BTW air rifles are THE chosen method of zapping rats.
A good one up near the legal limit of power, preferably with telescopic sights and night vision is lethal and accurate at up to 30 meters
et al
Generally, there aren't any reds in areas with greys, so it would be a very unlikely situation.
Good rat catching cat, our big grey tom never been much interested in birds, but mice and rats keep a wide berth from here, even though are a minor problem in adjacent properties.
Friend used to be an electrician at a steelworks , they had several cats actually on the payroll for ratting duties.
I'm in a rural environment, small front garden and strip back gardens with various outhouses, ducks, goat, quails etc.
Been here 30+ years and have always fed the birds. Vaguely remember the council coming out maybe 20yrs ago for rats but have never seen them in the front garden which is where the bird food hangs out.
At the moment we have a scaffold tower against the front wall and a bloody rat had managed to climb onto the working platforms trying to reach one of the feeders.
The council offer a chargeable service but unless they impose a charge on all 10 properties then it would feel like I'm bearing the brunt of the cost. Trying to get 10 households to pay is no easy task as I found out when trying to get our private shared septic tank pipe repaired.
You tube is your friend
Rats are clever bastards. They had taken to feasting at the trap into which the waste disposal discharged so I covered it with a metal plate. Blow me if they didn't tunnel in from a nearby flower bed to a gap between the trap collar and the trap itself. I had to use a metal sleeve around the lot.
Poison should be laid along the bottoms of walls or in any known rat runs. Preferable prop a piece of slate over it as they are very cautious. and the slate will keep the rain off it as weel as give them cover while they eat.
However one winter I kept placing poison and it kept disappearing. The foll owing summer I found their store of rat poison, large blue balls,at the bac k of the workshop.
We now have a few semi feral cats about the place and no rats.
Not true IME. We once had a cat that one morning presented 13 dead rats in a neat row for inspection.
Better than the one they have at number ten then
- You tube is your friend
Isn't it just
while with all that racket going outside in the yard, and the humans all distracted, all the farm cats will be curled up in the warm on the floor in front of the range in the kitchen enjoying their customary afternoon nap.
michael adams
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But cats and dogs are different. A terrier will work his little heart out,killing rats to the point of exhaustion.
A cat on the other hand won't knock himself out, come what may. But will kill maybe one or two rats a day for his own entertainment if they're readily available.
These he'll hide behind a hedge until his nose tells him there's scraps from a roast, or a nice bit of fish in the offing.
At which point he'll drag out the results of his last weeks work for your inspection
michael adams
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We keep chickens and it's been effective for us. Good stuff.
If there are visible rat holes put a couple of tablespoons in and wait for the bait to be taken (may take a few days) then keep topping it up until there is no more activity.
Same with a bait station. Important to make sure it is not washed away in rain, so cover with a roof tile or similar.
"Bait blocks" are better in that they're more weather proof, and you can tie them down.
D
But hold on a minute. In your other post you explained you'd used poison in the past. And that unknown to you, the rats were actually stashing away their own supplies of the stuff. Which for all you know they may have also being doing elsewhere.
So how do you know old Supercat here, wasn't simply picking up rats that were already dead or were staggering about as a result of the poison, which you may have already forgotten all about ?
Although obviously the cat would deny all knowledge of this.
michael adams
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