Rodent poker stick thing

[waynedear]

Thanks to the dog we found we had a Rat the other night, under the shed, eyes gleaming back from the torchlight.
I really do not want to have to unload all three sheds and lift them to sort it, it/they are not burrowing between the slabs as I did them and any slight gaps are concreted.
So a cunning plan was hatched, bit of conduit, an old garden candle hanger thing and an extendable fishing bank stick, drill 2 holes and a bit of tape and we are sorted.
Once I have checked alll the sheds I will seal the gaps with drilled for air circulation planks.

[gtviva]

Its getting to that time of the year when they are all moving inside looking for warmth, stuff to destroy and defecate over! luckily the farm cat seems to sort most ours out!

Reminds me a long time ago when I lived in a nice row of terrace houses, the neighbour rang for help as he had cornered a rat in his dining room!! he played cricket at the time so the bat came in handy!

[waynedear]

Oct 24, 2018 11:49:07 GMT gtviva said:

Its getting to that time of the year when they are all moving inside looking for warmth, stuff to destroy and defecate over! luckily the farm cat seems to sort most ours out!

Reminds me a long time ago when I lived in a nice row of terrace houses, the neighbour rang for help as he had cornered a rat in his dining room!! he played cricket at the time so the bat came in handy!

Alas I am a peace and love to all animals type person, once the sheds are done and protected then it’s time to make the no harm traps

[georgeb]

Oct 24, 2018 11:54:25 GMT waynedear said:

Alas I am a peace and love to all animals type person, once the sheds are done and protected then it’s time to make the no harm traps

So am I. Good job the dogs aren't!

[LowStandards]

Air Rifle!

More fun than a bit of wood on a stick!

Or do what Maxxxer did and build some sort of electric zappy grabber type affair - scary stuff...

[waynedear]

Oct 25, 2018 7:47:14 GMT LowStandards said:

Air Rifle!

More fun than a bit of wood on a stick!

Or do what Maxxxer did and build some sort of electric zappy grabber type affair - scary stuff...

I am still traumatised by the bird I shot when I was a child

[LowStandards]

Did it taste good though?

[waynedear]

Oct 25, 2018 10:38:44 GMT LowStandards said:

Did it taste good though?

Who knows, it landed in the Mersey

[Maxxxer]

Oct 25, 2018 7:47:14 GMT LowStandards said:

Air Rifle!

More fun than a bit of wood on a stick!

Or do what Maxxxer did and build some sort of electric zappy grabber type affair - scary stuff...

Ah you mean this bad boy - constructed from a disposable camera, Poundworld litter grabber and some sharpened nails...

[igor]

Oct 25, 2018 7:47:14 GMT LowStandards said:

Air Rifle!

More fun than a bit of wood on a stick!

Or do what Maxxxer did and build some sort of electric zappy grabber type affair - scary stuff...

I was going to suggest a shotgun but you beat me to the punch.

[LowStandards]

A shotgun... On rats...


For the love of christ man!

[kevins]

We had one in the greenhouse, trying to corner it and finish it off was going to result in broken glass, a pipe from the exhaust of the range rover into the greenhouse finished it off pretty quickly.

[nomad]

Oct 24, 2018 10:37:07 GMT waynedear said:

Once I have checked alll the sheds I will seal the gaps with drilled for air circulation planks.

Don't use timber - they love sharpening their teeth on it, and gnawing holes when they get bored.
Metal mesh is best. SHMBO got a joblot of old disposable BBQ's given, the mesh from them is ready cut to handy sizes (and the coal works great to get her fires started)   

[Frankenhealey]

Oct 26, 2018 7:13:16 GMT LowStandards said:

A shotgun... On rats...

For the love of christ man!

I can confirm that a 10 gauge with goose loads is exceptionally efficacious as there is no rat disposal problem afterwards however you may need to dispose of the shed.

[nickwheeler]

Our cat is quite happy killing rats, but some won't.
What you need is a borrowed Jack Russell loose on the property for a few days.

[waynedear]

Oct 26, 2018 21:16:05 GMT nomad said:

Oct 24, 2018 10:37:07 GMT waynedear said:

Once I have checked alll the sheds I will seal the gaps with drilled for air circulation planks.

Don't use timber - they love sharpening their teeth on it, and gnawing holes when they get bored.
Metal mesh is best. SHMBO got a joblot of old disposable BBQ's given, the mesh from them is ready cut to handy sizes (and the coal works great to get her fires started)   

Ended up using this, 20m roll...

[norfolkshire]

If you know that you have at least one rat, then there is every possibility that you have a small colony of the dear little creatures. Once you have got them, it's very difficult to shift them.
One thing that will definitely work; do you by any chance have a petrol engined lawn mower, or is it possible to get a car/van close to the problem area? If so fix a suitable length of tubing to the exhaust and then insert the other end into said hole created by your little furry friend. Then start the engine and fill the underside of the slab base/area with ther fumes. Then stand back and wait, with big stick in hand.
There is no point in being sentimental; just look up the gestation period of rats, and the age from which they can breed, and the number each female can produce each time.
There are some very nasty illnesses which can affect humans, and these can be caught by being infected with rat urine. A prime example is the modern habit of drinking liquid refreshment directly out of the bottle. Just think said bottle will have been placed in a crate, and that crate will have been stored somewhere, where there is every chance of vermin crawling all over/around them. Only requires a rat to urinate on the neck of the bottle, and an unsuspecting punter then drink from that bottle, and away you go.
There is no point in being sentimental where wild rats are concerned, most certainly not 'humane traps'.
Get rid of them.
By the way they can quite easily chew through concrete, so they may well end up actually living in your shed yet.
I live in the sticks in Norfolk, and it is a constant battle against them. Best of luck. :-)

[llwynogmon]

Same vermin problem here in rural Wales. Rats are very nasty but intelligent creatures. They transmit some very unpleasant illnesses, last year I replaced some external door frames in some out buildings where the rats had gnawed through the door frames to get at some dog food stored there in plastic bins( the bins were also seriously chewed up).Unfortunately I wore in short trousers as it was warm and unsurprisingly scratched my legs on something that a rat must have weed on, rats constantly dribble urine as they apparently have no sphincter muscle on their bladders. My legs got infected, swelled up and put me out of action for weeks. I was prescribed antibiotics for four months, so take care and disinfect everything.

Don't be sentimental about rats, they are disease carriers, I borrowed a mate's Jack Russell Terrier for a few days, much more effective than bait boxes, then again as the weather worsens the cold and damp will undoubtedly bring them indoors again so round 2 begins or is it round 3 or 4.

[norfolkshire]

I quite agree with the comments made by llwynogmon; you cannot afford to have any sentiment what so ever with regards to rats. If you are wondering what ailments can be linked from rats to human beings, Google the words 'zoonotic diseases'.

The most likely disease to catch would be Leptospirosis (Weil's disease). Not very pleasant and in some cases has been known to kill.

An ounce of lead in the left ear 'ole is the best method of control for thiese furry, four-legged creatures.

[retrolegends]

We had one in the back garden once, the missus went out and sorted it, she's a good gal. 😆