Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.


Some councils will deal with rats free of charge. The bait is certainly
effective but you will need to stop bird feeding for a couple of weeks and
even using feeders there will always be bits that drop to the ground.

Peter Crosland

"gilli" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Squirrel traps.
Catch em,
Kill em
or
let em go near a river or whatever

gilli wrote:
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

Don't think that it's just a matter of putting down a bit of poison and that
will be the end of your problem, because it sounds like an infestation - I
had one at a house I used to live in and I never managed to kill them all
off.
The council will come and put down wax poison for free, they did with me, he
put down a good few Kg's of the stuff and told me it would be a few days
before they ate it all - it was gone in six hours.....he came back a few
weeks later and did the same, but it was a wasre of time, as those who had
survived the first blitz had bred like wildfire in that time, meaning that
there were as many again.
What you will find is that one or two rats will eat most of the poison, so
what you need to do is spread it out over a large area - under plantpots,
between boards and such likes so that most of them get dosed, then do the
same every day for a week, or until the posion doesn't get eaten.

and obviously, stop feeding the birds.

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price

I'd be amazed if they didn't do it for free.

and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

Well, the council contractors will set traps that cannot be invaded by
pets. They'll also use an effective poison. Don't worry about it. Job done.

FWIW, when we had a minor rat 'issue' I found that BFO spinesnappers worked
reasonably well, bog standard 'blue' poisened grain worked very well, and
humane traps were a waste of time. Airgun was potentially vaible, but the
buggers kept hiding from me Didn't get chance to try the sticky mats as
I'd killed 'em all by other means before I had a chance

My advice? Council. Much as most gummint bodies are a waste of oxygen, the
environmental guys seem to be really on the ball.

Al.

In message , Peter
Crosland writes

I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.


Some councils will deal with rats free of charge. The bait is certainly
effective but you will need to stop bird feeding for a couple of weeks and
even using feeders there will always be bits that drop to the ground.

I use Townex sachets of bait. The idea is that the rats take the bait
into the burrow. Clearing an infestation with this type of cumulative
anti-coagulant poison can take a week or more as the dominant rat gets
the pick of the food.

A professional rodent operative will probably use a fast acting poison
and have to be much more careful about avoiding collateral damage:-)

If you know where the holes are (not under habitable spaces) you could
use Phostoxin tablets. Nasty gas (phosgene?) and you would have to sign
the poisons register.

regards

--
Tim Lamb

"gilli" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

If there are any holes use a mixture of broken glass and sand to fill them
up.
They will bleed to death when they chew through it. It's similar to the way
conventional poison will make them bleed to death internally. So no more
cruel. Leave your cat to it too.
Call Rentokil and they will tell you how good or bad poisons are. You could
always pour some petrol down the holes and throw a few matches in.

On 15 Mar, 18:27, gilli wrote:
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

The council done ours for free, but when we had mice inside they
charged us.

Fixed the problem but we only had two rats, they were unusually brave
and could be seen climbing the tree to get to the top of the shed!

On 15 Mar, 21:50, David wrote:
On 15 Mar, 18:27, gilli wrote:





Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
*proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
*reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
*I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
*of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
*effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

The council done ours for free, but when we had mice inside they
charged us.

Fixed the problem but we only had two rats, they were unusually brave
and could be seen climbing the tree to get to the top of the shed!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi,
Thanks everyone. I am grateful for the input so far.
Best wishes to you all and thanks for anyone else who wishes
to add on their advice.
David G

On Mar 15, 1:27*pm, gilli wrote:
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
*proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
*reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
*I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
*of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
*effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

Sure poison for rats works, a pack can kill 2 dogs, treatment cost me
thousands for 2 dogs that are ok.

In article
s.com, gilli writes
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

I've just recently successfully dealt with an infestation of rats,
caused by bird feeders in the garden, by purchasing three Protecta low
profile bait boxes, strategically placed around the garden, and filled
with Neosorexa bait blocks.

No sightings of any rats for some time now and no signs of new
burrowing.

