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Rats and poison
madpenguin
Posts: 2,543
I have rats and am trying to get rid of them with bait blocks (bromadiolone),I started putting them out 4 weeks ago.The blocks are being eaten and I have not actually seen a rat for a while (but that does not mean they are not there!).I was hoping that all activity would have finished by now but the bait is still being eaten every day,so I either have resistant rats,ineffective bait or a more widespread rat problem than I thought.Should I try a different bait do you think?
“Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
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When I first came onto this forum I suggested that live trapping should be the norm for Rat control. I've now completely changed my mind, nuke the bsterds! We thought we had just one which seemed to be eating everything in our attic. Live traps were put out to no avail and the noise got worse. It started sitting on the bird table and generally mugging us off. After much soul searching we finally decided to put down poison which did absolutely sod all. All sorts was tried and nothing happened so we moved to snap traps. Caught four in four nights and that's done it, all gone.
Luv Dave
I've had snap traps out for 2 years now and not caught a thing (some mice though) which is why I have resorted to poison.
I would have preferred the snap traps as it is quick and you can see the results whereas with poison I don't know if I have got the blighters or not!
The rats seem to come from under next doors decking and they (the neighbours) also have a large wood store for their log burner.
You need to put bait down until it’s still left there.
nuke the bstards!!!........
Remember to firmly secure the traps though , as some partly injured ones will drag them away !
No rats on the trailcam but my hedgehog is back for the second night!
Hopefully the bait has been put somewhere which will only be accessible to the rats.
Yes,all bait is in lockable boxes and hedgehogs cannot get near it.
I think the rats are around because I do leave food out for the hoggies all winter.
It is always a bit of a toss up between removing food so as not to attract rats or leaving food for the hoggies over the winter. Rats lose everytime!
Looking at this problem from the other side of the coin. Our neighbour's beautiful cat has been unwell for a few days to the point of not wanting to eat, spending all day lying down and looking generally very ill with no energy. The vet has given the cat antibiotics and injections and we are hoping that this will help him recover. The diagnosis was that the cat had eaten something that had been poisoned, as poison has been suggested for the rats - they eat it and become easy bait for predators like cats and birds of prey. Please think carefully before using poison to kill vermin.
Borrow a Jack Russell or other rat chasing terrier. They love the exercise. The trouble with poison, is some superrats are immune, and those that aren't can be eaten by other animals who also get poisoned.
I agree with GD2 as I have a small dog and hate people using poison, it’s such a worry. In addition, neighbours saw small birds eating out of the poison boxes. I didn’t see this myself and don’t know the design of the boxes, but that’s very upsetting to think other wildlife can be killed.