F’n rats

[Fastass350]

I’ve never had to deal with rats, now all the sudden in the last couple weeks I have. Long story longer cause that’s all I know. And after all, we all come to this forum for stories and knowledge. 

Couple weeks back one neighbor asks me to help with his 4 wheeler. While there we step into his garage and he asks if that smell is a pack rat. 

Couple days later, in the small 8x8 shed we have, that we keep the roll up door cracked on so the cat can go in/out, I see rat droppings. We feed the cat small amounts twice a day hoping to avoid this situation.
One morning early I go in to feed the cat and see a rat up on a shelf. Ok now it’s time for glue traps (all I could find other than mouse traps at the time) and bait blocks.
In one of the other shops which is rock floor and stores stuff, I see signs of the same. Move things around and place the bait, I don’t see signs for a bit til two days ago I go in and see a rat huddled in the middle of one bay. I grabbed the shovel, poked him (thinking he’s dying from poison or dead) and he’s startled. So made good use of the shovel and flattened him.

Back to the shed, hadn’t seen any new sign until today, so I pull the cat food bucket and close the shed up tight and figure I’ll let it die in there. After more thought (whiskey) I decided to go in and flush him out. After dark I went in with an old single shot 22 rifle that hasn’t been shot in almost ten years. Put a bird shot in and click. Cycle it and put the same cartridge back in, same. Put another in, spot him again and click. Ran through this routine for 4 shells and decided to come inside for another gun. One I bought from a member here many many years ago, and loaded it up. Back into the shed and close the door. I could hear it thumping, don’t know if it was his tail wagging like a dog or what, but I always knew where it was which was weird. I figured he’d go silent. First shot was a guess, next one was good as he was staring right at me, but he ran around to the back wall towards the nest there and I could see a good wound on his left shoulder. Instead of moving firewood and finding him I decided to let it rest, and see where it lies in the am. 

Like I said, long story longer 

[Caseknife]

Think the thumping is being done by a back leg, they are irritated, probably cuz they think their days are numbered:)  Hate pack rats, piss trails everywhere!

[HHPro]

Is it pack rat or roof rat?

[hunter399]

One thing I found out with rats is. I super glue nuts and sunflower seed to the trap or a piece of card board in a cage.
That way the little suckers don't get the bait and run.
Those glue trap put a dot of pancake or peanut butter or stick a few nuts in the middle.

Gotta get inventive if wanna catch those suckers.

Had a roof rat once could never catch that sucker.
I got some of those poison sunflower seed from the feed store.
Heard that sucker die up there,OMG.
it was a rental ,we moved soon after.
It sounded like a raccoon died up there.
It must of been a big in.

[Fastass350]

Hmmm don’t know the difference between rats, I’ll have to do some more research. I couldn’t imagine one in the roof and listening to it, without burning the place down 

The glue traps I bought don’t seem to be enough to catch these, first one was moved the first night, when I found it it was covered in hair/droppings and its tail. Partial win I guess.
I need to find the big snap traps and I’ll try the super glue trick, I like the sounds of that.

[2MANY]

They are pac rats.
Call Charlie the local pest guy or get some crab apple and tie a piece of one to a Victor rat trap trigger.
The end.

[Katmai Guy]

If you're a poison type of guy, get "Just one bite"  from a feed store.  You'll have to search out the carcasses buy smell but it gets rid of them.  I hate rats!

If they are pack rats the poison might not work.

[wadu1]

How about a HW rat hunt, with an entry fee. Then use the money to pay a bounty. Just thinking out of the box. 

[Fastass350]

Got a # for Charlie by chance? I‘ll take your advice and see what I can find, I just saw a crab apple somewhere I was working, I’ll have to find it. I need to find the big traps still or order some. 

I like the idea of a HW hunt, we have lots of parking space and I’ll supply the beverages!  But with any luck this was the last 🤞

[2MANY]

I sent you a pm.

