The Poultry Keeper

thenesteggs · Joined: 25 Sep 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Cheltenham

The rats are back, the cheeky bugger decided to chew through the lid of my mixed corn bin.

The traps are set, he'll be sorry!

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 485 Location: gwent

we had a squirrel do that once to our wild bird seed bin in one afternoon!we went to let the birds out in the mroning i went back up a few hours later and there was a gaping hole in it .rats are even more destructive arent they hope you manage to sort them

thenesteggs · Joined: 25 Sep 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Cheltenham

GOT HIM! and his brother and sister!

There will soon be more. It's a constant battle that can't be won!

CP · Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 4:12 pm Post subject:

Good. The more the merrier! Wink

almondell shetlands · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Scotland

We had this problem 2 years ago after an old farm was pulled down about a mile away. All the farms in the area got their share . We spent about £50 buying rat boxes and poison. we still keep them topped up and have no problems now, the main problem was sorted out within 3 weeks.
I should also add we only feed enough food to our birds for the day and never leave hoppers with feed in and we always sweep up after the ponies have been fed.
Good luck

fletch · Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:13 am Post subject:

I was talking to a farmer today in Godalming & he was telling me how to deal with a rat infestation!

He told me that you should dig a hole & place a large bin in it, I didn't ask why the need to dig a hole but hey ...... then you will need a humane trap to catch the rats in. Each time you catch one you drop it alive into the bin & carry on doing so until the number of catches slows right down, eventually once they get hungry the cannibalism will start, you allow this to carry on for a period of time until the dominant rat has killed the others & then you release it. He swears that once you do this you will never suffer a rat problem again until the dominant rat eventually dies. He reckons once a rat gets the taste of its own flesh, it will remain cannibalistic for the rest of its life killing its own for food!

Tall story or not I don't know, he reckons its a technique that he uses & it works! dontknow

Auntie Noo · Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 607 Location: Guildford

eeeewwwwwww - I don't think I could do that?!.... although if they carry on digging up my veggie plot then maybe I will!!!

CP · Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:58 am Post subject:

Don't think I could do that either!

vanessa · Joined: 24 Sep 2005 Posts: 1266 Location: Correze

It'd have to be a deep, metal bin, or they'd climb back out!! Rolling Eyes

almondell shetlands · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 5 Location: Scotland

I seem to remember my grandfather swearing this was a solution to rat problem about 45 years ago. He used to do a similar thing but used a metal cage.
The process started with 5 or 6 rats. I have never tried it , althought I hate the damn things I am not comfortable with the process , thats not say that I couldnt be driven to it though.

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 485 Location: gwent

well the rats we have eat each other anyway as when ever we get one caught in a snap trap or the fen they usually take a nibble on what ever has been caught i do not think its affected numbers i could not do the bin thing though we did get one the other morning in our humane trap frozen stiff!!