My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded
by rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and
rats. My old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to
watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3
more nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what
they do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if
I am just lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they
all left after realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they
have learned to avoid being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

Robert Allison wrote:

My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded by
rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and rats. My
old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to watch them,
apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3 more
nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what they
do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if I am just
lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they all left after
realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they have learned to avoid
being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

Stuff I have read about Florida rats: they have "runs", learn to avoid
traps. Advice was to put the trap vertically next
to their run. They also like to be above ground, traversing fences,
branches, etc. Do you know how they got in?

"Robert Allison" wrote in message
news:x%PGj.5711$rb6.4621@trnddc01...
My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded by rats
and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and rats. My old cat
kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet gun.
The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3 more nights with
reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what they do,
or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if I am just lucky
and there were only five rats, or whether they all left after realizing
they weren't welcome, or whether they have learned to avoid being seen and
to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

if they can learn mazes they can learn where the traps are, or smell you on
them.

"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Robert Allison wrote:
My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded
by rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and
rats. My old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to
watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3
more nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what
they do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if
I am just lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they
all left after realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they
have learned to avoid being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

Rats are smart. But here's a trick.

Go to pet store and buy one white mouse.

Then go to pet adoptions center (SPCA, Humane Society, etc.). Ask to see
cats.

At each cat cage, put in mouse.

Adopt the cat that shows the most interest.

that's clever.

attempting to trap all the rats in a non-enclosed area is like trying to
bail a hole in the ocean. any outside your area fill into the ecological
hole you're attempting to make.

On Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:49:06 -0700 (PDT), gpsman
wrote:

You need a new cat, or cats, and/or maybe a few terrier breed dogs.

Yeah, rat terriers

Or, introduce few rat snakes into the building.

"charlie" writes:

"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Robert Allison wrote:
My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded
by rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and
rats. My old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to
watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3
more nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what
they do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if
I am just lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they
all left after realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they
have learned to avoid being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

Rats are smart. But here's a trick.

Go to pet store and buy one white mouse.

Then go to pet adoptions center (SPCA, Humane Society, etc.). Ask to see
cats.

At each cat cage, put in mouse.

Adopt the cat that shows the most interest.

that's clever.

attempting to trap all the rats in a non-enclosed area is like trying to
bail a hole in the ocean. any outside your area fill into the ecological
hole you're attempting to make.

Interesting analogy.

When you let a cat outside it does create an ecological hole.
The size of the hole varies.

I think for most cats, it's a pretty big hole.

On 27 Mar 2008 16:44:55 GMT, Steve wrote:



To address your question, new rats came in every day and died in the
traps. Since these were "teenage" rats, maybe they were stupid. My

I'm sure they were. Tennagers are stupid. In fact "teenager" comes
from the Greek word for stupid, estupido.




experience says that you probably got all the rats, but leave the traps
out for another month or two just in case. And look for the holes
they're using. You can try poison, but they might die inside your walls.
You won't like that.

On Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:39:50 -0700 (PDT), BobK207
wrote:


Robert-

I have had very good luck in my battle with rats over the years.

Where I used to work it was impossible to seal up all the entry points
(an ~ 5000 sq ft structural test lab) so I got very good at trapping
mice & rats.

Rats are very smart but the trick I learned & works for me .....is to
bait the Victor spring traps with peanut butter......but NOT set them
for a few days (nights).

I re-bait as needed if the rats eat the PB.

The concept is that rats are very suspicious of new things in their
environment. After a while they get used to whatever you've added.

Baiting with PB w/o setting the trap, gets the rats thinking " free
PB in this location, cool! "

After the third night of "free PB" I set them......the usual result
is full traps.

"Bait and switch"!! Isn't there a law against that? Contact consumer
affiars.


What do you think about setting a few traps outside the building. I
know there are too many holes in to get them all, but if they see they
can get killed even before they enter, maybe they'll steer clear.

Also make sure nothing edible is inside. They can smell it I think.

Also make sure that you have a lot of traps, in one trapping session I
caught 4 rats with 5 traps. I have re-used traps but I usually get
new ones so the rat doesn't smell his dead buddy. I'm not sure its
necessary


A former co-worker used a "rat zapper" with great success but at ~$50
you could buy at least 2 dozen regular spring traps.

I'd bet that you got all of the recent group; with 5 kills.

