Rats

[Bigdawg]

All you need is a Ruger 1022. Took care of my groundhog problem under the deck.

with the current price of ammo this option might be the most expensive. LOL

 

[Bigdawg]

I believe a 357 Python may be overkill, I like my 10/22 Ruger also.

lead poisoning? The group says we should use poison. LOL

 

[street]

^ LOL!
I'm all for lead poisoning for sure. As long as you don't put to many holes in the house while trying to hit that running rat. Lol

 

[Flyfish1]

I hate rats they got into and tunneled under my chicken coop. It's been a battle all winter. I've killed probably 10 but there are more still tunneling and messing up the coop. They avoid the traps, and don't touch the poison bait anymore. I just put down glue boards and I swear they walked around them!! Arrghh!!

 

[dmpi]

For bait and traps there's a huge price difference depending on where you buy it. Amazon wouldn't even ship bait to us because we needed some sort of certificate. I found the best prices at Tractor Supply Company which sells to farms and ranches.

 

[Ronstar]

with the current price of ammo this option might be the most expensive. LOL

True - I stocked up a few years ago. I've got enough left to take out several hundred more ground hogs if my aim is good. I'm afraid to see what the price is now.

 

[Sunset]

I hate rats they got into and tunneled under my chicken coop. It's been a battle all winter. I've killed probably 10 but there are more still tunneling and messing up the coop. They avoid the traps, and don't touch the poison bait anymore. I just put down glue boards and I swear they walked around them!! Arrghh!!

If you could get all the chickens out of the coop for 8 hours, how about putting some sort of motor (generator, car) nearby and running a hose from the exhaust into the entrance hole.
Just don't do it with the chickens in the coop.

 

[MRG]

This thread reminds me of w*rk.

Rats, snakes, chickens, poison, and firearms. Throw in an ahole VP and it's Megacorp. [emoji854]

 

[gayl]

After writing it all down incorporating overlap on paper I've come down with:
1 TomCat under deck, patch 6 mesh holes, 1 Victor trap box under house, check weekly until permanently empty or 3 weeks .... whichever is longer.

And yes, will get at Concord Feed & Supply.

Wish glock was an option but I'm in city limits

 

[Bigdawg]

True - I stocked up a few years ago. I've got enough left to take out several hundred more ground hogs if my aim is good. I'm afraid to see what the price is now.

2 months ago I visited the best priced ammo shop in the area. I walked out with sticker shock. I came home and inventoried my ammo stash. Turns out the returns on my ammo supply was way better than my market returns last year. Forget the ROTH or taxable. I may be a millionaire with just my ammo stash. And it's not as large as you might think.

 

[grasshopper]

I can imagine kids asking Dad what's a brick of .22LR?

 

[KB]

Apparently I have neighbors who use Rat poison because I find dead rats in my yard. Rats don't stay where the poison is necessarily, they look for water. I have a creek behind my yard and plenty of rats live there. They come into my vegetable garden, so I use snap traps to protect my garden. They love tomatoes first, zucchini and greens second. I probably catch 20 every summer. I buy the traps by the dozen from Amazon, because I dont reuse them. I toss the rat and trap.

 

[Jerry1]

I dont reuse them. I toss the rat and trap.

I do the same. I’ve only use mouse traps so far, but it’s well worth the cost to know you got them and then just dispose of the whole thing and be done with it. Can’t believe at one time I would reuse the trap. Now I just pick it up with some old pliers and dispose of it all.

 

[anothercog]

I used the oversized sticky traps. But here's a clue; screw it down to a chunk of 2x4 or the rat will carry off the trap if it's a big rat. Once it's stuck, either wait for nature to do it in, or use a grabber tool and a 5 gallon bucket of water to drown the thing in.
I'd not use poison, too many other things could eat the poison or the poisoned rat once it crawls away some place.

Yeah, we had that problem. Another rat came over to help the other one escape. They are smart little critters. The kids wouldn't let me go and whack it. By the next morning it had gotten itself free (minus a good chunk of hair).

 

[gayl]

Going with Clarks Pest Control $300 1st time then $100 every other month × 1 yr or longer. Blow that dough [emoji857]

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I hate to say it, but there are times when poison is the only answer. We noticed a surge in the rat population when the dairy farmer 1/4 mile away started a CAFO operation and began storing a vast amount of corn silage for his herd. The farmer puts out bait, BTW -- I've seen it.

This is not a natural rat population, and nature isn't going to take care of it. I'll use every effective tool at hand, which includes poison and traps. Shooting them would be an option if I wanted to buy a night scope and go hunting after dusk -- rats are mostly nocturnal. Of course, gunshots at night might bring out the local constabulary.

I don't mean to suggest we're up to our armpits in the lovable creatures. But we went on an extended trip a few years ago and came home to find a rat had taken up housekeeping in the basement. That was the tipping point. We have four bait boxes along the foundation of the house, just like our farmer friend.

 

[Winemaker]

^^ Use Subsonic .22 ammo, a much quieter pop.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

^^ Use Subsonic .22 ammo, a much quieter pop.

I learned to shoot with .22 shorts when I was a kid. It's my go-to .22 round.

 

[Jerry1]

I’ve seen videos of a guy with a night scope on a pellet gun taking out rats. Very effective and very quiet.

 

[msanniee]

Natural Alternative

Rodents do not like the smell of mint and will avoid the area. Many different plants, besides actual mint, have a wonderful mint oder. Plus if an animal catches a dying rat that has been poisoned, that animal is at risk.

 

[mcbraemer]

Get yourself a pellet gun, spring loaded .177 or .22 steel pellets. You can also get models using CO2 if preferred. Pistols reach nearly 900 feet per second, rifle style much greater. Rat has no chance.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

This thread got me thinking of another recent development in my area, which is a surge in the coyote population. I hear them howling many nights. My collie is not amused.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Many years ago , I worked in a factory in Los Angeles, with many co-workers that were Louisiana transplants.
They referred the the little rodents as "Rates ", or so the bayou pronunciation sounded

Same place, workers were recruited for overnight off clock work with 22 rifle and 22 short rounds for rat elimination. A cat or 2 would have been cheaper.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Many years ago , I worked in a factory in Los Angeles, with many co-workers that were Louisiana transplants.
They referred the the little rodents as "Rates ", or so the bayou pronunciation sounded

Same place, workers were recruited for overnight off clock work with 22 rifle and 22 short rounds for rat elimination. A cat or 2 would have been cheaper.

I've read about an invasive rodent in Louisiana, the nutria. Looks like a good practice target, with way more than enough supply. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coypu#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20U.S.%20Geological,pressure%20from%20the%20fur%20traders.