Rattie

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leon-1

Full Member
Bisley pest control, heavy hollow point will do the job, but BR is quite correct Rats breed prolifically, a female can have 5 litters a year and more than ten pups to a litter. In five weeks the pups that were born will reach sexual maturity and off they go.

Trapping or Poison is far more efficient. I seem to recall that Vitamin D3 can be used as a rodenticide with less chance of secondary poisoning for cats or dogs.
 

peaks

Settler
May 16, 2009
722
5
Derbys
Fenn trap number 4, works when you are not around and no worries about your markmanship or lack thereof. Be sensible where you position it so that non-prey species are not at risk.
 

pwb

Full Member
As already said...You do not want to have rats living around your property.
Much better to deal with the problem quickly now before things develop.

Had a bit of a problem last year at home and and left it for awhile, sure wish I had used the poison bait straight away as it sorted the Rats out pretty quickly.
It's an on going battle at work however as we have pens of birds, hens ,pheasants etc so it's a combination of Fenn traps and poison bait. Still ever present though.

These two were caught in Fenn MK 4s with a box cover and warning sign :

20102013284Small_zps28f7b6c5.jpg


For size ref the boards are six inch wide.
 
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mrcharly

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 25, 2011
3,257
44
North Yorkshire, UK
We used to moor up on a river that ran through a farm. Farm owner kept horse, rented out paddocks, stables.

Rats everywhere. Haystacks, sacks of grain, stable-manure heaps. The farmer had 3 farm cats, tenants had 2, we had one prolific ratter.

During summer our cat alone was killing about 30 rats a month. Sometimes more than one a day, sometimes none. It still didn't remove the rat problem. Now and then the local gamekeeper's apprentice would come round for a shooting session. All this just kept the rat numbers stable.
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,451
475
46
Nr Chester
So cats are good rat killers then? Some of the Rats I have seen are huge, cats must be pretty tough pound for pound or are we talking BIG cats here?
 

mousey

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 15, 2010
2,210
254
42
NE Scotland
Cats may look docile but even a fat sleepy house cat is surprisingly strong and agile - I have recently been having to give one of my cats antibiotics - have to catch the bugger unawares wrap it up in a thick blanket or towel and try to shove a pill down it's neck without it scratching me to pieces... the real hunter cat even takes on seagulls - not managed to subdue one yet, but gives it a bloody good go.
 

leon-1

Full Member
So cats are good rat killers then? Some of the Rats I have seen are huge, cats must be pretty tough pound for pound or are we talking BIG cats here?

It's dependant on the cat. I look after a grey fluffy thing called a Nebelung, it's strong, agile, graceful, patient and silent. It's also a female and still growing, it currently weighs in at 6.4Kg. Males have been known to be upto 22lbs. I wouldn't want to be a rat in my garden. Her eyes change colour from green to gold and they also change shape (the best way of determining her mood). Nebelung means creature of the mist or so I am led to believe, she vanishes into undergrowth and as soon as dusk hits you can't see her unless she looks straight at you and you catch a glint of her eyes. If it is misty she will often appear right by you or even right in front of you with no warning. Somewhat Grimalkin like at times. Nothing gets past her.

The other cat in the house is a tortoiseshell and I am a more successful mouser / ratter than she is. She is however the scourge of all small things that fly.

My Ex had a lovely cat, it was a Norwegian Forest Cat, they get big, bigger than a Nebelung ( 25lbs in some cases) and they are still very much wild at heart. In the house he was domesticated, outside he wasn't, even to the point that he direct registered outside the house. He would quite frequently kill vermin of all shapes and sizes. He also used to drop rats off in the front room (very much deceased) every now and again. He wasn't a fan of vermin of any form.

MaineCoon have a good reputation as ratters, I believe that they are related / believed to be descended from NFC's.

In the end it just comes down to he cat itself though.
 

mrcharly

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 25, 2011
3,257
44
North Yorkshire, UK
Yeah - depends on the cat. Mine is small - only 5kg weight - but would catch rats, fully-grown rabbits and mallard ducks. He liked eating rabbit skulls - which is not a great sound when the cat is doing it right outside your bedroom door at 6am on a Sat. *CRUNCH* purr purr purr *CRUNCH*
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,451
475
46
Nr Chester
I have seen a terrier at work an it was an awsome sight, machine like efficiency.

But a 25lb cat!!! I imagine that would do the trick.
 

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
1
55
SHROPSHIRE UK
So Br et Al any tips on catching the bugger!! Something keeps taking the bait and not setting the trap off!! I've tried peanut butter as well as cheese melted to the bait mechanism (which has worked for me with mice before) but I've had no luck. I bought the trap in BR's link.
Ta d

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

leon-1

Full Member
Hi mate, it's bugger really.

Think of it as a trap line rather than a trap, you need to identify attack points. Areas that the rat will almost certainly need to come through, identify the run and the then lay traps rather than trap. Rats like most anything that's fatty, I've had reasonable success with bacon rind as a bait, I've heard that chocolate is a good one, but if you use it please don't let me know as I am a choccaholic and it would mean that I'd have to hunt you.

Make sure that your trap is covered so that all is dark inside. Rats are clever and if they see something suspicious they err on the side of caution.

I would also think about using a trap that kills, a caged trap will save a lot of hassle in many ways, remember though that you need to cage them and get their siting correct. A BMI 110 Bodygrip trap will despatch a rat rather rapidly as will the BMI 116, I will tell you from personal experience that the triggers on these can be set very lightly and to watch your fingers as these traps come under the mangle side of trapping. Hope this helps,

Leon.
 
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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Dave, you need to "tune" the trigger. I use a pair of tin snips and a pair of nose pliers. I open out the hook that sets the trap and take slivers off the end of that hook until the trap has a "hair trigger". I do this with mole traps too. As supplied they are often too heavy triggered.
 

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
1
55
SHROPSHIRE UK
Ok thanks for the replies all.
Ozzy kill it.
Leon there are too many non target species nocking about for me to feel comfortable with a body grip trap.
Br it does seem a little clumsy at the moment the trigger. I have had it go off with nothing inside but generally the bait is going . I'll have a fettle to try to improve it ta d

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

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