My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near to where
my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to B&Q to
look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a mechanical
trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly inaccessible place.

I baited the trap and placed it up against my shed and put some wooden
panels over and around it so that it could really only be accessed by a
small rodent approaching from under the shed. Nothing happened on day one.
On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the trap
had gone! Nowhere to be found.

I am wondering if a rat might have got caught and then maybe a fox or cat
had been attracted sufficiently to squeeze into the gaps to drag it away -
or whether an animal had got partly snared and managed to get away with the
trap attached. Not a very pleasing outcome.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I
should have chosen a better remedy.


--


--
John

"John" wrote in message
...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near
to where
my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to
B&Q to
look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a
mechanical
trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly inaccessible
place.

I baited the trap and placed it up against my shed and put some
wooden
panels over and around it so that it could really only be accessed
by a
small rodent approaching from under the shed. Nothing happened on
day one.
On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the
trap
had gone! Nowhere to be found.

I am wondering if a rat might have got caught and then maybe a fox
or cat
had been attracted sufficiently to squeeze into the gaps to drag it
away -
or whether an animal had got partly snared and managed to get away
with the
trap attached. Not a very pleasing outcome.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering
if I
should have chosen a better remedy.


--


--
John



410 shotgun is far more effective !

AWEM

"Andrew Mawson" wrote in message
...

"John" wrote in message
...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near
to where
my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to
B&Q to
look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a
mechanical
trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly inaccessible
place.

We had an infestation recently - because we have hens it happens every so
often.

Because we have hens we won't use Nipper traps but we've found the Rat
Zapper expensive but effective and last month we used Eradirat which was
excellent - but slow acting.

Mary

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:15:28 GMT, John wrote:

On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the
trap had gone! Nowhere to be found.

Lesson 1: Rats have been known to drag a trap away if partially caught or
knaw a trapped limb off in order to escape.

Lesson 2: Fix the trap down and have a plan on how to deal with trapped
live rat.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I
should have chosen a better remedy.

Trapping is probably the quickest death, most of the time. Poison is
effective but it is a rather slow death. In buildings they also have a
habit of dying in the most inaccessable place then stinking the place out
for a week and finally filling it with flys...

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article et, Dave
Liquorice scribeth thus
On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:15:28 GMT, John wrote:

On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the
trap had gone! Nowhere to be found.

Lesson 1: Rats have been known to drag a trap away if partially caught or
knaw a trapped limb off in order to escape.

Lesson 2: Fix the trap down and have a plan on how to deal with trapped
live rat.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I
should have chosen a better remedy.

Trapping is probably the quickest death, most of the time. Poison is
effective but it is a rather slow death. In buildings they also have a
habit of dying in the most inaccessable place then stinking the place out
for a week and finally filling it with flys...


We acquired a moggie a few months ago, came as a kit-ten of parts HoHo!,

Anyways he now brings a young rat or a mousy home every day!.

Just didn't think we had any live around here!...
--
Tony Sayer

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.net...
On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:15:28 GMT, John wrote:

On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the
trap had gone! Nowhere to be found.

Lesson 1: Rats have been known to drag a trap away if partially caught or
knaw a trapped limb off in order to escape.

Lesson 2: Fix the trap down and have a plan on how to deal with trapped
live rat.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I
should have chosen a better remedy.

Trapping is probably the quickest death, most of the time. Poison is
effective but it is a rather slow death. In buildings they also have a
habit of dying in the most inaccessable place then stinking the place out
for a week and finally filling it with flys...

That's the beauty of Eradirat. It's a non-poisonous maize-based pellet which
causes mice and rats (only) to dessicate no matter how much water they take
in. You end up with no meat for flies.

Mary

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:46:47 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

Anyways he now brings a young rat or a mousy home every day!.

The kitten that adopted us as it's home brings in anything from 1 to 4
voles a day , the occasional shrew and very occasional mouse. She at least
eats every last scrap of the voles, isn't that keen on the mice (tends to
leave the back end) but only plays with the shrews doesn't even attempt to
eat them.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.net...
On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:15:28 GMT, John wrote:

On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the
trap had gone! Nowhere to be found.

