Rodents in the greenhouses

[greengenes]

The rats are biting the spaghetti tubes to either drink, or to just mess with me...or maybe it is fun~ like eating licorice whips, I don't know. All I know is that I am so very tired of it.
They seem to have figured out the spring traps and avoid them. Also, I have to spring them each day to keep from getting a dog who seem to be less wary than the rats.
The glue traps seem so inhumane, and the poisons will poison anything that catches and eats a poisoned rat.
Any suggestions? That works for you all? I am not good with guns, so rat shot is not an option. (Not that I am against guns, they just should not be used by me in an enclosed space.)

 

[thistlebloom]

I don't have to deal with rats, but I have recently had a major mouse infestation in my chicken pen and coop. The neighbors who had been propagating them abandoned their property, so all those hungry rodents moved across the road to my place.

In order to catch them in the snap traps and exclude the nosy chickens I put them (the traps ) in a small cage that the hens couldn't get their faces in. That worked pretty good, but I did eventually resort to poison in a lidded can that could only be accessed by a rodent.

 

[Smart Red]

How about a pair of cats? Put them inside the coop at night and take them out in the morning. Perhaps have a safe haven for them to avoid early chickens. I know the two brother cats in my wood shop work as a team to keep the corn we have for our corn burner rodent free.

 

[thistlebloom]

Oh, I don't know if they would work for rats, but have you tried the Adirondack traps?
That's a 5 gallon bucket with enough water to drown a rodent, but not so much that they can climb out, or so little that they can touch the bottom. Then you suspend a can with a wire running through the center over the water, the wire is attached to the buckets bale holes, and you bait the can with peanut butter or
something that they love but will stick to the can. Lean a ramp board up the side of the bucket and when they climb out to the can the can rotates and dumps them in the water. There's a lot of variation to this idea, but that's the gist of it.
Rats do seem to be smarter than mice however. :/

 

[digitS']

No experience with rats but mice seem to learn that snap traps mean death.

I caught around 10 mice this year. Last year was a record 13. I went thru 4 new traps and 3 old ones, that had sat for 12 months.

Several of the mice were caught in the most awkward positions. I discovered one that was caught only by a leg but died overnight. It seemed obvious to me that they were trying to get the cheese but being very wary. Often, they got the cheese and did not get caught!

I hope there are no more out there. Maybe I'll know after it warms up. The feeder is so high that an adult Australorp can barely reach it but the mice figured out how to get in once I began to make a real effort to clean under it.

Steve
who also uses the cage in the coop for the trap

 

[Smart Red]

You might also try PVC pipe with sticky traps inside. The PVC would have to be large enough to hold the trap and some food. Perhaps down spouts would also work. The rats would follow the smell of food, step on the trap and be caught while the chickens wouldn't be able to get at the PVC snacks. I had a rat in the house once -- the neighbor tore down their grain shed -- and it took a rat-sized sticky trap to catch it. Those sold for mice are far too small.

 

[thistlebloom]

No experience with rats but mice seem to learn that snap traps mean death.

I caught around 10 mice this year. Last year was a record 13. I went thru 4 new traps and 3 old ones, that had sat for 12 months.

Several of the mice were caught in the most awkward positions. I discovered one that was caught only by a leg but died overnight. It seemed obvious to me that they were trying to get the cheese but being very wary. Often, they got the cheese and did not get caught!

I hope there are no more out there. Maybe I'll know after it warms up. The feeder is so high that an adult Australorp can barely reach it but the mice figured out how to get in once I began to make a real effort to clean under it.

Steve
who also uses the cage in the coop for the trap

My great grandma figured mice could smell death on the used traps. She would run a lit match over the surface each time she caught one to eliminate or disguise that smell.

 

[so lucky]

I have noticed holes in the chicken yard again which probably means voles. I probably will have to do something, but since catching a cardinal in the mouse snap trap last summer, I am wary of using them.
A cat sounds like a good idea for the greenhouse, greengenes. I bet you wouldn't have any trouble finding one, either!

 

[897tgigvib]

Find an experienced female Abyssinian cat at your local animal rescue center.

 

[seedcorn]

Rats that die from poison, won't hurt other animals that eat the carcasses.