Battle of the Rats
I just bought this fine chariot a month ago. It is a 2010 but has only 40,000 miles on it, always garaged. Like a brand new truck.
So, naturally I am keeping it in my carport. Well I went out there the other day, the rats were building a nest on top of the battery. These are some robust rats, sticks 3/8 inch diameter and 10 inches long included in the nest. Time for War! I moved the truck to the other side of the house, 120 feet away, where there are few if any rats.
So I set my Havahart trap with peanut butter. And the next morning there was a big rat in the trap. I got rid of him. Set the trap the next night and when I went down in the morning, the trap was gone!
Well that was weird. I started scouting around. I found the trap 15 feet down the mountain and there was a big rat in there. Bigger than the first rat.
I figured that some animal had wandered up, wanted to eat the rat, pulled and clawed at the trap for a while but couldn't open the door and finally gave up.
So I got rid of that rat. Two rats in two days pretty good.
Set the trap again the third night, Nothing.
Set the trap again on night four, once again, the trap was about 15 feet out in the woods. The door was open and it was empty.
I figured this must be a raccoon. A bear would eat the rat but he would smush the trap. A coon would be strong enough to move the trap around but not damage it.
So I figured the coon had eaten the rat, although, I could see no blood there on the ground. Maybe the coon grabbed the rat and carried him off to eat him.
Last night, set the trap again, same thing this morning, trap 20 feet down the mountain, door removed, empty. So I figure, I hope, the coon ate 2 rats in 2 nights but not sure. Anyway, it is a real jungle out there in the NC mountains at midnight, the Battle of the Rats and the Coons.
By the way it does not harm the Havahart trap to remove the door, you just put it back in the grooves and it is ready to go again.
So I just went out and set the trap again there in the carport, you can see the crunchy peanut butter on the tray. These rats just can't walk past a teaspoon of peanut butter they gotta have it.
I don't like the idea of these coons dragging the trap off into the jungle, although I don't mind it if they eat the rat.
So, I set the wheelbarrow upside down over the trap. And I put a stick under the wheelbarrow, it is high enough for the GD rat to get in, but not for the coon.
I imagine the coon can lift that wheelbarrow up and get in there but if he does, I doubt he can get that trap out. He will have to eat the rat under the wheelbarrow. Who knows the coon may get trapped under the wheelbarrow. Be interesting to see what is what at daybreak.
It is a real jungle out there.
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Interesting. Might need to put a trail cam on that trap to see what is hauling them off. 0 -
mousetrapmonday.com 0 -
hmm, didn't know coons eat rats. Trail cam a must. 0 -
I like that mousetrapmonday. Need a bigger bowl for the rats.
Coons are omniverous and will eat anything. I don't know what is eating the rats, but, if it is not a raccoon, what is it?0 -
Gordon Liddy 0 -
Time to stake that bad boy down. An old dog leash with the snappy thingie.
Be funny what you caught "turtled" it. Stuck it's feet through the mesh and twinkle toed it to the woods. Lonnie Toons style [:D].0 -
Probably old Granny Clampet raiding the trap looking for viddles for tomorrows dinner.
Jose.0 -
Could be catching young Coon. Mamma Carries the trap off then gets her kid out.
Was trapping them for a while started staking down the trap. Otherwise you never know where you will find it.0 -
Poor little Nissan. them animals are going to eat that vec.
Damn rats will keep on coming and are very destructive to vec's. I finally started using cats to clean out both rats and mice.
Some vec's also have insulation on the wiring that were made from a food product like maybe soybeans that attracts the rats and mice.
Peanut butter as bait for traps will just keep them coming from many miles around.
You can sprinkle some sand around the wheelbarrow to see animal tracks or get a game camera. Most likely a coon after the Peanut butter is dragging the trap and eventually opening the door and eating the food. Coons won't really go after a rat, but will do most anything for a lick of P-nut Butter.
Norway rats are hard to deal with, about time you think you have them they will be back. You are going to have to get smarter than the rats.[;)]0 -
Good luck on cleaning them out, Allen. Here in Washington state, you can't trap animals unless you release them on your own property. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by kimi
Good luck on cleaning them out, Allen. Here in Washington state, you can't trap animals unless you release them on your own property.
to hell with that, out of sight, out of mind.0 -
I checked the trap this morning. The trap was sprung but there was nothing in it. Peanut butter was not eaten.
This means a big animal was in the trap, and when it sprung the door hit him in the ass so he was able to back up and get out the door.
I ordered one of those electronic rat repellers that you plug in.0 -
had big coon do that to mine, she would just back out every night after eating her fill of fried chicken, got bigger trap problem solved. 0 -
#Ratlivesmatter 0 -
Sounds like a great justification for buying a thermal weapon sight to mount on your .22![:D]
(Only half joking!)[:o)]0 -
After the first moved trap night, I wondered why you did not chain it down. On this board I am surprised no one has suggested corn monkeys. 0 -
Darn it- get the trail cam out! We have to know, seriously, I am very curious. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by roswellnative
#Ratlivesmatter
Yep, Portland and Seattle are full of 'em!0 -
quote:Originally posted by kimi
quote:Originally posted by roswellnative
#Ratlivesmatter
Yep, Portland and Seattle are full of 'em!
But not Eugene they banned Bird feeding cause it attracts rats and turkeys.0 -
Them Rat Bastages.................................................. 0 -
I used to buy a poison for killing rodents at a do-it-yourself pest control store that looked similar to the green pellets that you feed rabbits and it worked great. They would eat it and then go off to where they lived to die so no dead carcasses to get rid of.
As a side note I was seeing a lot of roaches at night in my front yard especially under a mesquite tree, I mixed up some boric acid powder with powdered sugar at a one part boric acid to three parts sugar ratio and put it in an old large plastic pepper container so I could shake it out. Sprinkling it out in just a few small areas under the tree, in my water meter box and anywhere it looked like they could hide wiped them out. It's cheap and effective but if you get a rain it washes it away.0 -
I caught this one last night. Somehow he looks smaller in the picture, he is a big rat body length about 7 inches.0 -
He looks like a very clean rat, not your average sewer rat. Looks like log cabin living agrees with him.[:D] 0 -
...suppressed Ruger MKII. I HATE rats, really hate ?em. (Both four and two legged.) 0 -
not sure if you have possums in your area, I have had them back out of the traps because of their long tails not letting door close....... 0 -
Research Hanta Virus:
Norway Rats (like the one in your picture) and mice are the carriers.
Bad stuff. Very Serious.[:0]
Only nice thing is if you get it you won't suffer for long before pushing up daisies.[xx(]0 -
Only one case ever of hanta virus in North Carolina and none ever in South Carolina. New Mexico is the hanta virus industry leader, followed by Colorado. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Grasshopper
quote:Originally posted by kimi
Good luck on cleaning them out, Allen. Here in Washington state, you can't trap animals unless you release them on your own property.
to hell with that, out of sight, out of mind.
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I would poison them.
They're rats.
Where there's one, there are hundreds if not thousands!0 -
Use a barrel trap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q8jQmPNGzA
Poison will only get a few and the get smart and quit the bait. Plus other critters will eat the dead rats and get poisoned.
If you don't fill with water, you may be able to design it so they can't escape and then sell the rats to snake owners. Thing about it is you don't need to reset it every time. In your trap, they are breeding faster than you are catching them.0
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