Re: Rat control under a duck pen

In article <1135738882.130400.43110@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"marc rosen" <duckbite@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hello Group,
> Longtime duck owner- since 1989, and my oldest Mallard is 15 & 1/2
> years - but new to this group. I would like to know if any of you had
> been able to successfully and safely eliminate rats from your chicken
> or duck pens with poison. The rats have outsmarted me with the traps I
> set. We got a few at first, now they bury and/or set off the traps
> with dirt from their excavations.
> Can anyone recommend any short half life rat poisons to apply in their
> tunnels? Obviously, my main concern is that the rats could move the
> poison bait to an area where a duck might eat it. Any suggestions
> would be appreciated.
> Marc
>

I've used rat poison around the bird pens, but due to the problems you
mention (them moving the bait around), I use only bar baits and enclose
the bars inside of suet cages, then stake those cages down! This forces
the rats to eat the bait on site.

I built permanent enclosed bait stations out of cinder blocks that the
birds cannot get in to.

So far, so good!

I use Tomcat Brand bar baits.

Another thing that has worked for the rats that would not take the bar
bait was to take the pelleted bait, grind it up and make a hard paste
out of it with peanut butter. I then placed that into a shallow bowl and
put THAT into the cinder block bait stations, and some on the shelves of
my greenhouses that rats were getting into.

Dogs love peanut butter so you have to be careful if you try that and
makes sure you use it where dogs cannot dig and get to it.

I've killed hundreds of rats (and a few squirrels) and as far as I know,
have yet to poison any other animals.

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson
.