Severe rat infestation

bilmo-p5

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 5, 2010
8,168
10
west yorkshire
Rat -a -Tooey?

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pinewood

Tenderfoot
Sep 2, 2012
86
0
cornwall
i had a infestation of rats when living in a old caravan.they were able to get into said caravan easily.my solution was to flood them out.they came flying out of their burrows,quite literally,as i poured copious amounts of water down the holes,and never to return.
 
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Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,241
385
74
SE Wales
I've just come in from the garden, site of the infestation, and I'm very pleased to say that there's been no uptake of bait for the past three days; even the "point of entry" at the back fence has seen the bait left for forty eight hours now, so I think I'm on top of it. I'm extremely pleased and relieved that this seems to be over and they haven't come near the house at all. I've been thinking, if this had happened back in the time when I might have been away for a month or more it would have been a very different story judging from the numbers I was seeing within a day or two of the start of it.

I'll need to get out there for a day with the gloves and boiler suit and do an extensive clear up, but I see there's rain forecast for a good few days coming up so it might have to wait until next week. I'm not happy to have had to use the poison, but needs must and I have to say that with a bit of care and preparation it's not the chemical nightmare I had thought it would be.

Chatting with my neighbour just now we realised that less than twenty years ago there were four different people within a couple of miles of here that specialised in ratting, using terriers and ferrets, who would have come and taken care of the problem very efficiently for a bit of dinner and an evening's cider! The times they are a-changing, eh?
 

woodstock

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 7, 2007
3,568
68
68
off grid somewhere else
Carmarthenshire is over run with rats and they got rid of the council rat catcher a few years back due to a lack of funds now you either need to do it yourself or pay privately which is not cheap, we have been asked if we could use the ferrets and have also been asked for their soiled bedding.
 

Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,241
385
74
SE Wales
Ratting is a very hard way for a ferret to make a crust; the ratcatchers always kept very large Polecat hobs for the rats, never used the rabbit ferrets on them.

I don't think there's many parts of the country that don't have a problem with them, the mild weather is one reason and the sheer volume of food available to them; fast food thrown all over the towns and cities every evening, and thrown out of car windows even on the remotest country roads.
 

woodstock

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 7, 2007
3,568
68
68
off grid somewhere else
Ours are pets mac they want to play with everything so rats would be new play mates we were asked if we could walk them around on their leads to see if the ferret scent would deter the rats?
 

Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,241
385
74
SE Wales
I wouldn't put your ferrets anywhere near rats, Mick, not if you care about them; it's not good if they get bitten. The soiled bedding will achieve the same thing anyway. I just love the ferrets too much to use them on rats :)
 

Joonsy

Native
Jul 24, 2008
1,483
3
UK
ferrets do not get it all their own way when it comes to rats, rats can inflict horrible injuries on ferrets, if the rats have young they will defend them, rats can inflict injuries so nasty the ferret may die. A ferret that has been badly mauled by a rat can sometimes refuse to face them again. It is wise not to introduce a good rabbiting ferret to ratting, and certainly not a pet one as it might lead to tears. Another magnet for rats is when folks feed bread to ducks and geese on lakes, I have watched rats feeding on the discarded bread left for the ducks, only the other week I saw five rats feeding under the bird table on a bird reserve while folks were watching the birds through their binoculars.
 

woodstock

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 7, 2007
3,568
68
68
off grid somewhere else
I wouldn't put your ferrets anywhere near rats, Mick, not if you care about them; it's not good if they get bitten. The soiled bedding will achieve the same thing anyway. I just love the ferrets too much to use them on rats :)

Your right Mac that's the reason we have never used them we would be heart broken if anything happened to them there like our little scampy kids:)
 

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