Rats in well house!

secuono

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So we had to install a new cable into the well house, the stupid electricians put a hole in the side along the roof. I didn't notice it until today, about 5 days after they finished.
I went in to add the rest of the insulation and there is a TON of rat sh*t everywhere! Insulation is all chewed up, I'm so pissed off!

I need to find a way to get rid of them ASAP, I cannot afford another $350 just to replace a cable!!
I'll be replacing the wood section with the hole in it and I have a re-useable snap rat size trap. Anything that rats just cannot pass up?? What else should I do to get rid of them?

I have two re-useable small mouse size snap traps in the chicken coop, it caught one mouse this weekend. I always check and reset them. They rarely need bait, mice eventually follow the wall right into them. All food is in 35 gal closed trash cans, no holes into them and no food laying around, as the chickens and guineas eat everything up and leave nothing at all.

I did notice some chewing around the trash lid rim, I thought it was the pigs standing up against it chewing to get to the can. But now I wonder if that is really the case or if it might be rats sitting on the lid and chewing??
 

DonnaBelle

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I hate rats, we've had our problems too with the filthy creatures.

We use a good poison bait from the feed store.

We put it under a box with a small opening at one end so no other creature can get to it. It has worked very well for us.

We are now battling the beavers who are trying to ruin our pond.

It's always something....

DonnaBelle
 

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My only issue with poison is our dogs, birds and a cat like to hunt and chew or eat w/e the find. I'm not wanting to pay for their emergency stomach pumping...
Last year, we used poison for mice, lost two ducks and a chicken because they ate poisoned mice.
 

Gagroundhog

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How about the multi-catch rat traps? Any way one will fit in there?
 

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Yea, one should fit. What draws rats, fav foods?
I just can't believe we have rats, I see mice all the time, small and cute, w/e as long as they aren't in my house. But rats...ick! The poo looks just like guinea pig poop, which means in my mind, they are 1.5-2 pound guinea pigs with tails...so freaking gross!
 

Karma

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We've always used peanut butter on traps, it's messier but because it is not a hard food it's also harder for them to steal it without setting the traps off. It's always worked better for us than anything else we've baited traps with.
 

ThreeBoysChicks

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I have had this problem in our shed. They will eat through bood and plastic. I had a plastic container that dog food came in with a snap lid. They found the weakest point where the lid hinged and chewed a hoel through it. And they found a weak spot in the floor which is plywood and chewed a hole through it. I covered the hole with a 12 inch by 12 inch piece of aluminum and they chewed tout past the piece of medal.

I have a standard steal trap and have caught one rat.

I tried the poison and almost lost a cat, because it ate a rat that been poisoned.

Good luck. But if there a whole even a weak spot, they will chew through.
 

Gagroundhog

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We used peanut butter too. They'd lick the creamy style off but the extra crunchy, they'd bite! SNAP! Dead rat. ;)
 

finns&fjords

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Ugh such nasty creatures.
We battle them constantly it seems. We use the bait chunks and place them in areas where the dogs won't find it. Also watch carefully for dying specimans and remove before dogs find. After many years w/o barn cats, we have 2 young'uns growing up now; hoping they'll help with rodent control.
 

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