One of those beasts rode 12 hours home with a friend in her trucks frame. Got home and it made a nest with various vegetation on the truck's warm motor.
We tried baiting it with cheese and then pepperoni both to no avail.
Luckily I found a couple pieces of chewed on crab apple that it packed home from Idaho and sure enough it was the rat's kryptonite. Game over.
Not sure you know but pack rats hate light and that's why you see people with rigs parked with their hoods up. They will make a nest under the hood and chew all your engine wiring.
Good Times.

[HHPro]

If it's pack rats then you don't have to worry about them infesting your property,roof rats breed fast and will infest your place incredibly fast.Apple's of any kind will work for rats as does plain sunflower seeds.

[MADMAX]

I sent you a pm.

One of those beasts rode 12 hours home with a friend in her trucks frame. Got home and it made a nest with various vegetation on the truck's warm motor.
We tried baiting it with cheese and then pepperoni both to no avail.
Luckily I found a couple pieces of chewed on crab apple that it packed home from Idaho and sure enough it was the rat's kryptonite. Game over.
Not sure you know but pack rats hate light and that's why you see people with rigs parked with their hoods up. They will make a nest under the hood and chew all your engine wiring.
Good Times.

Been there
Bad juju

[Cougartail]

Koro Rat Trap in a box. Put a gob of peanut butter on the trigger.

Humptulips has pictures of the box setup for marten.

Works like a charm.

[birdshooter1189]

Too bad you don't live near me, I'd volunteer to come hunt them with air rifles and night vision. This is by far the most satisfying way to get rid of them.

Other effective methods I've used:

1. As mentioned before, the "Just one bite" poison bars. They really do work well.  But not as satisfying as I rarely find the carcasses. The rats just quietly disappear.

https://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Bite-Rat-Mouse/dp/B005SNHSR2

2. Small cage live traps.  I keep one of these baited under my house just inside a vent screen where I can see if it's empty or not from just walking nearby.  For bait I've caught rats and mice with: piece of snickers bar stuck to trip lever, kids fruit snack gummies stuck to trip lever, or chicken feed pellets or cracked corn sprinkled over the trip lever.

https://www.amazon.com/Anyhall-2-Pack-Animal-Chipmunk-Silver/dp/B0BN8R6WR6/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2WS6CPB6WCKDX&keywords=rat%2Btrap%2Bcage&qid=1694183654&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=rat%2Btrap%2Bcag%2Clawngarden%2C106&sr=1-7&th=1

[2MANY]

Night vision sounds like a great idea.

[Alchase]

I used Victor Trapper T-Rex traps with peanut butter in the bait spot. Work great!

I always wanted to get a couple of Rat Terriers and let them go to town. Every six months or so, my uncle would have this guy with a pack of 6 ratters (some rat terriers and some Jack Russels) and let them go ballistic in his barn. We would sit up in the loft and watch the mayhem. Snap, shake, and on to the next one, 

[vandeman17]

We have caught a handful of rats in our rental house using this method https://fivegallonideas.com/bucket-mouse-trap/

[pianoman9701]

We live very close to a feed mill. The two outside cats are proven hunters. Unfortunately, sometimes they bring their catch in the house and drop it, still alive. I, too, hate rats.

[Ridgeratt]

This is rich!! 


https://www.amazon.com/HUX-EYE-Window-Entrances-Anti-escape/dp/B01LX505F0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01LX505F0&pd_rd_r=4YTM7MSBTK1F1724QPDE&pd_rd_w=xPJL6&pd_rd_wg=1EN6s&psc=1&refRID=4YTM7MSBTK1F1724QPDE&linkCode=ll1&tag=bubabamousetrap-20&linkId=41047aa8299ce65ba9dcb538b0da444c

A humane trap and then the disposal method.


This trap is a “humane” trap – meaning it doesn’t kill the mice. You’ll have to drive them out to the landfill or something to release them. Or feed them to your snake.

