ferrets & rats

fathead82

We have a lot of rats around our sheds & hen house,Iv caught over 50 in traps in the last 6 months.Now they have moved into the garage & have eaten over half a 15kg bag of dog food(it was on the bottom of a pallet so they could have been at it for a few months).
We have 5 dogs including a jack russell but they wont go after them,one of them used to but got a bad bite so wont anymore,the cats catch a few but cant get into some of the sheds.I dont like using poison & the traps are not catching them fast enough.
Would a ferret do the job? can they be trained to come back to you or do you just have to wait for them to finish up & come out by themselves? would they be fast enough to catch & kill a rat in an open shed?

Cass

Tell the Jack Russel to man up. Mine has been bitten a few times, but it just pisses him off, and makes him more determined. Now he has it down to a fine art.


What size is the shed? Would it be big enough to allow the use of an air rifle (if you know anyone with one). Or is trapping, poisoning, etc the only method?


As for ferrets. I'll leave that talk up to the ferret men.

fathead82

the garage is small enough,not big enough for an air rifle.Behind the sheds is very over grown then theres a field of corn so there will be no shortage of rats again in autumn.The jack russell doesnt even look at them when I catch them in traps,she gives the day chasing swallows.
The sheepdog will kill them if i leave the trap out in the field & walk away,she opens the trap & kills them in less than 60 seconds but she wont kill them if anyone is watching her,last week,a rat ran past the back door & she looked at me,then lay down & watched it run away.

vapour_trail

We used to have a man that would come round to my uncles farm when I was a boy. He was a real old time fella and did the job in return for permission to take a few rabbits. He claimed all he had to do was run his ferret around the sheds if there was any rats and let his scent rub off the place. He said that a ferrets scent is like one massive rat and when the other rats get it they scarper, ill always remember his visits. He had this massive polecat hob which stunk to the high heavens I owned 1 ferret in my life , it too was a polecat and I had him from when he was a few weeks old until he met a 32g 7 at the age of 6 years ! He was a vicious Bstard and I used to keep him for running around our own yard for rats. It might seem a bit strange but I always believed it worked !

dodderangler

A jack Russel that won't kill rats?? That's a new one
As for ferrets its sounds to me that you've got a huge colony of rats there and that is potentially suicide for a ferret as they could kill your ferret if there's enough of them. A couple of ferrets and you as a friend outside shed with a shotgun could be very good fun
I have 2 hob ferrets that are ok with rats. I also had a Jill who was tiny and perfect for rats but she actually died this morning in the vets.

fathead82

the terrier is useless,she must be the only one in Ireland who has no interest in rodents but has muscles like a greyhound in her legs from chasing swallows all day.
I just want a ferret to kill the ones in the sheds,they are living behind the shed where its all over grown & theres an old stone wall that im guessing they live in. Ill never get them all but if I can stop them coming into the sheds & around the house,ill be happy

Cass

What county are you in? Might be a lad on here with ferrets willing to help you out.

As for poison. I'd try lay some in areas where none of your other animals can get at it. So instead of relying on one method have a few "irons in the fire". Poisoning, ferrets, etc.


Then bring your JR to a therapist.

fathead82

I dont really like using poison cos my last terrier got poisoned a few years ago when some fool drove into our yard & left his van open with poison in the back of it,vet thinks it was strychnine,but it put me off ever using poison seeing how she died.

mr lee

whereabouts are u,i have 3 jr's that live for killing rats,imo you will need a combination of methods to get rid of them or at least keep the numbers down,
first thing u hav to do is dont leave easy food for them,like bags of dog food in a shed,i would use a couple of traps,get some good dogs in,they will catch some and also indicate where they are nesting,u could then place poison in the burrows so it will kill the young rats before they get a chance to breed,ferrets were originally domesticated to kill rats,but you will need a good ferret to do what u want,
a good cat will do a much better job once the rat numbers are down,i think long term a good cat is your best,try to get a kitten that born on farm,they usually make the best hunters,
i would be more than happy (and so would the dogs)to call around with the dogs to give a go,if your near me,im on tipp/kilkenny border.

fathead82

Thanks for the offer,im in Tipp too but most of the overgrown area is next door,they only built the house last year & the back & side (the side that meets up with the back of our sheds)of their place is like jurrasic park.

