Rats, a loosing battle

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Pete6.5 said:
If you really don't like rats get rid of the chickens.
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if you keep chickens in a sensible way you wont get rats. too many people keep chickens in badly designed or monified coups, at the bottom of the garden, next to the compost heap and wood pile.
decent run, coupe well off the ground, no harbourage and feed sensible amounts during day light.
rats exploit our laziness and mess
 
Here's one from today, in the back garden feeding off the bird seed (wife's a birdwatcher).

Full camouflage didn't seem neccesary and flip flops were convenient 🤩

Size 9 feet for scale.
 

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wildfowler.250 said:
Right folks , here’s the story.

Hen run in the back garden. Every so often,(months), I’ll see a new hole tunnelling under the run and obviously going for the hen feed. I’ve caught the occasional rat but nothing ever consistent,(mice are easy peasy). And I’m setting the traps by his trodden motorway to the hen run.

There’s a few holes in the hedge where they’re obviously living. Sometimes new earth so you can tell what’s fresh.

So here’s the issues:

1) I can’t use poison because I’ve a lab that will eat anything and it’s just not worth it.

2) I can set traps overnight. Works very occasionally but not consistently. They’re obviously hitting the food most nights but not the traps. I’m covering the food in the run on the nights traps are set so they’ve got no other easy food options.
I’ve also got to remove the traps in the AM or I’ll end up catching a robin or something.


Is there a bait that works consistently? I’m trying peanut butter and also cheese? I’m within a mile of a farm so I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of them completely. They’re not in the house but I don’t like having them close to house.


Short of buying a patterdale and smoking them,(I’d have to cut the bushes away) I’m struggling. I’ve caught 3-4 over a year or so. I don’t think there’s a ‘lot’. But if there was something that could consistently work I’d be open to trying it. The hens nearly got rehomed but we like having them.


Cheers!
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Bait can be set with dogs about , even greedy labs ! However in needs to be the correct bait in the correct way . You need a professional ! Keeping fowl always means ongoing 24-7 365 days per annum on rat control .
Rat control on your own ground is a chore not a sport , this is how so many sportsmen slip up . Shooting with airgun etc . You want a load of traps 24-7 (un-baited) and correct use of single dose poisons , which means trained operative!
 
Bowland blades said:
Bait can be set with dogs about , even greedy labs ! However in needs to be the correct bait in the correct way . You need a professional ! Keeping fowl always means ongoing 24-7 365 days per annum on rat control .
Rat control on your own ground is a chore not a sport , this is how so many sportsmen slip up . Shooting with airgun etc . You want a load of traps 24-7 (un-baited) and correct use of single dose poisons , which means trained operative!
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you dont need single dose poison for rats, its far more expensive, rats arent hard to control
 
traps... and if you got chickens, neighbours upping theirs & farm very close then this sounds like an ongoing job rather than a one off...

an air rifle and pard 007 doesn't need to cost £2k as you said previously

traps work 24/7 ...you can work in addition to this with air rifle & basic NV ...and you will have this for other jobs rabbits etc ( plus ratting with NV and /or thermal is guid fun ) !

Paul
 
I had the same problem with rats in my chicken run.

I bought a Treadle Feeder and the rat problem as gone away.

www.flytesofancy.co.uk

Feedomatic Vermin-Resistant Treadle Feeders

Galvanised Treadle Feeders for Poultry. Steel Vermin-Resistant Chicken Feeders - 5kg, 8kg, 12kg. The feed trough is closed until the birds stand on the treadle plate.
www.flytesofancy.co.uk www.flytesofancy.co.uk

(You need to train your chickens to use the treadle. Initially you put a weight on the peddle to keep the feeding tray fully open. Then you have the feeder half open so that there is a slight movement of the peddle when the chickens stand on it. Then you allow full movement of the peddle and the chickens are comfortable with it. It takes a couple of days.)
 
