Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Oh rats...


Oh yes. It's rat-o-rama in the barn. We have resorted to poison in the past when things got desperate but it's really awful, so we are planning on getting some true barn cats, which is a story for another day. In the meantime, we have stocked up on some of these...



As traps go, these are fairly humane: instant electrocution. I prefer them to snap traps (which sometimes maim instead of killing) or sticky traps (just a torturous UGH!) or poison (so bad, in so many ways, but effective if the rats aren't too suspicious to take the bait, or haven't developed warfarin immunity) We'll see how they work for the charming rat colony that has taken up residence here. We had a similar trap for mice that we used in our kitchen and it worked like a charm (although lately the cats have been dealing with the mice before they even make it out of the basement.) A little light comes on when a critter has expired in the trap. Compared to the mouse version, the rat one is  much bigger and uses a larger (12D) battery.

Now I quite like rats as pets, and I admire their intelligence and resourcefulness. However this spring they have gone absolutely nuts in our barn in ways we have never seen before (including gnawing holes in the floors of the duck and chicken coops, which is just NOT acceptable!) All our feed is kept in metal cans but that doesn't stop the rats from going to help themselves at the chicken and duck feeders (gaaack!)

The last straw was today.  I dumped out a bucket of water that I'd left out in the barn for the ducks and chickens. As I began to scrub it, saw Karène the duck snatch something from my feet and run off. I looked down to see a drowned young rat that I'd unknowingly dumped from the bucket, then looked up to see Karène racing off with yet another dead rat clutched in her beak! Two young rats had managed to drown in the bucket sometime between the time Gordon filled it this morning and the time I emptied it this afternoon, and I hadn't noticed the sodden corpses until the duck snagged one and took off. I do tend to daydream when doing barn chores.

Even better was the part where I had to chase Karène all around the yard, trying to get her to drop her ratty prize. Not a chance! She had absolutely no interest in relinquishing that tasty carcass to me. Finally I managed to catch her, but she still wouldn't drop her catch,  so I had to grab the sodden rat (in full rigor-mortis) by the TAIL with my BARE hand and yank the rodent out of the duck's beak.  I am usually not very squeamish but that particular manoeuvre just about did me in. I suppose I should be grateful that the rate wasn't ripped in half in some kind of ghoulish tug-o-war between me and Karène.

Needless to say, I had a beer with supper tonight. I don't drink much but you know, sometimes even I need alcohol!

21 comments:

  1. You need a couple of Jack Russell Terriers. There's nothing they enjoy more that clearing a barn of rats.

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  2. http://www.ehow.com/how_7402719_kill-rats-jack-russell.html

    http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/working-companion-animals/365754-rat-killing-dogs.html

    Would Karène the Duck have eaten the rat or did she simply want to play with it in her beak? What a gory tug-of-war you had with her!

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  3. I had some kind of rodent family living under my coop this winter but the old cat took care of the problem when the weather warmed up and he was outside again. I agree you need some barn cats. Pulling a rat out of a duck mouth is too gross for me!

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  4. Oooh, rats. Yes, you need more cats. I am sorry, but I don´t have a recipe for getting rid of them.

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  6. Never had rats on our farm just mice and moles . Just hope the kitties don't bring the rats to you to share as they do some times lol ! Best way to get rid of them is not cats but a rat dog a Terrier will do the trick just make sure either the cats or rat dog has all it's shots if handling the rats ! Hope you solve your rat problem , oh ya and I am a daydreamer when doing chores and I hum as well lol ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good week !

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  7. Super brave woman. I may need a beer with supper just thinking about your brave deed.

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  8. I feel faint...just putting a bottle of wine in the fridge....aaah,feeling better already!
    Jane x

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  9. A beer with supper? You needed one immediately post-rat wrestle! Several, in fact. (beers, not wrestling matches)

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    1. Are ales or lagers best for drinking after watching the demise of a rat?

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  10. Big bull snakes dine on rats and mice, but I'm guessing barn cats or a feisty terrier would be more suitable to most people ;-)

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  11. Oh, life on the farm is so idyllic. I can't believe you didn't have a slug of Scotch immediately after chores! A beer at dinner? I have a beer at dinner!

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  12. I like rats too - but they are vermin and can totally get out of control

    Love the duck/rat story. One of the first times I took city boy Dave to my grandparents, he immediately fell in love with the chickens (he has a thing for birds)... until... a poor leopard frog had the misfortune to hop into the chicken yard - he was immediately pounced on by a rather speedy hen, then as he was dangling from her beak, three other hens came and grabbed his remaining legs and began a tug-o-war that ended rather brutally with poor Mr. Frog being quartered by four voracious hens. I don't think Dave has ever gotten over it and he certainly doesn't look at chickens the same way any more.

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  13. Not sure about the philosophical distinction between animals and "vermin" (and wondering where humans would fit in other animals' classification if a distinction is made) but... is the mere smell of cats not an effective deterrent? I am thinking, judicous placement of bowls of pee- and poo-soiled cat litter, but maybe that only works to deter mice. Barn cats have a great life even if it does end up in the jaws of a fox or whatever (just Karma for all the mice and birds and rats they deal with... nature operating as nature is what is going on all around anyway).

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  14. Some people use ferrets to control rats as they are faster and more aggressive with rodents than cats.

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  15. Some people use ferrets to control rats as they are faster and more aggressive with rodents than cats.

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  16. I had never thought of a dog for rat control, but then would the dog have to become a "barn dog"? Sometimes rats are so big that they're almost as big as the cats. Maybe if you had multiple barn cats, they could gang up on the rats. It sounds like an animated film to me.....

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  17. I drink beer for far less disgusting reasons. ; )

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  18. Dear Natalie:

    I'm looking all over your blog for your email address and I can't find it. I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know I recently started a new blog if you're interested (no pressure!): http://sheepdipped.com (I used to write Cog Diss...)

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  19. You're going to get even more cats?!

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  20. Rats do a lot of damage. We have a problem with marmots that have swum the river to our side and raid our plants and tomatoes etc. They destroy all our hard work. So don't blame you for resorting to a trap. We are using marmot traps too.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!