Can't catch rats in a rat trap

Anakei wrote:

Still nothing in the trap, but the bait is being taken.
I was in the garden today and a young rat walked across my path - no urgency and in broad daylight!
Now they are just taking the p....!

Or, feeling disorientated from taking the bait! :woohoo:

Fresh diggings everywhere and two cage traps set for a week with no result despite fresh bread soaked in bacon fat so after 2 days of new bait there is only one possible solution: A nice quiet beer, some bait and 20 mins with an air rifle.

Well I had just finished my Stella and a nice plump rat was lured by the smell of smoked fish. Apologies for using such a delicacy as smoked albacore for rat bait Stop boasting Smudge!

I didn't get a chance to pull the trigger but true to form the rat came back within a couple of minutes. Now I can't confirm the kill as it takes a head shot to kill them quick and I didn't get that opportunity. but I needed another beer and the rat was there. Hopefully it meets a quick end (it will). Shotguns can be another safe and effective option but it is such a nice peaceful afternoon.

I'm still baiting for rats, see the odd dead one but nothing news worthy size wise.

What I cannot believe is how many mice I'm trapping in the house. We have had the odd one or two in the last year or two, but nothing like this year. I have found droppings in my linen cupboard, office drawers (neither of which have food) and laundry (they did get into the cat's kidney prescription biscuits).

In the last 24 hours, even after taking the food out, I have caught 3, and just re-set the trap again.

Surely it must be a sign of a hard winter to come?

yes, mice are quite active now, I am even catching them without bait by placing the trap hard up against the skirting. The silly mice try to run over it, wonder how long it will take them to learn?

I always think of that cool Tui ad with the mice every time I set a mouse trap

The young free range roosters are best pleased. Came across the protein this afternoon, I shall expect frequent inspections now.

tonybaker wrote:

yes, mice are quite active now, I am even catching them without bait by placing the trap hard up against the skirting. The silly mice try to run over it, wonder how long it will take them to learn?

They'll never learn by virtue of the fact that dead mice tell no tales!
When I get the Time's up traps set, the food has gone and the trap triggered with no rat in it, I assume it's mice and set an alligator trap inside it with trap-door closed. They are quite effective and even if a mouse gets caught by leg or tail, they can't escape with mouse trap and lose it somewhere. Chooks take care of those ones. Pukekos are the bane of my life though. They pull the traps out from some of the places I set them, and tip them up and haul them across the chookyard so that the 50/50 I set them with, gets spilled, which they eat.
Went out to shut the chooks in last night and didn't take the lead aspro dispensor with me, and missed out on possible trophies of 3 big rats. Ahhh!

Well I might be missing a few rats in traps, but did get one with a fine shot about 10pm last night and this one. I had not seen any of these monsters in 10 years and suddenly within a few weeks I caught the second one! It wasn't as large as the first one, but was just as angry and oh what a stink they put out. Just glad they are not skunks, that's a whole lot worse.

We've been using bait stations for years and load them up with Pest Off poison blocks that thread onto nails in the middle of the long yellow bait station, every Autumn, which is when they come out of the bush, looking for food and a warmer place to live. We have three bait stations around the hen houses (we have a number, as we breed heritage poultry) and I've got one up at the house, as we've still got a batch of young birds in the green house, until they're big enough to join the others.

We keep the stations filled up, until there is no more activity and then that's generally it until the next season. You've got to keep on top of the numbers, so it doesn't turn into a plague. Thankfully we haven't lost any young birds this season. Last year we had a stoat or two and lost half a dozen chicks, before it either ate a poisoned rat, or lost interest in our hard to get chicks, when we started keeping them inside the garage.

Won't be long before you can shoot the pukekos as well. Nearly duck season.

Inger wrote:

Won't be long before you can shoot the pukekos as well. Nearly duck season.

That will be good. They make a pretty poor sinue-y stew, but it would certainly stop them turning over the rat traps every night and destroying any chance of reducing the rats.

Last weekend I went around topping up our bait stations too, yet the OH saw a medium sized rat running near the horse food room shortly thereafter.

I seem to have nailed the mice issue in the house, but surprising to find exactly where they have been. I was sorting the top shelf of our WIR earlier this week, something had been in between the bags and finely ripped up some tissue paper in threads.

Same with the linen closest, the lighter coloured towels are showing signs of mice droppings, yet no food is kept in either small area. Must be attractive due to warm dry conditions.

i still think we are in for a tough winter.

Max, I sincerely hope you are wrong about the hard winter. We have had to use up a lot more of our hay than we wanted to, due to the drought. Did buy in some baleage to try and reduce hay and give us a chance to shut a few paddocks up, but still we haven't had enough rain. Did catch a pesky mouse in the rat trap, by setting a mouse trap inside it. (They can't escape with the trap if they don't get properly caught) Cat screwed up its nose at the mouse. Likes sparrows, so the chooks had a game of tag around the chook yard with said mouse.

Stikkibeek wrote:

Max, I sincerely hope you are wrong about the hard winter. We have had to use up a lot more of our hay than we wanted to, due to the drought. Did buy in some baleage to try and reduce hay and give us a chance to shut a few paddocks up, but still we haven't had enough rain. Did catch a pesky mouse in the rat trap, by setting a mouse trap inside it. (They can't escape with the trap if they don't get properly caught) Cat screwed up its nose at the mouse. Likes sparrows, so the chooks had a game of tag around the chook yard with said mouse.

Stikki we are well into our bales as well. I harrowed paddocks just before the predicted storm to give them a kick along, whilst mindful we fertilise according to soil tests every blinking year... and then ? Where did that storm go for us?

And just after I wrote my post, I'm sure there was a quick flurry across the kitchen skirting boards... and some unusual noises in the house late of night. I'm just going to keep baiting snap traps again...