These bait boxes can only be opened by using a special widget, or
levering open with the end of a screwdriver, so our dog wasn't able to
get to the bait.

Have a look at www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk. I have no connection with
them other than as a satisfied customer, but they were an excellent
company to deal with.

--
Peter Elsden

ransley wrote:
On Mar 15, 1:27 pm, gilli wrote:
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

Sure poison for rats works, a pack can kill 2 dogs, treatment cost me
thousands for 2 dogs that are ok.
Yes.

and when you have seen a friend in tears as a beloved cat dragged itself
home on front paws only, after 2 days, its rear end covered in
diahoerrhea, to die in her arms. you might think twice about where you
leave it too. Mind you that was strychnine, in Italy, set out for foxes.

And if you think that a pack of dogs killing a fox is 'inhumane', you
are mad, compared to that.

Out here in the ****rycide, rat poison goes in pipes, which does at
least mean the dogs can't get at it, or foxes for that matter. But
squirrels do.


In all cases traps are preferable, and , if you are worried about not
killing things other than rats, make sure its you that does the
killing/releasing. not the trap.

However the real answer is to use a bird feeder that is rat proof.

Rats with no food go somewhere else, or die.

"gilli" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.



NEOSOREXA Bait blocks:
http://www.sorex.com/proddetail.asp?...categoryi d=1

Work for us.

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher writes:

and when you have seen a friend in tears as a beloved cat dragged itself
home on front paws only, after 2 days, its rear end covered in
diahoerrhea, to die in her arms. you might think twice about where you
leave it too. Mind you that was strychnine, in Italy, set out for foxes.

Similarly, neighbours in tears as they watched their dog slowly
die over a week from what the vet said was rat poison. At one
point, they thought it was going to pull through, but it didn't.

And if you think that a pack of dogs killing a fox is 'inhumane', you
are mad, compared to that.

Out here in the ****rycide, rat poison goes in pipes, which does at
least mean the dogs can't get at it, or foxes for that matter. But
squirrels do.


In all cases traps are preferable, and , if you are worried about not
killing things other than rats, make sure its you that does the
killing/releasing. not the trap.

However the real answer is to use a bird feeder that is rat proof.

Rats with no food go somewhere else, or die.



--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 16 Mar, 09:07, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
* * * * The Natural Philosopher writes:



and when you have seen a friend in tears as a beloved cat dragged itself
home on front paws only, after 2 days, its rear end covered in
diahoerrhea, to die in her arms. you might think twice about where you
leave it too. Mind you that was strychnine, in Italy, set out for foxes..

Similarly, neighbours in tears as they watched their dog slowly
die over a week from what the vet said was rat poison. At one
point, they thought it was going to pull through, but it didn't.





And if you think that a pack of dogs killing a fox is 'inhumane', you
are mad, compared to that.

Out here in the ****rycide, rat poison goes in pipes, which does at
least mean the dogs can't get at it, or foxes for that matter. But
squirrels do.

In all cases traps are preferable, and , if you are worried about not
killing things other than rats, make sure its you that does the
killing/releasing. not the trap.

However the real answer is to use a bird feeder that is rat proof.

Rats with no food go somewhere else, or die.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi,
Thanks again for your thoughtful replies which must help and
warn others too.
Cheers.
Davia G

In message , Peter Elsden
writes
I've just recently successfully dealt with an infestation of rats,
caused by bird feeders in the garden, by purchasing three Protecta low
profile bait boxes, strategically placed around the garden, and filled
with Neosorexa bait blocks.

No sightings of any rats for some time now and no signs of new
burrowing.

These bait boxes can only be opened by using a special widget, or
levering open with the end of a screwdriver, so our dog wasn't able to
get to the bait.

Somebody once told me that rats are not able to sick up ingested poison.
Cats and dogs do not have this problem so are reckoned to be safe from
cumulative poison. Not a good reason to take risks though.