I have 4 traps,3 live catch which are very successful & 1 breakback trap which only ever caught my fingers. Have 3 cats already,only one is a good hunter,I might look into getting another one from a farm.
All the dog food is now in bins & the poultry feed is taken up at night.theres nothing left lying around for them to eat,I honestly dont know what is drawing them around the place. I dont want to get another dog but am thinking about getting another cairn cross,the last one i had was a great ratter. Might give the ferret a try first.

stoeger

Get your self a bag of hard wall and mix it with porridge great job put it out at night good and hot it will bring every rat out of hiding remove in morning don't dogs near it .

dodderangler

Might be worth asking on farming section for a feral cat. Some farmer have loads and would be willing to give you one.
They'd be the best for rats if you got one.

As it was said before a ferret would need to be a good one to take on rats. But in my experience any ferret will flush rats out and a few shotguns would sort it out. But you also leave a ferret open to being injured should it come across the main leader of the rat group. There's usually two.

meoklmrk91

Some rescues try to rehome feral cats, the best but is that they will be neutered or spayed so you won't end up with loads of kittens, I've seen it happen, I know people who started out with one cat and ended up with literally cats literally coming out their ears. So even if you don't go the rescue route get the job done it will save you a lot of hassle down the line.

All you have to do with ferals is feed them they won't let you do much else. One of my cats was a legendary hunter in her day, she was semi feral when I got her, she comes in sleeps lets you rub her when she feels like it and often brought home rats nearly as big as herself and that is no exaggeration. She's getting on a bit now but still brings something home the odd time. I think if you got a feral or two you would be sorted, this is the stuff they live for.

Since your in Tipp give Limerick Feral Cats a buzz if you are interested, they do great work and I'm sure they would be happy to help out.

Oh and BTW we had a rat problem years ago, tried the ferret thing and even put some of the ferrets bedding around where the rats were it didn't do a thing. Finding and blocking any holes and the cat were the only thing tha fixed it in the end.

rsole1

stoeger wrote: »

Get your self a bag of hard wall and mix it with porridge great job put it out at night good and hot it will bring every rat out of hiding remove in morning don't dogs near it .

Never heard of this one before. Sorry to sound thick but what is hard wall? How does it kill rats?

Invincible

rsole1 wrote: »

Never heard of this one before. Sorry to sound thick but what is hard wall? How does it kill rats?

Hardwall is the substance used to plaster ceilings and interior walls, It's in powder form,when mixed with water it forms into plaster.You'll get it in a builder's merchants.It solidifies in the rat's intestine.

fathead82

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

All you have to do with ferals is feed them they won't let you do much else. One of my cats was a legendary hunter in her day, she was semi feral when I got her, she comes in sleeps lets you rub her when she feels like it and often brought home rats nearly as big as herself and that is no exaggeration. She's getting on a bit now but still brings something home the odd time. I think if you got a feral or two you would be sorted, this is the stuff they live for.

.

Good idea,I might look into this,the 3 here are neutered already but not much good.We had one years ago that had a rat on the doorstep every morning,she also brought back pigeons,rabbits & a stoat.

I think ill go with the cat for the rats outside & the porridge & drywall for the ones in the shed & stay setting the traps as well.Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

heres last nights catch,definatly the most aggressive one iv caught so far,sheepdog took care of it for me,she went up the yard & came down with it dead in less than 2 minutes. Pity she wont do it while im around,could have great craic hunting rats with her.

rsole1

Invincible wrote: »

Hardwall is the substance used to plaster ceilings and interior walls, It's in powder form,when mixed with water it forms into plaster.You'll get it in a builder's merchants.It solidifies in the rat's intestine.

Sounds cheaper than Storm blocks at €15 a kilo.

yubabill1

Find somebody with a ferret and get fresh droppings from them on a regular basis.

Place droppings near rat runs and wherever you don't want them to frequent.

A live ferret will keep them away, of course.

Keep food sources tightly sealed - can't emphasise that enough.

if you have a problem now, unless you do something drastic you won't believe how bad it will get near winter!

