HEAD SHOT Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 HELLO ALL, I HAVE HAD A BIG PROBLEM WITH RATS THIS LAST SEASON AROUND MY FEEDERS. CAN ANY ONE RECOMMEND A CERTAIN HEIGHT THAT THE FEEDER SPRING SHOULD BE FROM THE GROUND. WOULD THIS CURE MY PROBLEM AND BE OK FOR THE PHEASANTS. I AM NEW TO AMATEUR KEEPERING AND INTEND TO RESTORE THE FEEDERS. THANKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Rats will get to the springs at whatever height, ive sat and watched them on my shoot, they climb up the legs and jump and grab onto the springs, then fal to the floor to eat the grain. Only way to stop them is to put out rat bait poison stations and fenn trap sites. Bait may be expensive, but it sure does help to wipe them out. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEAD SHOT Posted February 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Rats will get to the springs at whatever height, ive sat and watched them on my shoot, they climb up the legs and jump and grab onto the springs, then fal to the floor to eat the grain. Only way to stop them is to put out rat bait poison stations and fenn trap sites. Bait may be expensive, but it sure does help to wipe them out. Alex Cheers Alex, looks like I have a big job on my hands and more money spent on traps. I am sure all the grain has been eaten by rats and not the birds. With the price of grain we can't have that. Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 rats find the letterboxes more difficult to get grain out of, so im told. Might be worth replacing the springs with these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Well if there is dustings of grains below the feeder, then its more than likely rats and squirrels. I habve letterboxes on some of my feeders also, and the rats just chew through the plastic and still manage to get the wheat out. Have found a single feeder design which stops rats as yet. Very clever, they work out a way to get the grain whatever. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEAD SHOT Posted February 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Well if there is dustings of grains below the feeder, then its more than likely rats and squirrels. I habve letterboxes on some of my feeders also, and the rats just chew through the plastic and still manage to get the wheat out. Have found a single feeder design which stops rats as yet. Very clever, they work out a way to get the grain whatever. Alex HI FERRETBOY111 AGAIN. BEEN THINKING TODAY AND COME UP WITH A PLAN. MOST OF MY FEEDERS ARE OLD ALLUMINIUM BEER BARRELS. IF I WELD SOME ROUND METAL LEGS ON AND GIVE IT A HEIGHT OF 18 INS THEN POSSIBLY THE RATS MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO CLIMB THE SLIPPERY METAL. BUT CAN THEY HIGH JUMP 18 INS TO THE SPRING??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 I have seen them jump up from the ground to the spring, but my feeders arent very high off. That certainly sounds a plan though mate, oval metal should stop them. Mine are wooden legs so anything can climb up them. Let me know how you get on,. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt32 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 We use plasticbarrels with wooden legs and for next year half of them will need the legs replacing. the rats have been chewing through them. Lamping the rats is good fun. you want to move the feeders as far from the hedge as possible and shoot em as they're running back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catroofel Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 it also helps to let the pheasants clear up around the feeder ie leave it empty for a day or two so they pick up the spillings. this seems to stop the attraction and the rats move off. eventually they will have to die though it's enevatable with rats once they find a hold as mantioned earlier poison's the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stour-boy Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 The shoot I used to belong to had the old type metal oil drums 5 gallon type these had four slots cut in the base,one side of the slot was bent up slightly so when the pheasant tapped the base the grain would trickle out. The drum had a small hole just below the rim for it to hook over a nail which was hammered into the side of the stake so the drum could be lifted of as and when required.the top of the drum was removed to enable filling.And to cover over the top was half a plastic oil drum just a slightly larger diameter with a thin slot down part of the side to pass the nail either side,and to enable the plastic oil drum to slide between the metal drum and the stake. The drum slots had to be checked and cleared with a pocket knife just slid along the slots and give the drum a light tap underneath to make sure the grain trickled out, We didnt have a problem with rats but the squirels used to try and get throught the plastic covers. Clear as mud ? send a pm if you have problems with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo123 Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) At my shoot we use an old tyre, then fill the tyre with rat poison and put a sheet of corigated roofing(you see it on all the farm buildings) over the top with a stone on top and for some reason the rats love it and it kills the lot! hope this helps! Edited January 11, 2010 by Robbo123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 You won't engineer your way around this one. Poison is the way to go, and Fenn traps when you have the time to trap. webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 We are replacing all the old blue barrels with steel drums cut in half and metal letter boxes. Trial and error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 we had the same trouble last year with the rats on the feeders they hung off the springs so i tryed letter box feeders so they chewed through the drum. in the end we shot over 400 rats over two weekends then we put down a piece of corrugated tin by each feeder with poison under it no problem since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alycidon Posted January 15, 2010 Report Share Posted January 15, 2010 At my shoot we use an old tyre, then fill the tyre with rat poison and put a sheet of corigated roofing(you see it on all the farm buildings) over the top with a stone on top and for some reason the rats love it and it kills the lot! hope this helps! Thats the easiest way by far, A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Forget Fenn traps for major infestations, you will catch a few initially but the survivors will soon learn to avoid the tunels after a few of there mates are caught. Fenn traps are great for catching rats in transit along hedgerows etc but not so good when set up within a colonies territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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