We have a saying here about getting chores done......I gotta get all my rat killin done..... "rat killing" is the same as saying you have to run errands, do things that need to be done, etc. I suppose it has it's roots in actually having to kill rats, as a chore that had to be done. I get funny looks sometimes when I say I gotta get my rat killin' done....
It is true it's like it part of your daily chores. Only livestock people will not think its weird that you have a board in your barn that has different names of vermin and tally marks next to them. I always happy to see them Grain eating disease spreading chick stealing rodents die
ha, @Baymule i thought i was the only one that still used the phrase "gotta get to my rat killin''. my emma is the rat killing queen around here. she is 11 years old now but isn't slowing down a bit. she is part cairn terrier, part pug and part beagle but the terrier really shines when she is after a varmint.
battery operated mouse traps are great. It electrocutes them usually before they even take the bait. Just pick it up, shake out the mouse, and good to go. I use the cheese in an aerosol can as bait. Would probably work on rats too as the traps are pretty good size.
Now to catch the ground squirrels. The state of CA has made it hard to buy the bait that works...no surprise there.
Our barn cats do most of our 'rat killin'.' I went into the barn a few months ago and saw a rat scurry over me on the rafters. Just as I was getting ready to scream and find away to dispatch of him, 3 cats ran to my rescue. Two of them jumped up and ran the rafters to get him. I haven't seen a live rat or mouse since then. Our LGDs are pretty good rat catchers too.