The Poultry Keeper

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

I was mooching around the hardware shop yesterday, as you do and saw some rat deterent things ~ I guess you plug them in and they do a sonic thing. Do you think these would work?

Zooey · Joined: 06 Feb 2006 Posts: 82 Location: East Sussex

I think you need to be careful with these. We tried one in the shed near our ferret run a few years ago, but then I found out that the ferrets could probably hear it too Sad

Sue B · Joined: 18 Oct 2005 Posts: 383 Location: Lincolnshire

I saw them too, in homebase, I thought I might try one in the loft where we get mice who wear hobnail boots. I was a bit worried that in other places it might bother animals like my cat or chooks.

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

Do you think they would affect chickens? I can imagine them affecting other furry things, for some reason, but not feathery things.

thingybobby · Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 10:14 pm Post subject:

You'll not deter rats while ever there's food about, the only solution is to kill them however you can.....Terrier/Poison/Air Rifle/etc.

skye girl · Joined: 27 Aug 2005 Posts: 638 Location: Isle of skye

They are fine to use with chickens, we have 4 around in the coops and shed, OH phoned the help line on the the back of the pack to ask before we put them up, they said there was no problem at all with chickens, just rodents you could not use them with. I have been quite impressed with them, could do with one in each coop though.
If you get some phone the help line on the back as you may not have the same ones as us and it puts your mind at ease

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

thanks

Attila The Hen · Joined: 19 Sep 2005 Posts: 436 Location: Shetland

I'm afraid they're a bit like magnetic bracelets - a lot of wishful thinking and not much science behind them. Rodents can certainly hear them, but evidence suggests that even if they do find the sound uncomfortable, they soon get used to it. I'd save your money if I were you...

The way to deal with a rat problem is, imho:

1) Ensure chicken area does not provide secure burrow sites - i.e, no floor standing chicken houses.

2) Feed only enough feed for the chickens to deal with in one sitting - don't leave waste chicken food about the place. It's good husbandry not to anyway, so as to avoid attracting wild birds with their parasites and impact on your feed bill.

3) Make sure all food is stored somewhere secure, ie in feed bins, not stacked sacks.

4) The rats will have clearly defined runways in and out of your chicken run / field - smooth, bare earth trackways. Get some breakneck traps, and put them inside large diameter field pipes on these runways. I used to set them at night and spring them in the morning (if they didn't have a hairy occupant already) to avoid any wildbird collateral damage.

5) And in the meantime, it's distasteful, but poisoned bait is your best bet to wipe them out. There will always be wily ones that'll avoid the traps.

6) A final thought - an air rifle with a laser lecture pointer taped to the barrel, calibrated to c.12 feet, makes picking them off at dusk without a sight a simple task.

Attila

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

Thanks for that. I don't have a rat problem, just want to be prepared for any eventuality. I already have traps and bait and am careful about taking food and water in at night.