Seriously contemplating 22 LR with rat shot for in the garage. I've got a teenage boy with a firecracker obsession, the neighbors are accustomed to loud explosions from our house at odd hours
Oh, Rats!
- Thread starter plantdude
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The rat has eaten most of another bar of Bromethalin (0.01% conc. Tom Cat brand, mode of action similar to a neuro toxin) now. 3 blocks had gone missing a little over a week ago but there was no smell or sight of dead rats. This time I can see it's actively eating the bait and not just storing it away. If it/they get a lethal dose they should start croaking in as little as 2 days. They are also eating a little of my other poison that I recently put out, Ramik Green that contains diphacinone (0.005% conc. mode of action is anticoagulant). The Ramik supposedly takes about 4 days to start working. I have some poison on order that is more toxic I will use if these two fail (there went another $15). Hopefully the double dose of poison using two different modes of actions will work. Maybe I'll get really lucky and they won't die in the wall this time...
I also have the environmentally/pet friendly RATX out which is basically corn gluten and salt. I was hoping that would work since its harmless to pets but the rats haven't touched that. I'm not sure how effective that would have been anyway, they basically have to gorge on it then it causes dehydration. It would pretty much have to be their only food option, which isn't likely to happen in most situations.
It will be nice if we can move our junk back into the garage and start parking our car in there again someday...
I also have the environmentally/pet friendly RATX out which is basically corn gluten and salt. I was hoping that would work since its harmless to pets but the rats haven't touched that. I'm not sure how effective that would have been anyway, they basically have to gorge on it then it causes dehydration. It would pretty much have to be their only food option, which isn't likely to happen in most situations.
It will be nice if we can move our junk back into the garage and start parking our car in there again someday...
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you are finally making progress! Don't get discouraged, rats are smart and it's a battle to get rid of them, but it's worth it in the long run. They cost me $3,000 in damages and expenses last year.
Keep your eyes peeled for dead lizards, snakes and predatory birds. When rodents get a tummy ache, then seem to go out for a stroll.
Bob
Bob
As far as I know the only US lizard that could choke down a rat this size would be a Gila monster. Unfortunately most of the neighbors kill off any snakes they see so there are very few in the neighborhood large enough to feed on rats. This time of year we also have very few predatory birds in town, that does change in winter though when the migratory hawks start coming back. I've seen the neighbors very well fed cats go after rats before and kill them but never eat them - which would be my primary concern.
Both of these poisons can concentrate to lethal levels but are less likely to do so than some of the other poisons out there. When trapping fails less desirable methods sometimes need to be used.
I can make the argument that the rats, which are likely the invasive Norway rat species, have destroyed my delicate spider ecosystem in the garage, have possibly eaten small snakes and lizards, and have bullied the native mouse population. If you think about it that way I'm actually doing environmental restoration
There is certainly no easy answer, once the predator-prey balance has already been widely disrupted.
Bob
Bob
Ifyougotem
Active Member
It will be nice if we can move our junk back into the garage and start parking our car in there again someday...
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Plantdude, you clearly have a much more serious sit'n than my packrat duel. A persistent mob of grey dirty, destructive rats is not good. Tearing in through screens- I'm guessing it would be costly to upgrade the screening to rat-proof standards. Crapped in a man's toolbox? Effin' gloves off then- lock 'n' load. A decent .22 air pellet rifle would be reasonable affordable. Tunnel peeping and that would be a classic dead-fall set-up- Paiute or other. A 2×4 studded w nails and a Figure-4 or other trigger comes to mind- the trigger lever either blocking, or if you want to get crafty, just barely obstructing the side of the hole, so a grazing flank disrupts the catch as it tries to squeeze in. A long lever can be set quite lightly, even w a substantial weight. I like the idea of that neurotoxin compound: like cobra venom. If that isn't proven rat medicine, what is? Do you really have fried bacon or similar in your buckets and no visitors or missing bait?
Regards, Ifyougotem
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Plantdude, you clearly have a much more serious sit'n than my packrat duel. A persistent mob of grey dirty, destructive rats is not good. Tearing in through screens- I'm guessing it would be costly to upgrade the screening to rat-proof standards. Crapped in a man's toolbox? Effin' gloves off then- lock 'n' load. A decent .22 air pellet rifle would be reasonable affordable. Tunnel peeping and that would be a classic dead-fall set-up- Paiute or other. A 2×4 studded w nails and a Figure-4 or other trigger comes to mind- the trigger lever either blocking, or if you want to get crafty, just barely obstructing the side of the hole, so a grazing flank disrupts the catch as it tries to squeeze in. A long lever can be set quite lightly, even w a substantial weight. I like the idea of that neurotoxin compound: like cobra venom. If that isn't proven rat medicine, what is? Do you really have fried bacon or similar in your buckets and no visitors or missing bait?
Regards, Ifyougotem
Ifyougotem
Active Member
Ifyougotem
Active Member
It will be nice if we can move our junk back into the garage and start parking our car in there again someday...
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Sorry for the mispost, mods. It should be mentioned that dead-fall type traps, like poisons, obviously must be set inside a controlled area, where pets, kids, etc. never have access.
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Sorry for the mispost, mods. It should be mentioned that dead-fall type traps, like poisons, obviously must be set inside a controlled area, where pets, kids, etc. never have access.
