The hardest hunt I have had in five years....

[fourfive8]

Lay in wait ala Corbett in India! I’m still laughing, thinking back, thanks!! I needed some light humor and a reminder of a true story.

Many moons ago a group of us were staying in a tiny wilderness cabin that also had a rat claiming residence. One of the group volunteered to stay up, one eye open, manning a pistol, drawn and ready, loaded with a shot cartridge. BAAM! that rattled the walls, shocking everyone awake! Maybe 12 midnight. Problem solved. We nicknamed the late rat Ben in honor of the horror movie of the same name. The shot charge formed a perfect shadow outline of Ben on the wood floor. The site was labeled in pencil with “Ben”. That was at least 45 years ago and I believe that tiny one room cabin is still there, no doubt with Ben’s outline and name on the floor.

 

[Saul]

Another vote for getting a cat. You will not invent a better rat killer than nature.

 

[Safari Dave]

OK, I will take on the role of contrarian against cats here.

IME, trying to solve animal problems with animals hasn't worked out very well for me.


A Norwegian Rat is about as big as a gray squirrel. IME, cats do well with mice, voles, and moles, but don't do very well against rats.


Now, I've seen some dogs that can get the job done, but that is usually an ambush situation.


I've used these with great results (actually, the older style with just a metal tab to hold the bait - "prebaited" means nothing):

Victor® Wide Pedal Rat Trap

Victor® Easy Set® Rat Trap - 1 Trap The original wood-based wire snap trap, the Victor® Easy Set® Rat Trap, 1 Trap Pack, provides instant rodent control and is safe for household use. For effective rat control, each rat trap comes pre-baited with a large, scented plastic ‘swiss cheese’ trip...

www.victorpest.com

Maybe a bit too cliche, but I've had the best luck with sharp cheddar cheese. Just push it into all the crevices, where the rats have to work for it.

 

[Safari Dave]

Unlike the OP, my wife became a "crack shot" at out first house, because rats would eat out of her bird feeder. (She loves birds)

We lived in a small city, where you couldn't discharge a firearm. I borrowed my friend's Finwerkbau pellet gun for her, and she absolutely smoked them!

I've never seen her take a shot at another animal, but she had no love for rats.

 

[Doug3006]

Sinister!?!?! Nooo! They are CUTE all I see in them is energy and excitement nothing 'sinister', absolutely adorable species & I love that they are short haired to! When the time is right I will absolutely be getting one.

In reality, they’re 2 yr olds in a dog suit. Not a mean bone in them. My two are a lot of fun. But rodents don’t stand a chance. They become alpha predators whenever they see a mouse, squirrel or rabbit.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Ah, this brings back a fond memory. 1977 and our USFS fire crew had a brief break from the steady stream of wildfires. My buddy Gary and I took my horses on a tour of the Great Bear Wilderness. First night we stopped at Spruce Cabin only to find an elk biologist and his many friends camping there (unauthorized!). Those guys were animals! The place was a mess and still recovering from the Geifer Creek Grizzly's infamous rampages a few years earlier. A bunch of pack rats had moved into the outhouse (ugh!). They invaded the cabin every night with a host of mice. Looking at all the shit on the floor I was ready to pack up and head down the trail in the dark but Gary said he could fix it. He constructed a bucket trap (which I'd never seen before) and then rolled out our sleeping bags on the kitchen floor. At the foot of our fart sacks he set an open package of soda crackers against a cabinet with door smashed in half. Then he loaded his Hi Standard .22 and flipped a coin. I won, he handed the pistol to me, and checked his flashlight to make sure it worked. As soon as the lights were out the place turned into the Rodentopolis 500. Almost instantly we could here mice falling into the bucket of water and thrashing. Then thump, thump, thump the first rat runs across my sleeping bag. Argh, stinking bugger! The cracker wrapper rattles. "Are you ready, Pat?" The flashlight goes on and rat is frozen like a deer in headlights. Bang! Flop. "My turn." I think we shot half a dozen of those rats before things settled down. Narry a peep from the slobs sleeping in the bunk room. I think our very frosty attitude when we arrived combined with unexplained gunfire in the night may have put them on edge. We did put a few holes in the cabinets to add to those left by the bear. As I recall it took more than twenty years before the cabin was restored. So our signature "graffiti" is now gone ... except from my memory. Sadly, Gary chose to check out early a couple years ago. I miss him, especially at Christmas when he usually called to reconnect. Just me left to tell the tale now. Happy to have an opportunity to share.

Steve, discuss this technique with your wife before attempting it. Perhaps she will agree if you let her shoot first. Don't worry about the holes. Elmer's Wood Putty will fix them up.

 

[1dirthawker]

i have used the rat sized snap traps and the toothed looking trap previous. both work, but, i would put a string or wire on it and wire it to something solid, a rat or squirrel caught and not killed immediately might drag it somewhere hard to find.

i've had good luck with peanut butter, but maybe cheese or jerky wired to the trigger would work. once you find a decent bait, you are gonna catch it with either trap, but make sure you tie it off!

