Battle lines are drawn

Thats a neat trick is (s)he for hire? :D
 
Cobra said:
Rabbits in the drier I shouldn't laugh really.
But its obviously having a bad hare day. :D

Shame about the Red though :(
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I think he met the dogs and took it in there to guard it.

It is a shame about the red squirrel although it seems we have more about these days.
 
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dinners said:
Of course How much would I have to pay you to keep him for a week ;)
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LOL Now I know you don't mean that,
next mole job I get I'll drop you a line :D
 
Stick a hose pipe down the hole ;)
I resorted to that when I got them under the shed in my old house
 
Gremlin said:
Stick a hose pipe down the hole ;)
I resorted to that when I got them under the shed in my old house
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They're not under the greenhouse. It's just a horizontal tunnel that starts outside the green house, goes under the slabs that the greenhouse frame is bolted to and then appears inside the greenhouse.
 
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Wait until dusk....stand patiently in the mole plagued area with a spade, watching for movement, and BLAM!! You have exellent game of "molebatting".
(We used to do it as kids. Dig under the mole, flip it in the air then thwack it :-) )
 
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Do you remember Jasper Carrott and the mole

PS

Perhaps it's a Springer thing. Took me ages to find the picture but my older Springer (Fingal) also brought me moles....

IMG_2243 by dinners85, on Flickr
 
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Sitting waiting for the overnight report :D
 
gramps said:
Sitting waiting for the overnight report :D
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I've not been down to check yet but I'll let you know.

Trap aside, what I did do was put some lengths of straw across the hole so I can at least tell if he's been for a visit.
 
Our cat brought in a mouse when we were on holiday a few months back. My dad was looking after the cat when he let her in without noticing she had a mouse in her mouth. She dropped it and it legged it behind the sofa. I bought a humane trap and baited it with chocolate spread.

The stand off began. I shut all the doors to contain it in the lounge. SWMBO was/is pregnant so refused to come back into the house. I spent 5 weeks of going to the house before work, then going back after work to check on progress. The cat was locked in also but nothing appeared. I doubled checked with dad could he have missed the mouse escaping back out the patio but he insisted it hadn't. Then, I was sitting on the sofa one night after work when the cat started playing, running around having a funny 5 minutes. Then I noticed she was chasing a mouse. She caught it and I shouted at her knowing full well she would hang on to it rather than dropping it at my feet.
I opened the patio doors and she legged it holding on to the target mouse.

Then, before SWMBO would come back home, I had to move all furniture and steam the floors, hoover polish etc.......... Reading this back now it seems like she may have planted the mouse :D
 
Ratty has definitely been in during the night. Never mind that my twig had moved, the trap (still primed) was half covered in sand and grit and the opening to the hole had all been disturbed. At least I know he came and didn't take the bait.

We go again !
 
As above, it looks like you have a street wise one there, they will cover a trap.
The same way a mole will back fill a tunnel if he suspected there is a trap there.

Take the trap away, feed him on some tasty morsels for a day or two,
then use the same morsel as bait, and reset the trap.
 
Cobra said:
As above, it looks like you have a street wise one there, they will cover a trap.
The same way a mole will back fill a tunnel if he suspected there is a trap there.

Take the trap away, feed him on some tasty morsels for a day or two,
then use the same morsel as bait, and reset the trap.
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I like your thinking.

(y)
 
MWHCVT said:
Bloody hate rats with a passion, have a rat box on station on the patio on a permanent basis with a load of rat wax in it...
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Is that so they can do their legs before a night out on the town? :D

Various rat poisons are encased in wax, (Ratak being the most popular) it makes them more weather resistant,
but they should still be replaced on a regular basis, to keep them palatable as they do de-grade.

Keep an eye on them as the weather warms up too, slugs love it (No idea why)
Ants and other insects also attack the wax blocks for some reason, turning them to "dust".
 
Cobra said:
Is that so they can do their legs before a night out on the town? :D

Various rat poisons are encased in wax, (Ratak being the most popular) it makes them more weather resistant,
but they should still be replaced on a regular basis, to keep them palatable as they do de-grade.