One bucket is set up with pizza crust and honey on the sides. The other bucket is just plain water and surounded by stuff they like to climb on. I have tried fried bacon, fried spam, ham and about everything in the kitchen cabinet (besides Bob's gummy bear which i still need to try), dog food, cat food, chicken food, etc... They just don't go for anything that resembles a trap or a bucket. They dont even seem to want to eat off paper plates. They have plenty of food and water outside which is part of the problem. Sealing them in the garage just leads to more house destruction as they chew their way to freedom. For now I'm just feeling hopeful since they are showing an interest in some of the poison bait.
I am getting them accustomed to pushing a small block of wood out or the way to get out of the garage the last few nights. It's a tight corner for a dead fall trap but I might be able to figure something out.
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Ifyougotem
Active Member
If they'll take poison, that would obviously be efficient in terms of time/attention invested (w/ the caveat that, as mentioned prudently by deluxestogie, ecosystem leakage/ "collateral damage" is a bad thing). The ultimate DIY rat trap trigger (and this could be perfectly feasible in this day & age) might be an infrared beam sensor rigged to a cheap circuit board, signaling a silent stepper motor or other device. In another area of endeavor one fellow rigged an rpm counter for a sewing machine motor affordably w such a set-up. The mandrel had a piece of masking tape wrapped around it w a simple Sharpie line which the beam registered to a counter on each revolution. If you rig a dead-fall be sure to arrange the killing spikes very close to the tunnel/hole apex to reduce lag time. This should be invisible to the rodent if you are able to predict direction of travel.
Good luck, Jim
Ifyougotem
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Laser guided tactical nukes would also probably get the little bastard but they are a bit out of my price range and probably not approved for use in city limits
Ifyougotem
Active Member
Perfectly serious- the guy used a cheapo IR LED diode connected to a little circuit-board that signals another device when interrupted. His was a digital counter- yours could be an on/off switch that activates by signal rather than manually. Maybe 20 bucks, plus a surplus motor makes an IR-activated trigger. Hope that cobra-cake poison works, plantdude.
Ifyougotem
Ifyougotem
At approximately 6:54 AM Ninja rat met his untimely demise in a carefully disguised rat trap. An unbaited trap was pushed against the wood block the rat was used to moving to get out of the garage. The trap was mostly covered with the expanding foam and styrofoam insulation the rat had dug out of the wall. A second baited trap was left uncovered and perpendicular to the hidden trap to deter the rat from going that direction.
the attached photo (that may or may not be removed at the discretion of the moderators) shows just the rat foot (and tail) sticking out from the trap much like the wicked witch of the wests foot in the wizard of oz. it also shows some of the damage Ninja rat has inflicted on the wall.
It only took about three weeks to catch him... I'm going to reset the traps, leave the poison out, and keep the garage sealed the rest of the day to make sure that was the only rat in there, I know I have at least one other living in the backyard.
the attached photo (that may or may not be removed at the discretion of the moderators) shows just the rat foot (and tail) sticking out from the trap much like the wicked witch of the wests foot in the wizard of oz. it also shows some of the damage Ninja rat has inflicted on the wall.
It only took about three weeks to catch him... I'm going to reset the traps, leave the poison out, and keep the garage sealed the rest of the day to make sure that was the only rat in there, I know I have at least one other living in the backyard.
What a horrid photo! I'm shocked. Shocked.
Now, which thing is the dead rat?
Bob
Now, which thing is the dead rat?
Bob
This isn't the best picture (taken with an iPad in a dark garage a few hours after death), but it was the undisturbed crime scene photo.The flipped over piece of wood in the center is the bottom of the trap. Towards the backside of that on the left is a foot and the tip of its nose sticking out and behind the trap is his hind leg and tail. The tail is the black line going across the yellow mass of expanding foam in the background. What looks like a piece of wood standing up and leaning against the wall on the right hand side is the other trap that was also sprung. The trap caught him across the midsection rather than on the head or neck like they usually do so I imagine there was a little violent dancing involved for a minute or so. Probably not a clean kill but faster than poison anyway.What a horrid photo! I'm shocked. Shocked.
Now, which thing is the dead rat?
Bob
I have another grainy pic with the trap turned over that I can include, but I was hesitant to do so at the risk of possibly offending someone.
So...you're saying that this truly great saga, followed by so many of us, is...over? Like that? It's just over? I was waiting for Raspbery-Pi and Arduino controlled laser beams, and AI triggered, marshal music in the background. Sigh.
Bob
Bob
Moth
Well-Known Member
I am happy you got him, but, wonder if this is the end?
That's a smart rat bloodline, and wonder if a new rat king will emerge, or, if you got a lesser member of the clan?
I hope you got him though. I fear this isnt the end though.
Bring on the sharks with frikken lazer beams on their heads.
That's a smart rat bloodline, and wonder if a new rat king will emerge, or, if you got a lesser member of the clan?
I hope you got him though. I fear this isnt the end though.
Bring on the sharks with frikken lazer beams on their heads.
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
It can't be over! For every rat you see, there are 5 you don't. Still plenty of time to build an elaborate anti-rat defense system with all the goodies. Take mine, for instance. Custom built rat bait station with 2" of high strength reinforced concrete backdrop, tastefully illuminated by LED landscape lights and monitored by a wireless infrared camera. Said system alerted me at 10:19 last night that there was activity at the station. This screen capture shows the scene right before I thinned the herd.
Every summer the neighborhood has an invasion of the critters and they get into our houses, attics, garages and do $$$'s of damage. Neighbors having to replace appliances because they will nest in refrigerators and oven, etc. We're constantly having to check and patch entry points along the attic and thresholds.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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