Where there's fowls there will be rats. The treadle type feeders would be marvellous if the fowls ate every single piece of grain rather than some of it get scattered. So IMHO they won't reduce rats entirely. Trapping is an answer. Sitting up after dusk to shoot is time consuming and wasteful. The answer is poison or to flush them from their underground runs where you've put some sort of net or similar to catch them when they flush. We had a large chicken run and henhouse at my parents' house. 15 yards by 25 yards and the hen house ten feet by thirty feet. The rat problem can to an extent be kept down if you feed by throwing the feed lose onto the ground rather than from a fixed feed dispenser.
 
shakey jake said:
you dont need single dose poison for rats, its far more expensive, rats arent hard to control
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Depends but single dose is common now in pest control the rats have adapted . indeed some constantly switch manufacturers of single dose . They say natural imunity levels are favouring the rat , even can the rat inform others ? Not sure on all that but many will only use single dose
 
Bowland blades said:
Depends but single dose is common now in pest control the rats have adapted . indeed some constantly switch manufacturers of single dose . They say natural imunity levels are favouring the rat , even can the rat inform others ? Not sure on all that but many will only use single dose
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any pest controller talking about immunity doesnt know what they are on about. multi feed works fine most of the time rurally
 
enfieldspares said:
Where there's fowls there will be rats. The treadle type feeders would be marvellous if the fowls ate every single piece of grain rather than some of it get scattered. So IMHO they won't reduce rats entirely. Trapping is an answer. Sitting up after dusk to shoot is time consuming and wasteful. The answer is poison or to flush them from their underground runs where you've put some sort of net or similar to catch them when they flush. We had a large chicken run and henhouse at my parents' house. 15 yards by 25 yards and the hen house ten feet by thirty feet. The rat problem can to an extent be kept down if you feed by throwing the feed lose onto the ground rather than from a fixed feed dispenser.
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I have made massive dents and eradicated rats in some areas of our shoot just by shooting - but to be honest you have to be dedicated - dedicated on the verge of obsessed with doing so
 
Be mindful that from 4 July this year all 5 second generation Rodenticides (poison) will now be illegal to purchase "for use in open areas and waste sites". Only for use in and around buildings. They have also now defined a "building".Legislation change in 2026 coming to where everyone buying "professional use" products will have to have up to date certification. Perhaps not relevant in the OP's scenario here but useful information for all.
 
Bowland blades said:
i think your opinion is out of kilter with very many . rotating different poisons and using signgle dose has become a normal practice in my parts
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you were not using correct terminology. no one competent in pest control talks about immunity to rodenticide.
using different actives is good practice, im yet to see any resistance in rats to difenacoum or bromadilone.
no way would i use single feed second gen for routine rat control.
harmonix and selontra are useful but still very expensive
 
Of the SGAR’s multi feeds difenacoum and difethialone, resistance is a common occurrence. I’ve experienced it a few times. Switched to a single feed and issue solved.

shakey jake said:
you were not using correct terminology. no one competent in pest control talks about immunity to rodenticide.
using different actives is good practice, im yet to see any resistance in rats to difenacoum or bromadilone.
no way would i use single feed second gen for routine rat control.
harmonix and selontra are useful but still very expensive
Click to expand...
Sorry, are you saying there isn’t resistance to some rodentices in rats? Metabolically.
 
purdeydog said:
Of the SGAR’s multi feeds difenacoum and difethialone, resistance is a common occurrence. I’ve experienced it a few times. Switched to a single feed and issue solved.


Sorry, are you saying there isn’t resistance to some rodentices in rats? Metabolically.
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firstly difethialone is single feed.
second point, no ive never had an issue with it in rats, im sure it does exist but not to the extent some people think.
most common issue i see is too little poison used then the poison get blamed or the rats must be resistant.
single feed poison outside i think should be a last resort. the amature market is flooded with brodifacoum now which i think is crazy
 
your right, type o there. Thought you were in a denial there for a second. It certainly exists. Where I am I have to consider it.
 
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