Lesson 1: Rats have been known to drag a trap away if partially caught or
knaw a trapped limb off in order to escape.

Lesson 2: Fix the trap down and have a plan on how to deal with trapped
live rat.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I
should have chosen a better remedy.

Trapping is probably the quickest death, most of the time. Poison is
effective but it is a rather slow death. In buildings they also have a
habit of dying in the most inaccessable place then stinking the place out
for a week and finally filling it with flys...

That's the beauty of Eradirat. It's a non-poisonous maize-based pellet
which causes mice and rats (only) to dessicate no matter how much water
they take in. You end up with no meat for flies.

Mary

That should of course have been 'desiccate'.

Mary

Mary Fisher wrote:
That's the beauty of Eradirat. It's a non-poisonous maize-based pellet
which causes mice and rats (only) to dessicate no matter how much water
they take in. You end up with no meat for flies.


Hmmmm, I'm reading about Eradirat on their website, how it works, and
I'm now feeling quite sad for the poor rats.

;-(.....

--
Adrian C

John wrote in message
...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near to
where
my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to B&Q to
look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a mechanical
trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly inaccessible place.

Replace it with a Big cheese trap they are easy to bait and set
http://www.farmrite.co.uk/product.ds2?p=330015
Most effective trap I have ever used, but you need to tie it down so mr fox
etc doesn't run off with the lot.
I get a lot of rats even in daylight
http://i6.tinypic.com/85nfp5u.jpg
The big cheese is the cleanest and most effective way of killing them.



-

"John" wrote in message
...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near to
where my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to
B&Q to look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a
mechanical trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly
inaccessible place.

I baited the trap and placed it up against my shed and put some wooden
panels over and around it so that it could really only be accessed by a
small rodent approaching from under the shed. Nothing happened on day one.
On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the trap
had gone! Nowhere to be found.

I am wondering if a rat might have got caught and then maybe a fox or cat
had been attracted sufficiently to squeeze into the gaps to drag it away -
or whether an animal had got partly snared and managed to get away with
the trap attached. Not a very pleasing outcome.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I
should have chosen a better remedy.

Squirrel traps are good as rat traps.
When you catch the Rat you can look it in the eye and tell it it's going
somewhere else...............Heaven.......Hell..........Loca l
Tip...........end of gun

"Mark" wrote in message
...

John wrote in message
...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near to
where
my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to B&Q to
look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a mechanical
trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly inaccessible place.

Replace it with a Big cheese trap they are easy to bait and set
http://www.farmrite.co.uk/product.ds2?p=330015
Most effective trap I have ever used, but you need to tie it down so mr
fox
etc doesn't run off with the lot.
I get a lot of rats even in daylight
http://i6.tinypic.com/85nfp5u.jpg
The big cheese is the cleanest and most effective way of killing them.



-

Mine was very similar - from B&Q. Perhaps even the same but without the
markings. Foot pedal to open it.

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2007-11-13, Mark wrote:

John wrote in message
...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near to
where
my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to B&Q to
look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a
mechanical
trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly inaccessible place.

Replace it with a Big cheese trap they are easy to bait and set
http://www.farmrite.co.uk/product.ds2?p=330015

BTW, I buy my bait & traps from Farmrite. Nice people.


--
"Be thankful that you have a life, and forsake your vain
and presumptuous desire for a second one."
[email me at huge {at} huge (dot) org dot uk]

Mine was:

B&Q Easy Set Rat Trap BQ115 Black

"John" wrote in message ...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near to where my shed is. I thought I
should do something about it so I went to B&Q to look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I
decided on a mechanical trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly inaccessible place.

I baited the trap and placed it up against my shed and put some wooden panels over and around it so
that it could really only be accessed by a small rodent approaching from under the shed. Nothing
happened on day one. On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the trap had
gone! Nowhere to be found.

