rushy lad

I agree King ratcatcher, Thats some name u have! :( Are you a shooter or an all rounder like myself?

Anyone seen the Isle of man Ratting DVD? If so is it any good? :unsure:

My Grandad once owned a Ferret that used to find its way home! If it killed below ground and was "laid-up" he would leave it and it would always turn up. Hard to belive I know but I for one fully believed him. The country folk of yesteryear were brought up with nature and animals and were superb at rearing and training working animals. They spent so long with them in the field.

Silecroft fishes quite well in the Autumn/Winter for Codling and Whiting, A good westerley blowing for a few days brings em in. Up the coast at Nethertown is better ground and bigger cod, Had some crackers up there on blacks.

Lucky I didn,t pick the little wretch up then! I have heard that sometimes mink can play act so I guess it is feasable that others can too.

Cracking sport again last night. 9 Rats bit the dust in one small barn, and another 3 in a grain pit, and for once none escaped. Only used one dog as things can get a bit heated when one of my lakelands is beaten to the rat by the other! No better way of spending a Friday night, My Missus will probably leave me soon but thats life! :(

Where At, Silecroft? A bad year for bass off the Beach, I ve only had three. A nice pollack of 8 and a half pounds and one of six off the boat from up off eskmeals. Also managed to land a 46 pound tope on 15 pound line on the same trip. :(

Salt of the earth us Cumbrians. I am a Walneyite born and bred but moved to the outskirts of Barrow a while ago. Lovely and rural here though, but I miss the sea even though it is 5 minutes away. :(

Working terriers mainly, But also do a lot of sea-fishing, Both beach and Boat. A hell of a lot of ratting in the colder months and ferreting when people ask for a rabbit or two! :(

Right on my doorstep! What are you into?

Here is a weird one! A few years ago I was mooching about one early Morning with my dogs who were busily working cover and doing what terriers do best, when I came across a stoat on a footpath lying quite still as if it was dead. I examined it for a while but didn,t pick it up and then decided to leave it be, As I was walking away something made me turn around, and as I did the Stoat was up and away as if it was playing dead!! I watched it for a while move under a fence and into a field and away it went. Anyone seen anything like that before?

Anyone going to the coniston country fair in the Lake district this Sunday? I am showing one of my Lakeland Bitches on the day. The first of many shows that I will be attending throughout the summer. Anyone else out there that show working terriers?

Mini explosion of Stoats as well. I suppose they are thriving off the rabbits. Watching two this morning working up and down a hedgerow, showing themselves every now and then. Soon vanished when one of the dogs winded them.

Rabbits seem to be everywhere! I have never seen so many for years around my area, Great news for Autumn ferreting if they last that long! Just read a topic on the fwi website forum(Farmers weekly) with someone complaining about rabbits causing a nuisance on their farm. The use of myxi was brought up I thought that the horrible disease was banned? It,s a pity that the fwi forums don,t allow pest controllers to offer their services, I am sure someone ,somewhere would just love to help out!

Hiya Dunganick, I Have an airarms 2.2 carbine multishot that I use if I can,t get my Terriers near the rats. I need a bit of practice though as my shot isn,t up to much!

Great sport though as you will agree. I used to do a lot of ground work with my two terriers but Badgers seem to occupy everywhere and it can be quite frustrating at times finding "charlie" below ground, so ratting it is with the odd mink thrown in for good measure. Still do a bit of earth work- Jan-april , But Rats can and do offer some great work for the Terriers. Would like to hear from other people who work terriers. I was contemplating on setting a "rat-pack" up, but it might be a bridge too far around here.

Stirky, Did you get my e-mail? :thumbs:

Hiya Fert, No I have only ever used a polecat once on Rat and that was once too many! :thumbs: The farms that I work on have large barns or chicken sheds, so it is a matter of blocking exit holes off properly and positioning the dogs correctly and that usually accounts for most of the rats. Yes some get away but I have had some incredible sport doing things this way. Also one farm that I work on has four large "grain-pits" with on way in and one way out, and that goes for the rats as well. One set of ladders into the pits and as you can imagine some scary moments when you are on the ladders with a dozen rats at the same time trying to scramble out! Do you rat much?

No problem Fert, anytime. A quiet time of the year for me ratting and ferreting. Still do my rounds with my terriers though and kept busy with the local terrier and lurcher shows in Cumbria and of course my other sport which is fishing. Roll on the Autumn! :thumbs:

Went to a local farm last night(Dusk) which has been very quiet of late with just the odd one that the terriers have nabbed. I was amazed to find young rats every where in one particular barn. One of my terriers nailed six youngish rats and one huge buck rat under an old milk churn. The rat managed to get a nasty bite to her throat which looked quite bad, before she dispached it. A good tip here for anyone who,s dogs get bitten regulary, Get some Pevidine scrub from your vets. Just dilute with warm water and bathe the bite or wound. It really is brilliant and works really quick. Rat bites usually go bad if left alone, so just as a precaution I always bathe them even if no bite is visible. :thumbs:

Thanks Pete. :thumbs:

No Problem, But how do you do it? I will just put in Barrow-in-Furness if that is o.k :*)

Ha Ha, Never mind, ask him to ship them over! :thumbs:

Thanks for the reply,s so quickly. I would be interested on helping clear the rats on your fathers plot. Where are you situated? My terriers are stock broken and very well behaved. I am currently working them on a local chicken farm and have had some impressive hauls. It is worth noting that under ideal breeding conditions a pair of rats can produce 1000 offspring in a season if undisturbed. A female rat(Doe) spends most of her life pregnant so you can see why they can be a real pest if not culled.

Hello , I currently work two well behaved Lakeland Terriers on farms in Cumbria on Rats and other vermin, I have many years of experience and would like to hear from anyone who has a rat problem or would just like some advice on how to get rid of these pests. I am new to this forum so I would appreciate some reply,s. Mr Rushton.