Rats in garden

[archiebald]

4 hours ago, Mice! said:

Are you sure it's not slugs taking the PB off the traps, the only time I have it happen you can see the slime that's left.

Not my traps, but you don't bait the fenn you want the rat going past to get to the bait, WHACK.

I used to stick copper tape all round the entrances to my fenn boxs and stick the peanut butter to the roof of the box. 

[oowee]

34 minutes ago, archiebald said:

I used to stick copper tape all round the entrances to my fenn boxs and stick the peanut butter to the roof of the box. 

Now that's a good idea. The ones here seem to have got wise to the traps but now I have a cunning plan. 

[archiebald]

1 hour ago, oowee said:

Now that's a good idea. The ones here seem to have got wise to the traps but now I have a cunning plan. 

It honestly works a treat I knocked 3 staples in for peanut butter to grip to and a square of copper tape round it to keep slugs off. It lasted days before I changed in in summer. 

A trial cam showed me whats going on they can be really hard to trap. Some of the rats wouldent go near the box I had them out permanently.

A cheap nv kit with a reversing screen on top of the scope with a t20 ir torch on my airgun trapped in cushions pointing out of the upstairs window ready at a hole got them I just watched the trial cam footage to see where they look out from and sat out waiting with gun trapped resting at the hole. All I had to do was watch the screen and pull the trigger when they poke their head out. I bagged the smartest rats doing this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114536121323

Like this but home made.

Edited December 11, 2020 by archiebald

[FX90]

On 11/12/2020 at 00:38, Mice! said:

Another idea is you can light the area you want to shoot,  put a filter over the light so it's not really bright, might take a few nights or a week for the rats to get used to it though, they don't like change.

I'd also look at what food your putting out if there is enough around to be attracting rats, no one wants them near their house.

This has always worked for me. Just enough light to see them and give them time to get used to it.

[Mice!]

1 minute ago, FX90 said:

This has always worked for me. Just enough light to see them and give them time to get used to it.

The few rats I get have been shot in the daytime when they've been seen or cage trapped but plenty of folk suggest lighting the area.

Ice cream on the patio made them stop, much less mess and smell than mushed up cat slop 🤮

[amateur]

4 hours ago, FX90 said:

This has always worked for me. Just enough light to see them and give them time to get used to it.

When I lit up our bird table with the battery-fed LEDs, it was like a floodlit stage. The rats would step out of the shadowy wings and take their last bow over the flat tin of soggy dog food.

They just kept coming!

[oldypigeonpopper]

On 11/12/2020 at 07:42, jamesleee123 said:

I've got three mk4 fenn traps out permanently, but rarely catch anything in fact I've had more squirrels than rats. My feeders are all hanging types, but neighbours either side have open tables so think that may be attracting them. I was putting peanuts out to shoot the squirrels though! Going to have a session Saturday afternoon with my lad, let him clear them.

I've got a BSA R10 se .177 the boy has a Goldstar se. 177 usually just shoot targets. I've got a clulite  lamp which I use with my Saluki's when lamping, might try that first.

Hello, what clulite lamp ? Does that have a red filter ?

[jamesleee123]

Its a plr 500 pistol lamp with a red filter, I use it with the dogs. It kind if floods my small garden so may be a bit overkill!

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 hour ago, jamesleee123 said:

Its a plr 500 pistol lamp with a red filter, I use it with the dogs. It kind if floods my small garden so may be a bit overkill!

Hello, I bought some thin dark red plastic sheet from local stationers and cut to size for my torch, reduces the distance and still ok for scope range, if your filter clips on you could try some fitted inside filter, it is thin and easy cut with scissors and cheap to buy, 

[jamesleee123]

No sign of the rats all week, we sat watching all Saturday afternoon and evening and no sign, not even on the trailcam, it has shown a hen blackbird taking the peanut butter bait though. This particular blackbird has a stick jutting out of the middle of its back,  it looked like a cocktail stick but through my scope it is a natural twig anyone seen anything like this?

[enfieldspares]

On 11/12/2020 at 14:02, oowee said:

I have rats in the shed. They have gnawed through the inch thick floor to get in. They were first after the sacks of peanuts and bird food. I caught two (badly) in fen traps. I am now hanging the food from the roof and I have the floor littered with traps to no avail. They have removed smeared peanut butter from the fen traps and from the self setting mouse traps, without springing them. I have now put in a live trap to see if I can get them with that.

Glue traps. Not perhaps everybody's idea of "ethical" practice but they are legal here in the UK and work simply because you can surround any access hole used by the rats so that they have no other route in other than across them.

https://www.pestcontrolsupermarket.com/rat-glue-traps-63-c.asp

[oowee]

1 hour ago, enfieldspares said:

Glue traps. Not perhaps everybody's idea of "ethical" practice but they are legal here in the UK and work simply because you can surround any access hole used by the rats so that they have no other route in other than across them.

https://www.pestcontrolsupermarket.com/rat-glue-traps-63-c.asp

Will give that a try as well as building tunnels. Just been to get some food from the freezer and all of the fen traps are cleared out (not gone off) and only the tunnel trap has bait left. Good thing is they are running out of options and it's very cold tonight 

[enfieldspares]

3 hours ago, oowee said:

Will give that a try as well as building tunnels. Just been to get some food from the freezer and all of the fen traps are cleared out (not gone off) and only the tunnel trap has bait left. Good thing is they are running out of options and it's very cold tonight 

Let PW know how you got on. It's the benefit that glue traps offer of effectively making or laying down a series to create a "death strip" around any known entry or exit point that cannot then be avoided, bypassed or gone around that makes them IMHO so useful.

Edited December 16, 2020 by enfieldspares

[jamesleee123]

My 12 year old boy shot two from the bathroom window, watered down peanut butter bait BSA GOLDSTAR SE .177. Good lad.

[Mice!]

3 hours ago, jamesleee123 said:

My 12 year old boy shot two from the bathroom window, watered down peanut butter bait BSA GOLDSTAR SE .177. Good lad.

Good job, I bet he grew an inch or two👍

[jamesleee123]

Popped one earlier, my lad spotted it and held the lamp on it whilst I shot it, old school.