rats in greenhouse

[pepsiandjac]

I have now found a rats nest in my greenhouse which of course is attached to my tortoises shed,luckily when we has bad weather i blocked up the 2 little doorways,so its a night in the shed for me .Any suggestions on how the best way to get rid of them

 

[wellington]

Snap traps and bait it with peanut butter. I'm a fan or rats, think they are cute and I have had a few as pets, but if you have wild ones in your area, and they invade part of a persons living space or their animals living space, they need to be gone and gone forever.

 

[pepsiandjac]

I put poison down a few hours ago so hopefully they will have taken it by now

 

[Jodie]

I am not a fan of rats. This would make me very unhappy. Traps and peanut butter worked really well for us a while ago for mice in the garage.

 

[leigti]

Check numerous times a day for any rat bodies you find. You don't want your tortoises get a hold of them with the poison in their system.and make sure you pick up any of the leftover poison for the same reason. and if that doesn't get rid of them all then try the snap traps.

 

[wellington]

I put poison down a few hours ago so hopefully they will have taken it by now

I would not try this method again. Way too dangerous with your other animals. If it's the same poision they use here in chicago, the rats eat it and will not really die until they drink water, which the poison makes them thirsty. They will also carry it back to their home, possibly dropping some on the way. Just to many ways a pet can get into it. Do also what leigti suggests, so no one else gets it. Good luck, next time use the snap traps or they even have electrifying traps if you rather use those. Much safer for your pets.

 

[pepsiandjac]

tortoises have no access to the greenhouse at the moment,and i have padlocked door shut to stop anything else getting in As soon as rats have gone i will be taking everything out and putting a concrete base in,I Sonly realised they were there when my plants started disapearing too fast for it to be slugs.they might have been in there for weeks

 

[Yvonne G]

You'd be surprised at the small space a rat can squeeze through. They are able to compress their skull and squeeze through very, very tiny space.

 

[pepsiandjac]

Last night Rat poison was left untouched,(praise the Lord) so hopefully they are either dead or dying,I will keep putting food down for a few more days just in case.I know i'm going to have to get rid of everything in greenhouse but now the important question,am i going to have to dig the bodies up,or can i just put concrete base on top.I think i would rather move the greenhouse than dig them up.My nerves are in shreds ,especially since i got a chiuhauhau the same colour as the rats who keeps jumping on the back of my leg lol

 

[Maggie Cummings]

You'll need to block off any entrance for them. I always put a bowl of water right next to the poison. That way they don't travel. But if all the entrances aren't blocked they'll just keep coming. There's lots more than one. Also, moth balls are offensive to them and will help them to leave. Then you block all the holes....

 

[pepsiandjac]

I'll block the entrances alright,theres a ton of concrete ready to be pumped down them lol

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I've posted this before. It's something that works GREAT and uses no poison. I use a 5 gallon plastic bucket with about 8 to 10 inches of water in it. On top, place a sheet of wax paper. Make it snug with tape wrapped around the rim...like a drum and smear peanut butter near the center. Then make an X shaped slit starting in the center of the paper out about 1/4 of the way towards the rim. Leave something next to the bucket that they can climb. They will go for the peanut butter and slip into the water.
The downside? Some rats still alive will make a raft out of dead ones. You'll have to "deal" with them.

 

[tglazie]

This is why I keep cats on my property. My beloved Stinky and Bob kill at least ten rats every spring. Unfortunately, they kill many bird and green anole. However, my property is far too wide and open to control rats with traps. Luckily, Stinky and Bob are extremely talented when it comes to hunting down rodents.

T.G.