Put out some PB & see if it gets eaten.

cheers
Bob

On Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:55:47 -0700, aspasia wrote:

What do you think about setting a few traps outside the building. I
know there are too many holes in to get them all, but if they see they
can get killed even before they enter, maybe they'll steer clear.

And maybe you'll trap innocent creatures.

Hold up! There can be secondary advantages to outside rat traps.
Capture the ..Bufo marinus - Giant Toad, Cane Toad, Marine Toad .. if
you live in Miami. They kill pets, so trap them.

http://www.floridagardener.com/critters/BufoM.jpg

In article x%PGj.5711$rb6.4621@trnddc01,
Robert Allison wrote:

My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded
by rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and
rats. My old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to
watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3
more nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what
they do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if
I am just lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they
all left after realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they
have learned to avoid being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

Don't know whether you've still got 'em or not, but if so...

Go to the hardware store and look for something called a "Rat Zapper."
It is an electrocution trap that runs on four AA batteries. Stare at it
for about a half hour, trying to bring yourself to pay $50 for a plastic
box with a metal floor and couple of dimes worth of electronics.

Pay the $50. Read the instructions. FOLLOW the instructions to the
letter, which include a few days of progressive acclimation. Kill the
whole clan, approximately one rat every ten minutes. After five or six,
they'll still be twitching and you have to replace the batteries.

For its efficiency at rat clan elimination, its worth $1000. Absolutely
amazing.

Robert Allison wrote:
My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded by rats
and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and rats. My old cat
kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet gun.
The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3 more nights
with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what they do,
or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if I am just lucky
and there were only five rats, or whether they all left after realizing
they weren't welcome, or whether they have learned to avoid being seen
and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

Rats are intelligent. They're very prolific. They can, and will enter
through holes so small that you'll be amazed. You may have caught a
few, but the others are now staying clear of your traps. I've shot
them, I've set traps for them, I've poisoned them and all I did was to
inconvenience them. Be cautious with poisons. The real joy is when they
die in a wall. The odor is exquisite and persists for a year or two.
Finding it in a wall is not easy. If you are unlucky and poison
something larger in a wall, like a possum, you may as well move out.

Someone is feeding your new friends. I finally found the source of my
problem which was a neighbor, several houses away, that fed her dogs
outside and left food outdoors for them.

There was an excellent piece on these charming rodents that covered the
entire front page of the Dallas Morning News House & Garden section on
Sunday, 11/20/1998 titled "Oh, Rats." Seems Dallas has been taken over
by rats. It has. They are an epidemic there. Maybe you're seeing them
as they migrate south to Austin.

Move north, at -20F I no longer have rats.

Good luck.

Boden

clipped



Someone is feeding your new friends. I finally found the source of my
problem which was a neighbor, several houses away, that fed her dogs
outside and left food outdoors for them.

I have seen the same. I also had mice storing dog food around the
burner of my gas clothes dryer - fire department helped me figure that
one out ). Bird feeders are a great source for all kinds of rodents -
my son's neighbor has about six bird feeders in their front yard and a
herd of rabbits shows up early every morning for breakfast.


There was an excellent piece on these charming rodents that covered
the entire front page of the Dallas Morning News House & Garden
section on Sunday, 11/20/1998 titled "Oh, Rats." Seems Dallas has
been taken over by rats. It has. They are an epidemic there. Maybe
you're seeing them as they migrate south to Austin.

Move north, at -20F I no longer have rats.

Sure you do. They just spend more time indoors )


Good luck.

Boden

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Mar 27, 2:39 pm, BobK207 wrote:
On Mar 27, 11:13 am, Robert Allison wrote:





Norminn wrote:
Robert Allison wrote:

My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded by
rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and rats. My
old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to watch them,
apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3 more
nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what they
do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if I am just
lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they all left after
realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they have learned to avoid
being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

Stuff I have read about Florida rats: they have "runs", learn to avoid
traps. Advice was to put the trap vertically next
to their run. They also like to be above ground, traversing fences,
branches, etc. Do you know how they got in?

Through one or a hundred of the 4,000 or so holes in the walls,
ceilings and roofline of the shop. This is not a shop where I am
going to be sealing up all the holes. I would have to rebuild
the shop for that. This is a corrugated steel building 36' x 28'
and there are no closures on the corrugated steel, making a hole
at every single peak of the panels (they are run vertically). I
didn't build it, I just bought it that way. I am just happy that
it is water tight.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

Robert-

I have had very good luck in my battle with rats over the years.

