Killing rats

[spence]

I have at least one (assuming there's never one) in my dirt cellar. Yep, I've even seen the little bastage torque away when I scared him.

Snap traps aren't getting him, but he is tripping them...then eating all the peanut butter...yes, I'm not using much.

I've sealed the space pretty well so I don't think there's any easy way for him/them to get in.

Any magic fixes or just keep at what I'm doing? I only have two traps set right now but could do more.

-spence

[PRBuzz]

DCon for rats!

[spence]

Dont like poison. Yes, it will kill them...and they crawl into your walls and stink for a month.
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[striperman36]

dcon traps

[5/0]

Try the have-a-hart trap with peanut butter,then the trap will double up as an aquatic diving bell

[striperman36]

Buzz is the master at training the steel cage diving team

[Hookedagain]

Use a 5 gal bucket with 8" of water. Put a piece of wood about 3' long leading up to the top of the bucket. Hang a string from the ceiling over the bucket, with a paper plate with a hole in the center slide it onto the string, tie a small nail at the end of the string so the plate doesn't fall off. A little peanut butter on the plate. When he walks up the board to the top, he steps on the plate to eat...plate tips up....rat falls into water and can't get out. A 6gal bucket works better for rats. I had to put some grease on the insides of the bucket to make sure he didn't get out. It works well.

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by striperman36

Buzz is the master at training the steel cage diving team

Taking entries for the 2016 Olympic Team!

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by Hookedagain

Use a 5 gal bucket with 8" of water. Put a piece of wood about 3' long leading up to the top of the bucket. Hang a string from the ceiling over the bucket, with a paper plate with a hole in the center slide it onto the string, tie a small nail at the end of the string so the plate doesn't fall off. A little peanut butter on the plate. When he walks up the board to the top, he steps on the plate to eat...plate tips up....rat falls into water and can't get out. A 6gal bucket works better for rats. I had to put some grease on the insides of the bucket to make sure he didn't get out. It works well.

He who can't be mentioned used that with chipmunks

[spence]

Two dead yesterday. Three traps set today should indicate the size of the problem...By tomoorow.

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[spence]

Interesting, a rat chewed through the spray foam I used to fill a hole...and fortunately found a trap. That's the only one since the first two.

Unfortunately this is the only place to keep our trash and an obvious attractant. This weekend I may have to modify the doors so they seal tight and cover a few other areas with wire screen. It's an older funky part of the house and not a simple foundation. Think we'll also have to keep the trash sealed better even though it's under the house.

More stuff I don't have time for

-spence

[O.D. Mike]

I've had better success after placing a small pebble under the side where the bait is. They sniff the peanut butter, step on the trap and pow! The only problem is, it can get messy.

[spence]

Originally Posted by O.D. Mike

The only problem is, it can get messy.

I place the traps against something so there's limited egress.

Agree though, they are powerful. It's not just about breaking their neck or suffocating them. One had it's skull split in two.

-spence

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by spence

....One had it's skull split in two.

-spence

Need a Marie Antoinette trap: a guillotine!
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[Raven]

enlarge the hole to the dimension of the smallest havahart rap you can buy at home depot using the trap to trace the hole size ...where ya drill holes and then "saws all it" square to fit... put a small mirror in the back end so it looks open and clear with a handsome rat in there. Put some peanutbutter behind the little mirror
for an attractant. have a dunk a rat container ready with water for the fooled rat.

[JohnnyD]

If they are chewing through your spray foam, I've had real good success stuffing holes with steel wool and then foaming them in place. For whatever reason, the bastards will chew through wires but give up on the steel wool.

[johnny ducketts]

a paintball gun and a shovel...., i have a busted up lawn chair, bicycle, and shed for to show for my efforts, but I got the bastage.

[TheSpecialist]

At the camp in Maine we used the bucket but instead of a plate on a string a pipe is placed across the top of the bucket ( notch both sides of the
Bucket for the pipe). Then get a vegetable or soup can and open both ends, slide pipe through the can so it acts like a "treadmill" or " wheel of death " place peanut butter on top side of can an a plank up to the bucket....
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[Hookedagain]

I like this method, next time we have a problem I will give this a shot. Thanks for the info.