It’s also the best performing humane trap on the market, although it still doesn’t perform quite as well as kill traps do. If you want to try it out,

[Fastass350]

We have caught a handful of rats in our rental house using this method https://fivegallonideas.com/bucket-mouse-trap/

Oh yes the good ol 5 gallon bucket, my wife made one once and it sold me on it. I have one down at the shop but it doesn’t work as well as hers did

[TheSkyBuster]

Last years Norway:

I should get him back from the taxidermist by Christmas. 

 

[Fastass350]

Well I didn’t kill him last night evidently, checked in there tonight and couldn’t find him, then finally started hearing him thump. Found him inside a box with some small pots. That was fun since the box was not holding together well. Slid plywood underneath and a Rubbermaid lid on top and took it outside, wife slowly opened the box til we saw him. Clearly the 22 bird shot isn’t quite enough for them unless it’s point blank. But he’s gone now.

[2MANY]

A massive old groaner with a huge whisker rack.

[wadu1]

Better get that one scored it has B&C potential. Better yet get with @rasbo and get a thong made out of it!!

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Oh my! The old.thong .....  That was hilarious. 

[hunter399]

Well I didn’t kill him last night evidently, checked in there tonight and couldn’t find him, then finally started hearing him thump. Found him inside a box with some small pots. That was fun since the box was not holding together well. Slid plywood underneath and a Rubbermaid lid on top and took it outside, wife slowly opened the box til we saw him. Clearly the 22 bird shot isn’t quite enough for them unless it’s point blank. But he’s gone now.

Think that's a wood rat ,when they have fur on the tail.

[nwwanderer]

Bushy tailed wood rats are great fun, especially if someone else has them

[ThomMedic]

Just my two cents. I have seen what antifreeze can do to humans and animals. in our house. I began hearing rats between the walls. I would knock on the walls - that had no effect on them. So I scratched on the walls like another animal predator. That stopped them for a few hours but continued on. So, I dropped poison pellets through the electric outlets along the walls. That helped for a few years, but that became ineffective. Then I put a small bowl of antifreeze in the attic away from any pets. That was about four years ago - gone.

[Goshawk]

Use the old style rat traps or other traps, not poison bates.  The sick rats and mice stumble around outside and get eaten by owls and hawks.  Now you just killed the two things that were helping to keep their numbers down in the fist place. That's why old barns had owl shelves built into the roof line.  Just one barn owl feeding half a dozen chicks can go through two dozen mice/voles in one day. 

[link]

My two cents. You're feeding your cat too much.

[Slamadoo]

"A massive old groaner with a huge whisker rack."

Sounds like my ex-wife.

[Ghost Hunter]

I've caught a couple with a big white button glued to the trap trigger.  Why they are called pack rats.

[Goshawk]

The old style rat traps work pretty well on the packrats and other like sized rats.

[mountainman]

The old style rat traps work pretty well on the packrats and other like sized rats.

👍

[WapitiTalk1]

Kill em all, let God sort em out.

[STARVATION]

 How to kill rats.
1. Go to the dollar store and buy several of the cheap tupperware type containers big enough for a rat to get inside of.
2. Cut a hole in one end for the rat to enter.
3. Put 4 tablespoons of baking soda and 4 tablespoons of corn muffin mix in the container and mix.
4. Place lid on container and put in suspected area, a weight on the container will keep it in place.
5. Rat comes to eat the muffin mix, takes in some baking soda, cannot expel the gas it creates in it's stomach, POP. Dead rat. Works on mice also.
6. No poison, other creatures can eat it with no harm.

If you see a lot of scat at the bait site you know it's working.
Take care, Duane.

[Boss .300 winmag]

How to kill rats.
1. Go to the dollar store and buy several of the cheap tupperware type containers big enough for a rat to get inside of.
2. Cut a hole in one end for the rat to enter.
3. Put 4 tablespoons of baking soda and 4 tablespoons of corn muffin mix in the container and mix.
4. Place lid on container and put in suspected area, a weight on the container will keep it in place.
5. Rat comes to eat the muffin mix, takes in some baking soda, cannot expel the gas it creates in it's stomach, POP. Dead rat. Works on mice also.
6. No poison, other creatures can eat it with no harm.

