, who was a farmer, and had to keep rats under control in his outhouses, told me that the best cat for rat-hunting is a female cat, as her instinct is to kill animals that might harm her young. I would get a few female cats and I would also use poison, as the problem will be one of managing as opposed to elimination, but the better your management of the problem, the fewer rats you will have.

animalcrazy

poison+cat= dead poisoned cat.