[blackxpress]

Originally Posted by spence

Unfortunately this is the only place to keep our trash and an obvious attractant. This weekend I may have to modify the doors so they seal tight and cover a few other areas with wire screen. It's an older funky part of the house and not a simple foundation. Think we'll also have to keep the trash sealed better even though it's under the house.



-spence

Best way to get rid of rats is don't feed them. If you must keep your trash under there it needs to be in a sealed container. I had a bad rat problem in my back yard shed years ago. I had outdoor dogs and was keeping the dog food in that shed. The dog food bag was sitting out where the rats could get to it. I put out D-Con which killed off all the rats and started storing the dog food inside a steel garbage can. Problem solved.

[spence]

Originally Posted by blackxpress

Best way to get rid of rats is don't feed them. If you must keep your trash under there it needs to be in a sealed container. I had a bad rat problem in my back yard shed years ago. I had outdoor dogs and was keeping the dog food in that shed. The dog food bag was sitting out where the rats could get to it. I put out D-Con which killed off all the rats and started storing the dog food inside a steel garbage can. Problem solved.

Yes, first thing I did was make sure the garbage cans were good and now we keep the lids on when there's trash in there.

Also spent a lot of time covering holes to get into the dirt cellar...old house...not easy.

5 killed and then was all quiet for 3 weeks. Then noticed something worked it's way into literally the other side of the house where there was an opening. That's now sealed with multiple layers of 1/4" screen and spray foam.

One did get in and he's trying to get into the trash closet upstairs where we also keep the dog food. That entry is also sealed pretty well with multiple layers of screen. But it's a food source so he keeps trying.

There are three traps between there and the regular trash, it'll be dead soon.

-spence

[sokinwet]

A .20 cal. pellet gun is a sure cure.....and fun. Don't ask me about "back in the day" when me and a couple of old bandmates used to sit in the kitchen of their Cambridge apt. with a bat and broom just waiting for those suckers to show their nose...even more fun...or maybe it was our "state of mind" at the time?

[PRBuzz]

Brother and I stuck a hose down their hole and pitch forked 38 rats as they exited their safe escape route!

When we were kids we raised bantaam
chickens and pigeons.
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[Kibby]

Some folks say that the glue-board type traps are the best and most-effective, but others say they are inhumane. I'm not so into humane traps because they just aren't as effective as glue with a couple kibbles of dogfood in the middle.

No rat problem here where I live, but for squirrels and chipmunks getting into my grain, I use a Ruger 77/22, with CCI CB Longs. Silent and deadly. I have no qualms about shooting them when they are invading my stuff and nesting. All animals has a right to life imho, but when they are in my home or chewing up my property, they become vermin.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Kibby

No rat problem here where I live, but for squirrels and chipmunks getting into my grain, I use a Ruger 77/22, with CCI CB Longs. Silent and deadly. I have no qualms about shooting them when they are invading my stuff and nesting. All animals has a right to life imho, but when they are in my home or chewing up my property, they become vermin.

You should try out the CCI Quiet-22 rounds. Damn things are quieter than my Gamo pellet gun.

[spence]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

You should try out the CCI Quiet-22 rounds. Damn things are quieter than my Gamo pellet gun.

I used to shoot rabbits out of my bedroom window with those when I was a kid

-spence

[Raider Ronnie]

Why not just pay an exterminator ya cheap liberal bastard.
Maybe even hire a union company to make yourself feel better !

[spence]

Originally Posted by Raider Ronnie

Why not just pay an exterminator ya cheap liberal bastard.
Maybe even hire a union company to make yourself feel better !

Quoted to preserve.

-spence

[Raider Ronnie]

Seriously.
You're on this site for years talking about designer suits & shoes.
You wear an Armani suit while killing the rats ?

[spence]

Originally Posted by Raider Ronnie

Seriously.
You're on this site for years talking about designer suits & shoes.
You wear an Armani suit while killing the rats ?

If you were paying attention you'd know that I sold all my Armani because I decided I favored a softer shoulder.

And I don't kill rats, the traps do that.

PM me your email and I'll send you some shoe pics

-spence