Keep an eye on them as the weather warms up too, slugs love it (No idea why)
Ants and other insects also attack the wax blocks for some reason, turning them to "dust".
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It's inside one of those big black boxes that you see outside your local fast food outlets :lol: So I'll just have to get the rat man....sorry pest control officer out later in the year to refresh it
 
MWHCVT said:
It's inside one of those big black boxes that you see outside your local fast food outlets :LOL: So I'll just have to get the rat man....sorry pest control officer out later in the year to refresh it
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I guessed that it was a bait station ;)
And Rat man is actually quite a common term for a pestie :D

If you google "Bait stations" you will be able to buy your own,
Just off the top of my head LINKY seems a reasonable "consumer price"
It'll come with a key to open it.
Google ratak, actually you shouldn't be able to buy it, but I've seen it on ebay in the past.
Failing that buy one of the professional grade grain baits (Whole wheat for rats, chopped wheat for mice)
and put about 250g in a thin sandwich type bag, tie the top and put that in there.
Its keeps it fresh and away from insects.
The rat will soon chew through the bag to get at the bait.
difenacoum is as good as any LINKY
 
Cobra said:
I've been killin' 'em (Professionally) for over 20 years ;)
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Do you get paid for it, is it your main source of income, or do you just kill rats whilst conducting yourself in a professional manner :D

Anyway - here was the scene this morning. Apologies about the carp image it was very gloomy and no flash on my ipad.

I've put a bit of meat down now and removed the trap.

Camera Roll-468 by dinners85, on Flickr

quite a change in the earth since last night....

Camera Roll-467 by dinners85, on Flickr
 
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dinners said:
Do you get paid for it, is it your main source of income, or do you just kill rats whilst conducting yourself in a professional manner :D
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LOL Its my main source of income but also carried out in a very professional and ethical manner. :D

dinners said:
quite a change in the earth since last night....
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He's been doing a little spring cleaning while building an extension to the "Des res" :D
TBH I'd be inclined also to use either a fen Mk4 (fer crissakes watch your fingers!)
Or the classic snap trap. Plastic or wood
View attachment 30817
opperated by a tread plate, the bait, goes in the hole you can see.
its all about morsels and not bloody great dolops of food.
You can also smear (either or) smear peanut butter on the tread plate.
I'd also move the trap away from the hole a couple of feet,
and put one either side.
Once you start the the trapping programme try not to disturb the trap.

If you are worries about non target species build a little tunnel out of bricks or wood,
and bait those without the trap initially, until they get used to it being there
(Remember what I said about neophobia earlier)

Don't use a T-rex trap, they are crap and not strong enough to kill a rat.

View attachment 30818
 
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I will get some extra traps. There was only a choice of one where I was yesterday but I can get them online I guess.

As for bait I will try little cubes of meat.

Nothing else can get to the trap unless it goes in through tunnel as the greenhouse is bolted shut and I'm not trapping on the outside side.
 
Cobra said:
I guessed that it was a bait station ;)
And Rat man is actually quite a common term for a pestie :D

If you google "Bait stations" you will be able to buy your own,
Just off the top of my head LINKY seems a reasonable "consumer price"
It'll come with a key to open it.
Google ratak, actually you shouldn't be able to buy it, but I've seen it on ebay in the past.
Failing that buy one of the professional grade grain baits (Whole wheat for rats, chopped wheat for mice)
and put about 250g in a thin sandwich type bag, tie the top and put that in there.
Its keeps it fresh and away from insects.
The rat will soon chew through the bag to get at the bait.
difenacoum is as good as any LINKY
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Will save that link for later in the year in case we get a problem again this year, we tend to have the rat man out once a year, but it's only £20 so no great expense infact I fail to see how the council can do it at that price
 
dinners said:
I will get some extra traps. There was only a choice of one where I was yesterday but I can get them online I guess.
As for bait I will try little cubes of meat.
Nothing else can get to the trap unless it goes in through tunnel as the greenhouse is bolted shut and I'm not trapping on the outside side.
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I didn't realise it was that the way round, You may have to rethink that TBH.
The Rat is most likely going outside to feed and coming back to sleep, as I assume there is no food in the green house?
Therefore it has no reason to go into the greenhouse to feed.

Hard wear stores, B&Q's and the like sell the traps, they do around here anyway.
Failing that its good old fleabay I guess :D

MWHCVT said:
Will save that link for later in the year in case we get a problem again this year, we tend to have the rat man out once a year, but it's only £20 so no great expense infact I fail to see how the council can do it at that price
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Blimey! that's good! its normally anywhere between £40-£60 / (and more in some area's) visit.
 