 

[Badjer]

Electronic Rat Traps | Victor®

Electronic rat traps by Victor® are reusable and long-lasting - all you need to do is replace the batteries and you'll get a lifetime of rodent control.

www.victorpest.com

Good on everything from mice and chipmunks to rats and squirrels

 

[deewayne2003]

OK, I will take on the role of contrarian against cats here.

IME, trying to solve animal problems with animals hasn't worked out very well for me.


A Norwegian Rat is about as big as a gray squirrel. IME, cats do well with mice, voles, and moles, but don't do very well against rats.


Now, I've seen some dogs that can get the job done, but that is usually an ambush situation.


I've used these with great results (actually, the older style with just a metal tab to hold the bait - "prebaited" means nothing):

Victor® Wide Pedal Rat Trap

Victor® Easy Set® Rat Trap - 1 Trap The original wood-based wire snap trap, the Victor® Easy Set® Rat Trap, 1 Trap Pack, provides instant rodent control and is safe for household use. For effective rat control, each rat trap comes pre-baited with a large, scented plastic ‘swiss cheese’ trip...

www.victorpest.com

Maybe a bit too cliche, but I've had the best luck with sharp cheddar cheese. Just push it into all the crevices, where the rats have to work for it.

I will second the anti cat motion with the following reasons….

I once heard a NYC sanitation worker say ….
“If you got a real rat problem and you bring in a cat; all you are doing is feeding the rats!”

Rat-X is a good poison and the old Victor traps work to; I’ve had the best luck with nuts as bait. Cashews and sunflower seeds have been productive baits.

Also placement of the trap is just as important as bait.

 

[R eight]

You fellas must have learned nothing from watching TV as kids.

 

[Altitude sickness]

You most likely are not going to buy a dog for one Wiley rat. But
Doug is correct. Many terriers are known “ratters”. Our Bully is doom incarnate for all vermin. But has a great temperament around our grandsons.

Here he just killed a ground hog

 

[dgr416]

Set like ten traps together that or fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 full put peanut butter on inside lip and put it by a chair .

 

[TakeMeLord]

I use exclusively Tomahawk brand live traps. They are designed witha lighter trigger. No, I do not want to keep a live rat, I kill the rat... but for true rats (not just little mice) it makes a difference. I find that rats are MUCH smarter and avoid a spring type victor trap. I bait primarily with peanut butter. I put the bait in the trap so that the rat must climb on and activate (press) the trigger.

When I set the trap I cover the trap with something. An old blanket, a dark trash sack, etc.

Give the rat the feel he is entering a protected place and he doesn't see the cage he is entering.

I have been traping various species for 60 years.

God bless.

Dale

 

[PARA45]

So, I had a similar dilemma. On the property we bought, apparently the single wide trailer was home to other creatures before we purchased it. I thought at first that we had little field mice sharing the roof with us. At first I thought that it was maybe some other rodent. So, I had to get creative and set up a trailcam to see who was coming in uninvited. Oh nooooo, big brother was in.

So, I set the usual traps, This SOB showed me who was the "boss".

So, since he wanted to play hardball, I moved to bigger traps, and sweeter treats.

Victory

!

Set up a trailcam to see who is visiting you. Since its bypassing all the usual traps, it may not be a rat. Like @mdwest suggested, a barn cat maybe your solution. I dislike cats with a passion, but we are looking to have our barn cat to keep the intruders away.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Or just Call in Rooster Cogburn

 

[fourfive8]

Seriously … … old style Victor traps with the metal pedal have proven best in my experience. They come in both mouse size and rat size. They are getting harder to find though with latest iterations having a stupid yellow plastic pedal. Simply flatten out the curled metal pedal with needle nose pliers then glue a piece of salty pretzel to pedal with clear epoxy. Can last several catches if you check and reset often after catch. That keeps bait in place because relatives will eat the bait with the dead relative in the sprung trap.

 

[deewayne2003]

The prey is practically a genius. I have become a real crank, some of you may have noticed, due to 5 nights of very poor sleep trying to kill it....a Norwegian rat! First one to ever make it into the house in 40 years. Wife would kill me if she saw me post about this, but I need HELP. I have scoured the internet for ideas. Even tried the five gallon bucket water trap, baited with peanut butter.

No trap, no stickie, no bait block, or concoction of Jiffy cornbread and baking soda has been touched, no mixture of confectioners sugar and plaster of Paris, either. It has no attraction to drinking anti-freeze; maybe the new stuff isn't sweet enough. Nothing has been touched, even in the attic or crawlspace. Wax rat blocks always worked before in the attic.
No leopard has been more clever. Ideas?.....

Also…. Try a preventative, there is something about Irish Spring soap that rodents don’t like.

Take a bar and chop it into pieces and scatter them around in hidden places.

 

[Hunt anything]

MY WIFE has a chihuahua that I can rent you with an option to buy, she’s guaranteed to rid any house, yard or barn of all comers from mice to bull elephant including poisonous snakes!

 

[PARA45]

I was told Moth Balls work too.

 

[Don458]

When I worked in a warehouse I would pour boric acid around all edges/walls. They walk in it and lick their feet after. Killing them. Also put around those large glue sticky pads.( may not kill them but makes it hard to get away .