I am wondering if a rat might have got caught and then maybe a fox or cat had been attracted
sufficiently to squeeze into the gaps to drag it away - or whether an animal had got partly snared
and managed to get away with the trap attached. Not a very pleasing outcome.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I should have chosen a better
remedy.

When this happened in our garden, my wife and I imagined a "rat school" where the teacher would take
students through each of the types of trap, and how to beat them.
"Ah yes, the B&Q M15 spring-loaded rat trap. Activates with 20 grams of pressure, and closes in 0.3
seconds with a force of 20 lbs-ft. A fine trap. but it has one serious flaw. Here's how you get the
food off it without setting it off...."

You will probably find it somewhere in 10 years time, attached to a decayed rats tail, when he ran off
after springing it.

"Dave Gordon" d@p wrote in message
...
"John" wrote in message
...
My neighbour reported seeing a rat go under our dividing fence near to
where my shed is. I thought I should do something about it so I went to
B&Q to look at the options. As my neighbours have cats I decided on a
mechanical trap with the idea that I would place it in a fairly
inaccessible place.

I baited the trap and placed it up against my shed and put some wooden
panels over and around it so that it could really only be accessed by a
small rodent approaching from under the shed. Nothing happened on day
one. On day two - early in the evening I went to check and found that the
trap had gone! Nowhere to be found.

I am wondering if a rat might have got caught and then maybe a fox or cat
had been attracted sufficiently to squeeze into the gaps to drag it
away - or whether an animal had got partly snared and managed to get away
with the trap attached. Not a very pleasing outcome.

I am now not sure if the rat has been dealt with and I am wondering if I
should have chosen a better remedy.

When this happened in our garden, my wife and I imagined a "rat school"
where the teacher would take students through each of the types of trap,
and how to beat them.
"Ah yes, the B&Q M15 spring-loaded rat trap. Activates with 20 grams of
pressure, and closes in 0.3 seconds with a force of 20 lbs-ft. A fine
trap. but it has one serious flaw. Here's how you get the food off it
without setting it off...."

You will probably find it somewhere in 10 years time, attached to a
decayed rats tail, when he ran off after springing it.


OP here.

Just a thought - how can I conclusively prove whether I have rats - without
attracting them?


--


--
John

John wrote in message
...


OP here.

Just a thought - how can I conclusively prove whether I have rats -
without
attracting them?


Well "You are never more than 10 feet from a rat" apparently
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/stor...768243,00.html


-

On 2007-11-14 22:36:48 +0000, "Mark" said:


John wrote in message
...


OP here.

Just a thought - how can I conclusively prove whether I have rats -
without
attracting them?


Well "You are never more than 10 feet from a rat" apparently
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/stor...768243,00.html


-

An argument against having a reduction in frequency of bin emptying.
Perhaps there'll be council employed pied pipers instead.

"Andy Hall" wrote in message news:473be051@qaanaaq...
On 2007-11-14 22:36:48 +0000, "Mark" said:


John wrote in message
...


OP here.

Just a thought - how can I conclusively prove whether I have rats -
without
attracting them?


Well "You are never more than 10 feet from a rat" apparently
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/stor...768243,00.html


-

An argument against having a reduction in frequency of bin emptying.
Perhaps there'll be council employed pied pipers instead.


My bins are emptied weekly - but on a fortnightly rota of general waste and
recycling stuff.

It doesn't give me a problem as we manage it properly.

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:19:05 +0000, Paul Matthews wrote:

Lesson 2: Fix the trap down and have a plan on how to deal with
trapped live rat.

http://www.air-arms.co.uk/

I was actually think that many people, though happy to let a trap do the
killing are actually to sqeamish to do it themselves.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article , john.plant510
@ntlworld.com says...
My bins are emptied weekly - but on a fortnightly rota of general waste and
recycling stuff.

It doesn't give me a problem as we manage it properly.

Works OK here, too. Four of us rarely fill the waste bin in a fortnight
and it doesn't smell unduly - anything likely to rot goes on the compost
heap. If anything would have rats it'd be the heap, though I've seen no
signs of them. If they are there they're keeping themselves to
themselves.