Now this is probably illegal, so it comes with a health warning.
(I come from farming stock, although the government took our farm to build a munitions factory!)
We had a large garden at home, probably bigger than a modern allotment.
When we got mole/rat problems my grandad got rid ot them very easily.
He got a propane gas bottle and piped the gas into the hole for a few minutes.
Then a lighted match and you can guess the rest.
No more problems. It was good to watch the flames come out of holes all over the place!
This was in the 1950's/1960's. Think you'd get arrested these days, but it worked!!!
 
Cobra said:
I didn't realise it was that the way round, You may have to rethink that TBH.
The Rat is most likely going outside to feed and coming back to sleep, as I assume there is no food in the green house?
Therefore it has no reason to go into the greenhouse to feed.

Hard wear stores, B&Q's and the like sell the traps, they do around here anyway.
Failing that its good old fleabay I guess :D


Blimey! that's good! its normally anywhere between £40-£60 / (and more in some area's) visit.
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Yep it's amazingly cheap really I'd personally expect to pay more...probably explains why the council is shot of funds :suspect:
 
Cobra said:
I didn't realise it was that the way round, You may have to rethink that TBH.
The Rat is most likely going outside to feed and coming back to sleep, as I assume there is no food in the green house?
Therefore it has no reason to go into the greenhouse to feed.

Hard wear stores, B&Q's and the like sell the traps, they do around here anyway.
Failing that its good old fleabay I guess :D
.
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Karen started to keep the food for the chickens in the greenhouse about a year ago. The rat only arrived a week ago and had been in and eaten through the sack. About 4 days ago she put it into containers and filled in the tunnel.

My thinking was it may come back but if we removed the food source it would give up.

It's still coming back in every night but there is no sign of the containers being nibbled or touched.

There is still some spilled grain left after Karen tidied the sack up but by that point I was happy to have it coming back into the greenhouse as I could try and trap it safe inside the greenhouse where the trap could be set safe from kids, dogs, cats and chickens.

So far there's no evidence that a rat has tried to dig into the chickens however the greenhouse is only about 12 feet from the chicken pens.
 
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dinners said:
Karen started to keep the food for the chickens in the greenhouse about a year ago. The rat only arrived a week ago and had been in and eaten through the sack. About 4 days ago she put it into containers and filled in the tunnel.
My thinking was it may come back but if we removed the food source it would give up.
It's still coming back in every night but there is no sign of the containers being nibbled or touched.
There is still some spilled grain left after Karen tidied the sack up but by that point I was happy to have it coming back into the greenhouse as I could try and trap it safe inside the greenhouse where the trap could be set safe from kids, dogs, cats and chickens.
So far there's so evidence that a rat has tried to dig into the chickens. however the greenhouse is only about 12 feet from the chicken pens.
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Removing a food source is always the first thing you should do, so putting food in strong containers was good move :thumbs:

But what you also have to remember that the rat may not be feeding from your garden now,
and nipping next door for the stuff they throw out for the birds. (etc)

And also with the best will in the world, the chicken food may get spilt and or spread about by the chickens,
you have to think small, stuff that you may not notice, could be a meal for a rat.
A few pieces of grain, scattered around over a few yards, ratty will find.
After all all he has to do is eat sleep and screw, if he / she finds a mate.

See how the enticing back inside the green house goes, over a couple of days,
if he takes the bait all well and good, but if not, you should
seriously think about baiting on the outside.
 
Cobra said:
Removing a food source is always the first thing you should do, so putting food in strong containers was good move (y)

But what you also have to remember that the rat may not be feeding from your garden now,
and nipping next door for the stuff they throw out for the birds. (etc)

And also with the best will in the world, the chicken food may get spilt and or spread about by the chickens,
you have to think small, stuff that you may not notice, could be a meal for a rat.
A few pieces of grain, scattered around over a few yards, ratty will find.
After all all he has to do is eat sleep and screw, if he / she finds a mate.

See how the enticing back inside the green house goes, over a couple of days,
if he takes the bait all well and good, but if not, you should
seriously think about baiting on the outside.
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Yep - I'll carry on with the trap/s in the greenhouse for a few days but if I start trapping outside I will try for some sort of capture trap.