If you see a lot of scat at the bait site you know it's working.
Take care, Duane.

Google this because once they get smart to that change up the lure ingredients.😉

[BigGoonTuna]

Just my two cents. I have seen what antifreeze can do to humans and animals. in our house. I began hearing rats between the walls. I would knock on the walls - that had no effect on them. So I scratched on the walls like another animal predator. That stopped them for a few hours but continued on. So, I dropped poison pellets through the electric outlets along the walls. That helped for a few years, but that became ineffective. Then I put a small bowl of antifreeze in the attic away from any pets. That was about four years ago - gone.

I had rats in my "new" house when we moved in.  You'd hear them scratching in the walls in the downstairs bedroom.  Found out that they'd been getting in through a knothole in the bottom plate in the garage.  Tossed some poison blocks through the hole and sealed it with spray foam.

Unfortunately, they died in there and stunk up the place.  Figured I'd tear off the old '70s wood paneling and hang drywall, and it turned into a $10k remodel job (the basement was "finished"  by a do-it-yourselfer and they cheaped out and framed the walls against the concrete with 2x2s...sigh).  There must have been 40 years worth of trash, bones, and Christmas tinsel packed in those walls.  A real nightmare.

[Fastass350]

Time to revamp this for this years rats. It’s been really quiet around here as far as rats go, mice have been insane after our mild winter. Killing a couple a day in traps, some days half a dozen, had 5 in grandpas old truck a few months back. Plus numerous ones drowned in water buckets and pools.

Back to the rat, neighbor asked for some supplies to try to catch one, that’s when we started seeing signs around here. The wife and I went down to check on chickens, and I decided to pull apart the stack of pallets and wouldn’t ya know it, lots of mice nests and she saw a rat poke its head up. Back to the house for the 9mm and snake shot (thanks to Redi) and it’s a dead rat.

[Fastass350]

Still killin em. Neighbor has had 2 in her bbq, easy to manipulate down the grease hole into a bucket of water and a shot of lead. Killed another in the barn, found sign of one in the big blue Ford and set traps, one morning a half eaten one was left in front of the truck. Last two days seen signs in the truck again so tonight I put the cat inside and could hear the ‘tail thump’ 
After looking all over I crawled on the hood to look down the cowl and 

Saw it run across and I assume hide in the plenum. After looking more it has quite the nest in there, with insulation, a handkerchief, even a large bottle cap from an aluminum beer can. Cat is officially not getting regular food anymore and I’m staying up tonight to hunt the miserable thing. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[Ghost Hunter]

Dang, you got it bad.  Only thing I've seen worse is when pet rats get loose in the walls.

[2MANY]

Simple Victor rat trap baited with a smear of Apple jelly, small tab of mandarin orange,  and small tab of banana (or choice of fruit) smeared into trap pad.
It will be dead in one night.
Repeat.
It's a bad mouse and pacrat year in your hood.
Bet you ain't far from the fire?

[Fastass350]

Simple Victor rat trap baited with a smear of Apple jelly, small tab of mandarin orange,  and small tab of banana (or choice of fruit) smeared into trap pad.
It will be dead in one night.
Repeat.
It's a bad mouse and pacrat year in your hood.
Bet you ain't far from the fire?

I’ll give that a try, we did put a pear in the live trap, the cat food dries out too fast and never caught any.
Yeah it’s bad over here, finally resorted to poison for the mice.

Fire is close but they’re getting it knocked down. Sounds like we got a good team that actively fights it.  Just saw 35% contained. It’s only two ridges over to the south of us but west winds have been prevalent so that’s helped.

[2MANY]

Good luck.

[Ghost Hunter]

My brother is sitting on the road in WY right now waiting for a tow.  Rat chewed his gas line.  Full tank in 12 miles.  His dog killed the rat.

[Fastass350]

My brother is sitting on the road in WY right now waiting for a tow.  Rat chewed his gas line.  Full tank in 12 miles.  His dog killed the rat.

That’s a good dog!  Damn that sucks though