I've been noticing some holes in the soil in the polytunnel and I knew what they'd be. It was only when I put a game camera in there that I fully understood how bad it was though!
So I've taken steps to do all I can to try and get rid of them.
You can see in the video above so footage of the rats and what I'm doing about it. But I still need to try and "remove" the ones that are there.
What's your best method of getting rid of rats?
I really don't want any down there in the growing season. I need to get on top of this problem now!
We had rats in our greenhouse, they were coming from next doors wild garden, the only way we could stop them was by putting a wide concrete path along all 3 sides inside our greenhouse. It worked for us as it only 6 x 8, now I grow things in big pots.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good solution for a greenhouse, I''ve done much the smae in my large greenhouse.
DeleteMorning, we use the Big Cheese rat poison but you have to be very careful. We also use the boxes to go with them where the poison is in the middle of the box and the rat goes in and comes out. It is not very nice at all. But it has killed them off and we have found bodies. Even the Rat Catcher coming out has not cleared them completely. They will get anywhere, underneath sheds, paving slabs, My Nan had ditches all the way round her property and chickens and always had the Rat man in every so often. They even had one get in the foundations of their property and eat its way up through wooden floorboards. My Granddad sorted that with a spade. That was a whopper. They are a complete and utter pest. I don't like them at the best of times. Might be a good idea to get someone in especially with the children as you do not want them touching the poison in any event and we all know that curious children cannot contain themselves. Hope you get it sorted soon.
ReplyDeleteI've used posions in the past with mixed success. Really hard to get it right.
DeleteI only built a greenhouse a year and a half ago and I went to efforts to make it mouse proof. It is built on a cement slab and we carry in soil and raise things on flats raised up off the ground.
ReplyDeleteBut for other rodents (never tried this with rats) my preferred method of dispatching is to flood their tunnels with water. I block all but one entrance, stick a garden hose down the remaining and open the tap. I usually keep a shovel at hand to dispatch anything making a break for it. But this method only works if you can seal off the majority of their tunnels so they can't escape and also if the ground is fairly wet to start with. If it is too dry, the water just follows cracks to lower grounds and disappears.
I have been told to get an old 2 stroke engine and then plug the holes and do much the same as you have but with the exhaust. I've not tried it but sounds like it would work.
DeleteGet yourself a Jack Russell ratter terrier or smallholding cats like our 3 Kev. I haven't seen one rat this winter and we have livestock and hay and straw.
ReplyDeleteWe have a cat but it just doesn't seem to be pulling it's weight!
DeleteRatters are the real cure long term. Poison is hard on the OTHER Natural controls of Rats. Including your cats and ratters.
ReplyDeleteCats catch and kill a few. Ratters Dig up the whole nest and kill all of them.
But they will dig and you have to restore that damage.
Incomplete thought. The golden part about ratters is you can become the lethal Pied Piper and offer your ratters services to other folks.
ReplyDeleteJust MAKE Darn sure they are NOT Using Poison for rodent control. And for that matter Roundup and it's nasty clones on their crops.
The loss of a beloved Ratter is harsh.
I have been put off getting a dog lately as everyone around here seems to have one, and none are well trained, so it drives me a bit mad! I do like the idea of ratters though.
DeleteKev, while I try my best to not injure living things, the only real luck we have had with rats and mice are traps stout enough to kill them. I am, in general, not a fan of poison as it potential impacts the larger food chain.
ReplyDeleteI have some traps but they are always wise to them or so it seems.
DeleteMy friend had rats in her chicken house. After plugging up as many holes as he could her husband put dry ice down the holes. Took care of the problem.
ReplyDelete