Thinking about it - I think I've still got some old gin traps in the shed.
 
mickledore said:
Now this is probably illegal, so it comes with a health warning.
(I come from farming stock, although the government took our farm to build a munitions factory!)
We had a large garden at home, probably bigger than a modern allotment.
When we got mole/rat problems my grandad got rid ot them very easily.
He got a propane gas bottle and piped the gas into the hole for a few minutes.
Then a lighted match and you can guess the rest.
No more problems. It was good to watch the flames come out of holes all over the place!
This was in the 1950's/1960's. Think you'd get arrested these days, but it worked!!!
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I've heard of that a few times its certainly and "old farming trick" :D
It could be classed as illegal as it would fall under the animal act, although rats are vermin (now re-classified as pests)
You are allowed to kill them, but not torture them ;)

The other one is an exhaust feed from a petrol / two stroke strimmer,
seal off the holes all bar one and direct the exhaust fumes down the hole/
Co2 is actually a legitimate killing agent, for small rodents and others.
(But I've no idea these days if there is much Co2 in exhaust fumes)
 
dinners said:
I think I've still got some old gin traps in the shed.
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No you don't ............ repeat after me, I do not own gin traps ;)
Fen traps replaced gin traps when they were made illegal back in the late 50's
If you want to go for a totally safe method,
Go for a live catch trap, designed for squirrels,
then dispatch as required
This is the best type, but not really the cheapest but may give you peace of mind, regarding dogs and kids.

Of all the different "trigger types" I've used over the years,
the ones with a tread plate and the trap door sprung loaded, that folded back inside the trap,
(not a drop down door or the ones with the door over the trap)
Are the most effective.
LINKY
LINKY
If you go that route put a few leave etc over the top of the trap BTW
 
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viv1969 said:
Same here for meeces....Chocolate on an old fashioned mousetrap.
Guaranteed ex-mouse every time :-)
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Milky Way I've found is the best. It's chocolate, but sticky so they have to tug on it.
The trap cobra listed is lethal for mice, didn't have much success with rats.
We had mice in the garage, chewed all the plastic in one of my tool heat drawer and made a. Ice nest. Started chewing the wiring on the Tvr so it drown two in the washer bottle in revenge. Milky Way and 4 traps took out all the mice in two days.

Next door has chickens and took there old rotten shed down to replace it, and underneath was a family of rats, so we had them everywhere. The traps didn't get them, they just triggered them and the bait was gone. The large humane rat traps/cage traps didn't work, the rats were too big and could get to the bait without the door closing. Air rifle with a homemade night vision on the scope worked a treat. I watched the rats trip the trap then shot them as they went for the bait. I took out 11 one night, a few more the next night and the neighbour trapped two.
The last one climbed up our climbing rose and made a nest inside the roof through a tiny half inch gap? Huge rat. I had to take the ceiling down to get out the nest, seal up the gap with expanding foam, then shot it through the lounge window as it tried to nibble out the foam 3-4 feet away from where we sat!
 
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dinners said:
Bummer.

I had one just like that.............
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Yeah that the type bummer indeed ;)

Byker28i said:
The trap cobra listed is lethal for mice, didn't have much success with rats. !
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I've had loads that way, the fen trap I mentioned before is also god, albut cuts them in half TBH thats why I said "Mind yer fingers" ')

Byker28i said:
the last one climbed up our climbing rose and made a nest inside the roof through a tiny half inch gap? Huge rat. !
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Its amazing exactly what they can wriggle through,
you have to remember a lot of that is fur, if you skin a rat there is very little of it.
And yes they will try their damned to return if they are blocked out.
Same goes for wasps, too many people do the same to entrances for that, and the ones inside end up chewing through the ceiling to get out.
I'd like a £1 for the times I've been to a house full of wasps, for that very reason.

Oh wait a minute I do charge them more than £1 :D
 
Just been out and done a more thorough inspection and it has burrowed an access into the chicken pen. Looks like it's been there a while too.
 
dinners said:
Just been out and done a more thorough inspection and it has burrowed an access into the chicken pen. Looks like it's been there a while too.
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I'm not surprised TBH, so know you know where its feeding, can you set traps in there safely?
Man made "tunnels" ( bricks / wood) will keep the chickens out of harms way.
 
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