Where I used to work it was impossible to seal up all the entry points
(an ~ 5000 sq ft structural test lab) so I got very good at trapping
mice & rats.

Rats are very smart but the trick I learned & works for me .....is to
bait the Victor spring traps with peanut butter......but NOT set them
for a few days (nights).

I re-bait as needed if the rats eat the PB.


JAT but, as one poster said, replace the trap or run it through the
dishwasher to get rid of the scent of the dead one (the trap may not
withstand this) especially since they often bleed from the nose and mouth.
Secondly, I agree that you should move the trap since other rodents have
probably witnessed their dead comrad in that spot. Then, when replacing the
trap bait it without setting it so that the new location is just another
meal.

The concept is that rats are very suspicious of new things in their
environment. After a while they get used to whatever you've added.

Baiting with PB w/o setting the trap, gets the rats thinking " free
PB in this location, cool! "

After the third night of "free PB" I set them......the usual result
is full traps.

Also make sure that you have a lot of traps, in one trapping session I
caught 4 rats with 5 traps. I have re-used traps but I usually get
new ones so the rat doesn't smell his dead buddy. I'm not sure its
necessary

A former co-worker used a "rat zapper" with great success but at ~$50
you could buy at least 2 dozen regular spring traps.

I'd bet that you got all of the recent group; with 5 kills.

Put out some PB & see if it gets eaten.

cheers
Bob- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Put out some PB & see if it gets eaten.

....but move the traps from the current locations since they apparently
know where they are.

"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Robert Allison wrote:
My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded
by rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and
rats. My old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to
watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3
more nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what
they do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if
I am just lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they
all left after realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they
have learned to avoid being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?

Rats are smart. But here's a trick.

Go to pet store and buy one white mouse.

Then go to pet adoptions center (SPCA, Humane Society, etc.). Ask to see
cats.

At each cat cage, put in mouse.

Adopt the cat that shows the most interest.

In many, if not most adoption centers the people there are off-the-hook
about animal love and probably would not let you inflict harm on that mouse,
emotionally and physiically!! No joke. Friends of ours live on a farm and
went to the animal shelter to replace their deceased dog. When signing the
papers they were intensely questioned about where the dog would live, eat
and sleep. When it was revealed that the dog ate and slept in a 10' x 12'
enclosure but during the day would have run of over 100 acres they were
turned down as adoptive parents. They required that the dog live completely
with the family. Running the farm during the day was too dangerous. My
eyes want to bleed!

C & E wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Robert Allison wrote:
My question is about rats. I have a shop that has been invaded
by rats and I am currently without a cat that catches mice and
rats. My old cat kept them at bay, but the new one just likes to
watch them, apparently.

Anyway, I have set out rat traps and I have shot 2 with my pellet
gun. The first night with the traps I caught 3 rats. After 3
more nights with reset traps and new bait, not a single rat.

I am wondering if rats learn to avoid traps after they see what
they do, or did I get them all the first night? I don't know if
I am just lucky and there were only five rats, or whether they
all left after realizing they weren't welcome, or whether they
have learned to avoid being seen and to avoid the traps.

Anyone know?
Rats are smart. But here's a trick.

Go to pet store and buy one white mouse.

Then go to pet adoptions center (SPCA, Humane Society, etc.). Ask to see
cats.

At each cat cage, put in mouse.

Adopt the cat that shows the most interest.

In many, if not most adoption centers the people there are off-the-hook
about animal love and probably would not let you inflict harm on that mouse,
emotionally and physiically!! No joke. Friends of ours live on a farm and
went to the animal shelter to replace their deceased dog. When signing the
papers they were intensely questioned about where the dog would live, eat
and sleep. When it was revealed that the dog ate and slept in a 10' x 12'
enclosure but during the day would have run of over 100 acres they were
turned down as adoptive parents. They required that the dog live completely
with the family. Running the farm during the day was too dangerous. My
eyes want to bleed!


A shelter that never heard of 'working dogs'? I guess if a dog was
raised as an indoor housepet, it might not be able to make the
transition. But if they have 100 acres, odds are somebody around there
has a source for non-pampered dogs that don't mind having a Really Big
Yard to patrol in exchange for their food. I'm no dog expert, but I
would imagine that unless you adopt a puppy, there would be a learning
curve where you have to walk the dog around the perimeter on a leash for
a few weeks, so it learns where the borders are. And you probably
wouldn't want a dog from close by, because if it got bored or confused,
it would just go 'home'.



--
aem sends...