Have a look at www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk. I have no connection with
them other than as a satisfied customer, but they were an excellent
company to deal with.

regards


--
Tim Lamb

ransley;1542122 Wrote:
On Mar 15, 1:27*pm, gilli wrote:-
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
*proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
*reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
*I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
*of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
*effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.-

Sure poison for rats works, a pack can kill 2 dogs, treatment cost me
thousands for 2 dogs that are ok.


i heard there are certain poisons which makes rat leave the house and
then kills it..




--
jack.nelson27

"gilli" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

Just discovered burrows in garden near house, now confirmed to be
caused by rats as
our cat has caught 3 in last two days.

I think I am at fault in encouraging them by putting out food for the
birds without using
proper bird feeders.

Fortunately, she seems not to eat the rats and I am thinking of
putting out poison.

I am going to ask advice of our county council authorities as they
offer a service for a
reasonable price and I must protect the poison from the cat and the
dog, but
I would be interested to know if anyone has any positive evidence of
the effectiveness
of poison for rats.

I looked at rat traps (the killing type),but not sure if the sort
which are cat-proof are
effective long term.

Thanks for your help.

David G.

I had rats living under the garden shed and they had burrowed under the
patio. Council put poison 'boxes' out twice to no avail. It was when the
enviroguy said something about wet winter causing the rats to leave their
preferred habitat and seek new homes such as mine that got me thinking. I
put the hose under the shed in the evening and left it to flood overnight.
Seems the rats preferred drier homes elsewhere. Its worth trying and its
free.

Peter

In message , Peter
writes

I had rats living under the garden shed and they had burrowed under the
patio. Council put poison 'boxes' out twice to no avail. It was when the
enviroguy said something about wet winter causing the rats to leave their
preferred habitat and seek new homes such as mine that got me thinking. I
put the hose under the shed in the evening and left it to flood overnight.
Seems the rats preferred drier homes elsewhere. Its worth trying and its
free.
With the added bonus that you can earn enough money from your new
boating lake to pay for poison and traps.

Peter



--
Clint Sharp

In areas where other animal might get it, here is a better solution.
Cat's don't eat dried potatoes, but they do. Put out a couple piles of
dried potatoes and let the rats eat them. Then when they drink water,
the spuds expand in the stomach and pop. Then when the other animals you
want around find the remains and it it, they don't die from the poison.


--
Dymphna
Message Origin: TRAVEL.com

Dymphna wrote:
In areas where other animal might get it, here is a better solution.
Cat's don't eat dried potatoes, but they do. Put out a couple piles of
dried potatoes and let the rats eat them. Then when they drink water,
the spuds expand in the stomach and pop. Then when the other animals
you want around find the remains and it it, they don't die from the
poison.

I strongly suspect this is complete b*llocks.

Dried potatoes have been used in rat experiments (to look at the effect of
genetically modified potatoes). If feeding them dried potatoes killed the
rats, the experiment wouldn't have got off the ground.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16726124

All you'd do is feed the rats.

Tim

On Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:26:25 -0000, "Tim Downie"
wrote:

Dymphna wrote:
In areas where other animal might get it, here is a better solution.
Cat's don't eat dried potatoes, but they do. Put out a couple piles of
dried potatoes and let the rats eat them. Then when they drink water,
the spuds expand in the stomach and pop. Then when the other animals
you want around find the remains and it it, they don't die from the
poison.

I strongly suspect this is complete b*llocks.

Dried potatoes have been used in rat experiments (to look at the effect of
genetically modified potatoes). If feeding them dried potatoes killed the
rats, the experiment wouldn't have got off the ground.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16726124

All you'd do is feed the rats.

Tim

We used an ordinary spring loaded trap baited with buttered bread.
Broke the little furry *******'s neck

Poison is iffy as they eat it then retire to a quiet place and die.
The quiet place may be under your floor and a stinking decaying rat is
not a pleasant odour.

We did consider one of these
http://www.ratbait.co.uk/electronic-...ller-309-p.asp

This was after it chewed through carpet, a cupboard and the burglar
alarm.