Rats

Topic: Rats (Read 1519 times) previous topic - next topic

Rats

December 14, 2014, 02:14:20 am

We have moved coach To a house we are remodeling to be able to move into..no food in coach, yet rats immediately found their way into compartments. .they quickly ate the peanut butter off the traps and chewed up Irish spring soap ...i thought was a detterent..any good idea on how to get rid of these things would be appreciated...also dealing with way to many rats around the house..

Re: Rats

Reply #1 – December 14, 2014, 07:13:48 am

Go get some cats.

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Reply #2 – December 14, 2014, 07:24:29 am

Howdy Dalegass,
Here's a link to post with some helpful advice: Rodent control - Fresh Cab
Good Luck, Dave A

Re: Rats

Reply #3 – December 14, 2014, 08:09:43 am

"Bar bait", usually available at hardware stores, looks like ears of corn all stuck together, break it apart into pieces....eats 'em up from the inside out. This works on mice or rats, pretty strong stuff.

Re: Rats

Reply #4 – December 14, 2014, 09:13:35 am

In my warehouse where the coach is stored I keep rat bait and rat killer around the inside floor area and around the entire walls. Never had one that I know get to the coach. I always take all the food out before storage. Any railings on the walls I also put rat killer on them. Rodents can really mess up your systems so protect at all times. My house batteries are stored inside a cover in my bay and when I replaced them I found some old droppings, I think they were from the previous ownership but thats all I have ever seen.

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Reply #5 – December 14, 2014, 09:18:42 am

We did have a cat that was hard on the local rats!
Get some rat traps(the big mouse trap things), melt some chocolate and pour it on the trigger.
JD

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Reply #6 – December 14, 2014, 02:23:00 pm

D-con cubes did the trick for us but we could place them where pets (dogs and cats) can't get to them. We tried everything including traps baited with peanut butter and only the D-con worked.

Craig

Re: Rats

Reply #7 – December 14, 2014, 03:05:10 pm

Quote from: wa_desert_rat – December 14, 2014, 02:23:00 pm

D-con cubes did the trick for us but we could place them where pets (dogs and cats) can't get to them.

You do have to still worry about the dogs and cats if they might catch/eat the poisoned rodents. Use of rodent poisons is also having a devastating impact on the (beneficial) predatory bird population such as hawks, owls, and other birds who catch and eat the rodents.

Poisons Used to Kill Rodents Have Safer Alternatives | Audubon Magazine

Rat Poison - Bird-safe Alternatives | BirdNote

Electric traps are a much safer alternative.

Re: Rats

Reply #8 – December 14, 2014, 07:44:26 pm

The very best rat trap bait we have ever found was a piece of apple--- works every time.

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Reply #9 – December 14, 2014, 08:05:59 pm

We have to be careful here in Tucson when trying to eliminate the packrats, as I do not want to pass on poison to the coyotes. I am looking at the Fresh Cab option. So far, the Pure Peppermint Extract has been working ...

Re: Rats

Reply #10 – December 15, 2014, 07:10:21 am

The proven bait on a trap that I have used for years is 1/2 peanut pushed under metal tang on trap making sure it is secure. Then put peanut butter on the peanut. Another trap that works ... A bottle of cooking oil. Mouse enters bottle neck and falls into oil. Everything is so slick ( including the mouse) that exit is impossible. A curious hungry mouse in our coach invented and did efficiency trial with great success!

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Reply #11 – December 15, 2014, 08:25:27 am

I know this thread is about rats, but iwhat is effective against other rodents, e.g. squirrels, chipmunks, etc?

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Reply #12 – December 15, 2014, 08:29:51 am

I just remembered what the caretaker does up at the ranch, puts a big bucket in the house, with a piece of wood (like a ramp) leading up to it and a piece of chocolate in it! Works great on mice...no rats thankfully, so not sure about rats but who doesn't love a good Hershey's kiss?! (that's what he used!)

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Reply #13 – December 15, 2014, 10:36:16 am

Quote from: Miz Dani – December 15, 2014, 08:29:51 am

a big bucket in the house, with a piece of wood (like a ramp) leading up to it and a piece of chocolate in it!

HA!! This is great! I am seeing visions of Tom & Jerry!!

Re: Rats

Reply #14 – December 15, 2014, 01:01:35 pm

Quote from: Dave and Nancy Abel – December 14, 2014, 07:24:29 am

Here's a link to post with some helpful advice: Rodent control - Fresh Cab

I don't know if we would have a problem if we didn't use Fresh Cab, but we do use it and we're pleased that we have no problems. (We also like the Fresh Cab aroma, and so for us that's a small "plus.")

Re: Rats

Reply #15 – December 15, 2014, 02:19:02 pm

For storage, I put LED christmas lights all around inside the bays and under the FT, around the wheels, around the engine. I've read many places that lights keep the ciritters away. Who knows, but the LEDs don't use much power.

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Reply #16 – December 15, 2014, 09:22:47 pm

Rats and other rodents go and return to where there is food and water. DO NOT leave anything around (especially dog and cat food). They can smell food in a garbage can also, so seal up any thing that goes in there and keep the can clean. Prevention is the best tool in my mind, But if rats show up just traveling thru, sometimes the 22lr or .177 cal air rifle is able to connect with them. Have a great day ---- Fritz

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Reply #17 – December 15, 2014, 09:29:17 pm

Quite a few years ago we had no exterior cats and I was raising turkeys and other poultry and the rats really came around. I put out rat poison and really killed them, but one of the rats that had eaten the poison got into the dogs pen and she ate him and nearly killed her. She had kidney problems ever after that, so if you have pets poison is probably not a good thing. If the coyotes eat poisoned rats and they die, to me would be a good thing as they are also a pest.

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Reply #18 – December 15, 2014, 10:43:07 pm

I have had success with pure peppermint oil, moth balls by the box full, barn cats.

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Reply #19 – December 15, 2014, 11:29:03 pm

Quote from: red tractor – December 15, 2014, 09:29:17 pm

If the coyotes eat poisoned rats and they die, to me would be a good thing as they are also a pest.

Well ... I WANT the coyotes around to eat the rats! I don't see them as a pest at all. The other thing that eats the rodents are the rattlesnakes. I prefer the coyotes and the desert foxes.

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Reply #20 – December 15, 2014, 11:52:43 pm

Coyotes are part of the grand chain in the animal kingdom and we need them as much as all other animals. The animals we do not need are the Human kind that murder innocent children etc for some weird reason. They are the ones we should put down after they do these things.
JohnH

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Reply #21 – December 16, 2014, 12:30:10 am

Recently, I heard that small amounts of lead were effective. I'm not sure of the science involved. Paul

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Reply #22 – December 16, 2014, 05:17:56 pm

The first thing I would suggest to blocking any entry to the interior of the coach. Use steel wool up under the chassis where the hoses and lines go into the bays then expanding urethane foam to fill any of the small holes. If you have to keep the dump bay open for water and electric, block off any extra space around the hoses or cord. I never leave my dump hose hooked up to help prevent critter entry. I work off of my water and holding tanks so all I have to worry about is securing a space for the electric cord. Fill em or dump em when you need to.

Just my thoughts. Peggy will not share space with rats.