Got a rat problem

[biggfish]

I live in the burbs and everyone around us has chickens now, since the chickens came we now have rats living in the backyard.  I have a humane trap since we have two small dogs that like to eat what gets put in the snap traps.  I'm looking for bait ideas peanut butter no longer seems to work, and they fill up on dog food during the day.  The biggest problem is there is a huge one the size of a chihuahua, yes I'm sure I thought it was our dog when it was pigging out at the food bowl.  Any ideas short of torching the yard or bombing would be helpful.

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[hrd2fnd]

I would first start by removing the free meal and drink that being the dog food and water  you have been leaving out they should begin looking for  another free meal somewhere else.

[biggfish]

 

I would first start by removing the free meal and drink that being the dog food and water  you have been leaving out they should begin looking for  another free meal somewhere else.

unfortunately not a viable solution since the next free meal is 10 feet away at the neighbors chicken coop, or the other neighbors chicken coop, one of  them has a rabbit pen.  Basically there is free food all around and no one cares cause the burrows seem to all be in our yard.

[rushmoody1]

Take care of it like Keith Warren Hunting Rats with Gamo Air Rifle | Cluckwork Orange

[Sawbuck]

Coke, or Pepsi, they love it and can't burp so it doesn't take long. If you continue to have a problem I would hire a pest control guy. On the dairy farms they have these cool boxes that they put the bait in so other animals aren't affected. Must not be to expensive or the farmers wouldn't do it

[huntingfool7]

I would first start by removing the free meal and drink that being the dog food and water  you have been leaving out they should begin looking for  another free meal somewhere else.

unfortunately not a viable solution since the next free meal is 10 feet away at the neighbors chicken coop, or the other neighbors chicken coop, one of  them has a rabbit pen.  Basically there is free food all around and no one cares cause the burrows seem to all be in our yard.

Way to shoot down reasonable advice out of hand!  Start by cleaning up your own little slice of heaven.  There's no good reason that you have to leave food out for your rats...errr a dogs.

[rynokron]

Bait boxes will help keep the numbers down. Snap traps with peanut butter are pretty effective too. A combo of the two will get the best results. If there is a constant food source you will just have to kill as many as you can. Make sure you foundation is sealed up tight, you don't want them building nests under your house. They will destroy the insulation and chew up wiring. If you can get away with it blast a few with a pellet gun to vent your frustrations!

[pope]

We have chickens (not my idea) so we have rats, but not currently. I got rid of them. I killed four in five nights using rat traps (over-sized mouse traps). For bait, I used peanut butter to glue cheddar cheese to the trigger. Other than that, I modified the trap slightly so that it has a dangerously light hair trigger. Just open up the angle by bending the copper latch (the piece that holds the hook) until the trap responds to a pine needle dropping on it. Setting the trap is dangerous work. WATCH YOUR FINGERS! Try screwing the trap to a heavy piece of wood, so you don't have to hold the trap down when you're setting it.

[ICEMAN]

You sure your dog sized rat isn't an opossum?

[Sawbuck]

May want to try and get WDFW to create a "Quality" hunt for your back yard. Thousands will apply, you may have to give some pointers after the draw such as where the trophy rats are, what they eat, when they come out, and many access and parking questions, but it could be the end of your rat problem.

[jackelope]

Bait boxes. Dogs can't get in them.

[Bradyfc]

I have bad rat problems around my chicken coop and I found the best way for me is 22. shot shell. I go out at night and use a red light head lamp. get close because your range is 10 or 15 feet. With the rat traps I couldn't get them to eat peanut butter so I put a little  cracked corn chicken feed in the peanut butter and started catching them in the with the traps a little more often.

[sfrenger]

The only thing better at killing rats than a cat is two cats. Buy some cats and introduce them to the dogs so they don't try to eat the cats. You will be surprised how many animals they will kill. We have two cats and live in the country out in the middle of bfe. We don't have a rodent within a 100 yards of our place. Just be sure to get the cats spayed and/or neutered so they don't wander off to the neighbors house.

[pianoman9701]

wrap a piece of cotton ball around the little hook on the rat trap trigger and cover that with peanut butter. Their teeth get stuck in the cotton. Also, rats are a health problem. Call the county health department and report an infestation due to the coops.

[Jonathan_S]

The only thing better at killing rats than a cat is two cats.

And the only thing better at killing rats than two cats is a rat terrier.  Understand that a dog is more of a commitment than a couple of barn cats but if you get self-respecting terrier, you'll probably never see another rat. 

You will be surprised how many animals they will kill.

To include robins, finches, bunnies and many other non-targets