--
Skipweasel.
Never knowingly understood.

On 2007-11-15 09:06:40 +0000, "John" said:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message news:473be051@qaanaaq...
On 2007-11-14 22:36:48 +0000, "Mark" said:


John wrote in message
...


OP here.

Just a thought - how can I conclusively prove whether I have rats -
without
attracting them?


Well "You are never more than 10 feet from a rat" apparently
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/stor...768243,00.html


-

An argument against having a reduction in frequency of bin emptying.
Perhaps there'll be council employed pied pipers instead.


My bins are emptied weekly - but on a fortnightly rota of general waste and
recycling stuff.

It doesn't give me a problem as we manage it properly.

The only way to manage it properly is to chuck the whole lot into one
bin and for the collector of it to do as they feel appropriate/

They are paid a great deal of money to do this and should do their job
properly rather than fobbing it off on their customers.

If they want to subcontract it back to me then that's fine. I will be
happy to quote, but the price will be very high.

Dave Liquorice wrote:

The kitten that adopted us as it's home brings in anything from 1 to 4
voles a day , the occasional shrew and very occasional mouse. She at least
eats every last scrap of the voles, isn't that keen on the mice (tends to
leave the back end) but only plays with the shrews doesn't even attempt to
eat them.

Do you know, that's odd because our cats won't eat shrews either. They
eat the mice, and chew the heads off the rats, but mostly we just find
the shrews dead outside the door, or in the hall.

Having said that, it's possible that the shrew we find in the morning
is actually the 3rd of 4th of the night, and both cats are full ;-)

Regards
Richard

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:55:41 -0800 (PST), geraldthehamster wrote:

Do you know, that's odd because our cats won't eat shrews either. They
eat the mice, and chew the heads off the rats, but mostly we just find
the shrews dead outside the door, or in the hall.

I don't think shrews taste nice. She had a baby one the other morning,
after playing for a while she settled down into her "I'm going eat this
pose". Took a preparitary bite then another proper one and her head jerked
back and she dropped it. I think she did actually eat that one as she
appeared at my side a while later with that satisfied look on her face and
even after tapping out and moving every boot and mat in the area couldn't
find the body.

One adult and another young shrew (both not eaten) and two voles (eaten)
today.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Andy Hall wrote in message news:473be051@qaanaaq...
On 2007-11-14 22:36:48 +0000, "Mark" said:


John wrote in message
...


OP here.

Just a thought - how can I conclusively prove whether I have rats -
without
attracting them?


Well "You are never more than 10 feet from a rat" apparently
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/stor...768243,00.html

An argument against having a reduction in frequency of bin emptying.


Why, It works fine for most people.
Is this something that's beneath you to sort your own rubbish?



-

Huge wrote in message
...
On 2007-11-15, Mark wrote:

Andy Hall wrote in message

An argument against having a reduction in frequency of bin emptying.


Why, It works fine for most people.
Is this something that's beneath you to sort your own rubbish?

Why should we?

Leaving aside the question of whether recycling will save the planet
Targets for recycling are set by our EU masters.

We already pay handsomely to have someone else do it. It's yet
another example of the State collecting the taxes and then not providing
the
service.

If you really believe that if everyone just dumped all rubbish into one bin,
food slops soiled nappies, paper, cans etc and your council could then
economically separate the crap from the recyclable, you must be a media
student.


-

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 22:36:48 GMT, "Mark" wrote:


John wrote in message
...


OP here.

Just a thought - how can I conclusively prove whether I have rats -
without
attracting them?


Well "You are never more than 10 feet from a rat" apparently
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/stor...768243,00.html


That's a little bit funny, as in funny peculiar, not funny Ha-Ha.

They say there are 60 million rats in UK.

There are also 60 million Uman Beens in the UK.

They say that "You" are never more than 10 feet from a rat.

But the nearest Uman Been is 30 feet away, situation as per usual.

No evidence of any rats in 30 years since the house was built.

Sorry, just noticed it's a Grauniad article.

As you were ...

DG