I need help from the trapping community

[ice fishin' nut]

I need your help guys, and girls....

I recently found out that I have rats!!!!! Saw them last night when I pulled into my driveway, eating the spillage from my wifes birdfeeders. They took off under my shed. The shed has been here since before we moved in, and has no ratwall.... Went to Meijers and bought 2 rat traps and baited them with peanut butter. Set them by the 2 holes i found leading under the shed. This morning, 1 small rat dead, 1 trap completly gone!!!!!

Our house is on a crawlspace,,, this morning while doing my morning business in the bathroom, something(rat?) was thundering under the floor between the toilet and the tub..... If the wife finds out, she will burn the house down!!!! Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I know that I cant call the city, the neighbor on the other block did that, and they came out, looked at the holes, said "yep you got rats" and gave him a $75.00 ticket told him he had 1 week to get rid of them and left. He told me he ended up paying a pest service $300.00 to come out and get rid of them. I'm laid off, and cant afford that right now!!!!! PLEASE HELP!!!!

IFN :(

[NEMichsportsman]

I had an issue at my place up north involving mice...I dont think they are real different as they are both rodents. I threw enough poison bait into my crawlspace to kill all of the mice in NE Michigan. I didnt put traps into the crawlspace because I didnt feel like going and getting the traps out later. I then put a ton of traps in every concievable spot where they might be lurking where I could monitor and easily retrieve...I went for the nuclear overkill option because rodents where I live , eat , sleep etc. is not a viable option.


Within a few days I had poisoned and/or trapped all of them.


good luck! If your wife notices all of the activity dont tell her that they are rats. Tell her they are mice. She will still probably "fruit loop" but not as bad as she will about rats.


jp

[trapstercarl]

where do you live? i can sell you a few #0s for rats they work really well. carl

[ice fishin' nut]

Trapstercarl,,, I live in Eastpointe,,, and would be interested.

NEM, what kind of bait do you reccomend??? Went to Patton Hardware on Gratiot today, and he said that he has been selling traps and poison bait like it is going out of style!!!!


Trout,, Shame on you,,, a cat?????? My dogs would eat it in about 2 seconds!!!! LOL


IFN:D

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Here is a little trick I learned while doing my community health rotation. In a shallow pan, put 50/50 mix of flour and cement. Put it where the rats can get to it, but where it will be stay dry. Next to it, put a pan of water. The rats will eat the cement/flour mix, then drink the water. The cement will harden in thier guts, giving them bowel obstructions which will kill them. No poisons in the enviroment, no messy dead rat traps to clean up. Of course, if you did trap them, you could save the pelts and give your wife that "mink" stole she always wanted.:D

[NEMichsportsman]

I used D-con and I believe they make it in rat sizes. I like Mr. 16 environmentally friendly concept as well but...I dont care to mess around in a war, I think in light of the wife scenario a quick overwhelming and fatal blow is needed! If you hear them in the crawl space I think you can probably deal them a knockout blow in no time flat.

jp

[ice fishin' nut]

Thanks for all the tips guys, its 6:09 Sunday morning, and i just checked the 4 new traps that I bought yesterday. 1 dead, 2 no bait, 1 trap gone....... Bought bait that comes in cubes,,,, all gone... gonna put some more out before I leave to go fishing the 9 mile peir. I definatly think they are under the house. Had to tell the wife, she didnt freak as much as I thought she would. Talked to the old lady next door, and she got REAL offended..... Is there better traps that I can buy instead of the regular old wooden ones that you can get in the grocery store???? Kinda worried that they will eat the bait, go off some where and die, and we get to smell them along with our thanksgiving dinner.....

Trapster Carl..... what about those traps you mentioned?????

Thanks Again
IFN:mad: :confused:

[NEMichsportsman]

I have been told that they (rats) get very thirsty as a side effect of the poison, so they leave your house in search of water. In the course of things they then will hopefully die away from your place. One note of caution...I always check the perimeter around my place when I have used poison. I dont want to have my dogs, neighbors cats, birds, skunks etc. getting poisioned by ingesting even a small portion of the dead vermin.

As for a "better mouse trap" I think that the cheapest may be just as effective as others. I dont like to invest a lot in getting rid of pests.

continued good luck, as you run your trap lines....

jp

[ice fishin' nut]

Well, as I said, bought 4 new traps Sunday,,,, now all 4 are gone!!!!! Any other ideas????? What surprises me the most,,,, is that 2 of the traps I set under the tub, by the door for the water controls, so I know someone isnt messing with me cause they werent outside.....

Getting frustrated!!!!!!!!!

IFN:mad: :mad:

[trapstercarl]

hey

i will sell ya some #0s for $3 apiece. nail there chain to a 2x4 about 4 feet long. no rats will get away. email me
trapper_carl@hotmail.com

[Oct.1]

Put a heavy-duty tent stake in the ground and anchor the traps to it.

[stoney]

You mention you were layed-off.
Here is somthing you can do and sharpen your skills for the upcoming deer season.

Get yourself a high power pellet gun and practices your shooting.
Should help get rid of the rats and you should be a crack shot for deer season. It would be best to go nocturnel for this. You may also need to puchase a inferr red scope or some nightvision goggles

could not resist, sorry


Stoney

[ice fishin' nut]

OK,,,, I live at 9 mile and Gratiot in Eastpointe. Where can I go to buy some #0 legholds???? I have no idea whats available in my area...... Please help


IFN:(

[chef]

Just use the old wooden traps. Drill a small hole in one end and thread some wire through. Attach the wire to something permanent so the rat can't drag the trap off. When you check the traps it is a good idea to have a pellet gun or something to kill the rat often times they are very much alive and very pissed off. Stop feeding the birds until you get the rats under control. If they can’t find easy food they will move on to the next place.