Ape Owners

rats act fast and clean,have seen then climbing up ferret cage trying to get food,right in front of ferrets eyes,this crack with the s***e n all is old wives tale.well thats my point of view lads. mk 4 fenns are the only solution imo.....hey dodder your lil jill died? my lil jill in bad way in vets at mo,hand feeding all day here,how,what,she die from? Btw as stressed before i got too much respect for my ferrets to put them anywhere near rats.

dodderangler

Ape Owners wrote: »

rats act fast and clean,have seen then climbing up ferret cage trying to get food,right in front of ferrets eyes,this crack with the s***e n all is old wives tale.well thats my point of view lads. mk 4 fenns are the only solution imo.....hey dodder your lil jill died? my lil jill in bad way in vets at mo,hand feeding all day here,how,what,she die from? Btw as stressed before i got too much respect for my ferrets to put them anywhere near rats.

My little Jill died other day. Vet said she was too small to cope with 8 kits and said they drank her dry so she lost all calcium in her body.any food I have her she was eating a little bit and given the rest to the kits. I personally don't believe that they drank her dry.
I think she caught something. The vet wasn't much help to be honest.
I looked up on Internet and it said most first time mothers that have large litters if 7 or up is dangerous to them and most breeders will kill 2 or 3 kits to save te others and mother.
All my kits died today. Fcuking sick over it.

Ape Owners

dodderangler wrote: »

My little Jill died other day. Vet said she was too small to cope with 8 kits and said they drank her dry so she lost all calcium in her body.any food I have her she was eating a little bit and given the rest to the kits. I personally don't believe that they drank her dry.
I think she caught something. The vet wasn't much help to be honest.
I looked up on Internet and it said most first time mothers that have large litters if 7 or up is dangerous to them and most breeders will kill 2 or 3 kits to save te others and mother.
All my kits died today. Fcuking sick over it.

ah jeez sorry to hear that.vet said same to me,hypoalcamiea or something like that,lack of calcium.have calcium supplements for bird here that I was giving jills once a week,hand feeding kits now till she home,hope I get good outcome.cheers Aaron.

kawasaki1100

dodderangler wrote: »

A jack Russel that won't kill rats?? That's a new one
As for ferrets its sounds to me that you've got a huge colony of rats there and that is potentially suicide for a ferret as they could kill your ferret if there's enough of them. A couple of ferrets and you as a friend outside shed with a shotgun could be very good fun
I have 2 hob ferrets that are ok with rats. I also had a Jill who was tiny and perfect for rats but she actually died this morning in the vets.

The guy with the hardwall seems like the best idea:D. Thing about the shotgun is you start to demolish knocking lumps out of your shed as well:(. I find a .22 with a scope and silencer exelent and good sport,great for long range sniping.:cool:

dodderangler

Ape Owners wrote: »

ah jeez sorry to hear that.vet said same to me,hypoalcamiea or something like that,lack of calcium.have calcium supplements for bird here that I was giving jills once a week,hand feeding kits now till she home,hope I get good outcome.cheers Aaron.

Hope you do aswell mate. I had to explain to me little girl that they're gone to join mammy ferret in heaven to help catch the rabbits. Not something I wanna do again.
What vet is it by any chance?

dodderangler

Here's a good video of lads using mink for hunting rats. Same things apply like with ferrets but mink is so much quicker
Forward it to 4:52 and watch the mink catching the rat. Really cool.
http://youtu.be/smpsEQaCbBU

dodderangler

http://youtu.be/MqMbrrXmISs
Same video but cut short and better

fathead82

Sorry to hear about your ferrets.Good video,thats some size of a rat.
I went looking at a litter of ferrets this morning,I dont know if its normal for them to smell as bad as these ones did but after changing my clothes & having a shower,I can still smell them off myself! I dont think ill be getting a ferret anytime soon.

dodderangler

By far the best ratting video I've seen
http://youtu.be/KriyiXxD3OI

jap gt

dodderangler wrote: »

By far the best ratting video I've seen
http://youtu.be/KriyiXxD3OI

are they patterdales they are using

dodderangler

jap gt wrote: »

are they patterdales they are using

I really couldn't tell ya mate.
But whatever they are he could've done with a few more. Never seen so many rats

sbkenn

I have heard that even the bedding from a ferret's cage is usually enough to scare rats away.

Eddie B

sbkenn wrote: »

I have heard that even the bedding from a ferret's cage is usually enough to scare rats away.

Ha, I know of several lads who had rats living quite happily under the ferret hutch lol