Pest Control - "There's a rat in me workshop what ahm a gonna do.... "

Discussion in 'Tools, Equipment & Fasteners' started by Mike_H, Dec 11, 2012.

  1. Mike_H Forum Addict

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    I rent a barn... barns are on farms... farms are generally in the middle of fields.

    I've seen the odd mouse, but not much evidence, and I try to keep the cars all locked up.

    Last week I was down the barn after a few days absence, in a cold snap... and disturbed two big fat juicy rats. Rats as big as cats, man! The 'Ultrasonic rodent repellent' device obviously isn't working - they like food and warmth more than they hate funny noises.

    I've always kept food locked up in the barn, and take food waste away every night, rather than leave it in the bin. I think the veg oil for the Audi Frybrid might have encouraged them though - spillages must seem like a great winter food source to them.

    So, I'm now interested in pest control... bought a few bait boxes and poison bait at the weekend.... Judging by where the rat poo is, and how much I'm having to refill, they like the Rentokil Rodine a lot more than the 'Big Cheese' bait. I'm looking at putting traps into the boxes as well, so I don't have to feed them for so long before they're out of action.

    Any recommendations or experiences would be welcome. Not intending to invest in a cat though!!

    Not interested in humane traps either. I want them dead, preferably before I find them. Not taking them to the woods for a holiday so they can come back with their friends and family.


    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trapper-R...ants_Weed_Pest_Control_CV&hash=item2a19c4ebad

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POWERFUL-...Weed_Pest_Control_CV&var=&hash=item2a12e02b33
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2012
  2. D4LFR Forum Member

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    do you know anyone with terriers?

    a days ratting should thin them out abit but you're never going to clear a farm of rats completely
     
  3. the best answer is either rat poison or an air rifle and some time sitting about and pop them off one at a time
     
  4. Nige

    Nige Paid Member Paid Member

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    I`m of the same view. When we had a mouse in the garage, good old fashioned trap with chocolate as bait did the trick.
     
  5. my partner's father hooked a piece of sheet metal to the main's and left it switched on with a stash of food on the sheet metal in hope of frying a few rats lol

    needless to say the rats didn't go for the food so no rats were harmed so he resorted back to poison and air rifle's, they live next to a farmer's field and depending on what is grown in said field will depend on your rat problem
     
  6. Mike_H Forum Addict

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    I'm on the poison route just now, but the landlord keeps jack russels and I'm worried about them eating poisoned rats that crawl off to die somewhere, and getting poisoned themselves. That's why I'm thinking we there should be traps in the bait boxes to raise the stakes a bit.

    Dogs would help - the smell of a predator might keep the rats down a bit, but the rats I've seen have been up high, running around the racking and roof beams, out of jack russell reach.
     
  7. Mike_H Forum Addict

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    Field behind the barn is some kind of grain - didn't check which type. There's also a massive tangle of brambles leaning on the back wall, which I think the rodent hordes are using as a ladder to get in the eaves. The barn doors don't fit all that well either... they're barn doors, after all.
     
  8. i would ask the owner if you could trim the brambles around the back wall first as that will limit where they can get etc without being seen

    as for the poison put it in a plastic bucket but cut a small hole at the bottom big enough so the rats can get in but the dogs can't

    can you not adjust the doors or make a quick fix to make them a better fit? how about putting wooden planks against the cracks/gaps and use bricks etc to hold them in place so its a non permanent fix
     
  9. Gaz37 The Grouch. Paid Member

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    I'd move this to the Chat section, I'm sure TSC will be along advocating the use of automatic firearms, thermite, agent orange and low yeild ICBMs, probably all at once, then suggest a good recipe for the remains.
     
  10. Mike_H Forum Addict

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    I have asked about the brambles... a few times... it'll get done eventually...

    I do plan to block up some gaps around doors... need to get hold of some rubber sheet to do that... and was thinking of blocking up the eaves at the back (bramble side) to make it harder for them.

    Any farm has rats though, as already said... occasionally you see them scurrying across the farmyard, and then into a gap under a concrete slab.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2012
  11. Lewis583

    Lewis583 Forum Member

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    I reckon a couple of these beasties in an upturned bucket with a tunnel cut out should see you right
    LINK
     
  12. D4LFR Forum Member

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    Talk about timing ...I bought a tt off a farm on Saturday, today went out to remove a few sensors and found this in the engine bay ...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Erny Forum Member

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    air rifle, only problem is it distracts you from working on the car. your going to struggle to get rid of them, a freind has a pig farm and has a nightmare with badgers so consider yourself lucky haha
     
  14. i hope that fooker doesn't come along in my next parcel dude lmao
     
  15. Jon Olds Forum Junkie

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    Beware trim. The workshop I rented around the corner from where I live had a rat problem. Those little devils can really, really make a mess of any soft furnishings, even over a weekend. You rarely caught sight of them, and boy do they move fast..
    Jon
     
  16. Lewis583

    Lewis583 Forum Member

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    Never seen that optional extra before lol Must have been specced up to the nads
     
  17. Mike_H Forum Addict

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    Found a dead ratty in my last barn as I was moving out... partly decomposed. It smelt so bad I nearly threw up, and I'm feeling a bit queasy just thinking about it. Gross!


    ... and then you have to take it to the tip in the back of the car... all windows open, obviously!


    Edit: added the pic - notice the guts leaking out on the cardboard [xx(]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2012
  18. if your in the countryside just throw it in a near by hedge or set it on fire, i'd prefer the later option myself
     
  19. Mike_H Forum Addict

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    As mentioned earlier... I don't really want to poison the landlords dogs.

    Does it smell any better roasted than just lightly decomposed? I wouldn't want to develop a taste for it! lol
     
  20. cooked rat is a delicacy in some easten country's
     

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