Re: OT: Rats

[Guest guest]

For a really, really cheap and safe rat poison, try coke.

That's right, plain old Coke. One of our blood donors said that he had

rats around his commercial garage, so on the advice of a customer, he

put out wide bowls filled with sugared Coke. Next few days he found dead

rats around the whole place. They love the sugared drink, but the carbonation

builds up in their bodies and presses on their hearts. They can not burp, so

die.

Now I'll admit that I've never tried this, but this guy is not a joker, so

maybe I

will try it myself. I have rats on my lemon tree. They eat the skins off and

leave the whole lemons hanging on the tree, naked.

Pat in CA

[Guest guest]

Heidi,

You crack me up....LOL.

After ten years of fighting the rats here, (we have chickens & pigeons and

have raised goats, emu, pheasant and quail) poison was the last resort. I have

never regretted it.

Crumbled 'One Bite' in a tuna can screwed to a ceiling joist keeps the place

reasonably rat free. It is only baited when evidence dictates. This place was

literally overrun with the Bustards. I was shooting them and I had two good

rat dogs, we couldn't keep up. Killed as many as nineteen in one night and they

were still breeding and fouling the livestock feed and running thru the trees.

Not so now.

The One Bite was crumbled fairly fine in case the rats dropped quantities

onto the barn floor and could be picked up by the dogs. Now, if I could just

find

a good solution to the damn snakes! C R

In a message dated 12/3/2006 3:23:38 PM Central Standard Time,

heidis13@... writes:

>

>

> Hi Heidi,

>

> >> Thanks for the great explanation, so it sounds as if you need a cat,

> beagle

>

> or rat terrier to help you out. Of course, that would probably be another

>

> mouth to feed, and then they come with their own set of problems (howling

>

> and barking to name a couple).

> Well, you don't necessarily need them, if you are careful. But rats are just

> a fact of life on most places on earth. They've been living with humans for

> a long time. I have an idea for a great rat trap though.

>

> It runs on a wireless camera. So you set up a rat feeding station, and feed

> them every day. They get used to the spot. Then, when you can see all the

> rats are in one place, you press a button and close the door. You see, the

thing

> is, they learn what the " trigger " is for a trap and work around it. But they

> don't know what a camera is.

>

> Either that or you rig up a teeny little rat gun (or shock plate?) and

> connect it to an internet site, and let people log in, wait for a rat, and

shoot

> it. Heck, you could probably make money off the site ... for $50 they could

> get the rat hide tanned, or the little rat-head mounted ...

>

> >> The EM sounds like good stuff, but it's expensive!

>

> It isn't really expensive. You only use the " main " bottle as starter to make

> more, and you use it in very dilute amounts. My problem was, when I made a

> batch, the PH wouldn't go down as far as they say it should. So I'm going to

> get some more and try again.

>

> -- Heidi

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Now, if I could just find a good solution to the damn snakes! C R

> ---------------------------

Back home in the hills, in WV, some of my folks kept pigs around

to kill the snakes. They seem to like the taste of the things, and

quite possibly the fat on them prevents them from being killed

by the poison.

Ever heard of this?

And chickens, roosters can kill them if irritated. You can tell when

a snake is slithering around in the grass by watching the chickens.

They walk around with one eye cocked to the ground, fasinated

with that little moving thing.

Pat in CA

[Guest guest]

The problem is, these are native rats that always live around here. But when,

say, a chicken scratches their food all over (they do) then a bit of leftover

corn is just what the rat wants. Also, the goats produce warmth and leave piles

of wool around, they like that too. Of course the rats are around anyway: one

made a nest under the hood in our CAR -- and we were driving it fairly

regularly. I think barn rats live in barns partly just because they can avoid

hawks that way and it's warm.

Anyway, the only thing that gets rid of them is cats and dogs and hawks and

owls. Barn owls, barn cats! But if you get rid of ALL of them then the owl or

cat would starve. Hard issue.

FWIW though, my relatives in the city have a worse problem with rats than we do.

They have them crawling up through the toilet into their house ...

I think if you have the chickens running around it's less of a rat issue than if

they are in a cage, actually. You have to confine the chickens at night, for

their own protection, but they like to be on a perch so it doesn't matter much

what the floor is made of. The best floor stuff though, is wood stove pellets:

they absorb the manure and then you can give it to the worms, but you don't have

to change it very often, it absorbs a lot. And if you used EM on the pellets, it

would probably self-compost without worms.

If you have, say, a rat terrier or beagle running around too, they will sniff

out the rats and dig them out. They love to do that ...

-- Heidi

What is it about farm animals that attract rats? Is it the manure?

I

think that you can discourage flies by adding diatamaceous earth to the

feed, but would that also discourage the rats I wonder?

I like the idea of chickens and rabbits being in a barn with a chicken wire

floor, the poop falling through, and the earthworms consuming it. Nice for

the earthworms, BUT it probably isn't very comfy to live on top of a chicken

wire floor. Perhaps that's acceptable at night, or in just one part of the

barn.....

and the K9's

> My earthworms are all outside. We have a lot in the garden too, but the

> problem is, if I bury my garbage, the rats go dig after it. Farm animals

> attract rats, and you have to be really careful.

> == Heidi

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[Guest guest]

Hi Heidi,

Thanks for the great explanation, so it sounds as if you need a cat, beagle

or rat terrier to help you out. Of course, that would probably be another

mouth to feed, and then they come with their own set of problems (howling

and barking to name a couple).

The EM sounds like good stuff, but it's expensive!

Cheers,

and the K9's

[Guest guest]

> Anyway, the only thing that gets rid of them is cats and dogs and

> hawks and owls. Barn owls, barn cats! But if you get rid of ALL of

> them then the owl or cat would starve. Hard issue.

Last night, our dog Daphne, a cattle dog mix, was going to come in for

the night cuz it's pretty cold here now. But DH saw that she had what

looked like rodent legs hanging out of her mouth, so he sent her back

out. She has a warm dog house and was so excited to have some crunchy

raw food, that it just wasn't an issue. Those rodents really like to

try and get in the house this time of year. But with 5 house/yard cats,

good luck to 'em!

We have had owls take small cats at night, so we have to keep the cats

up. But I figure, out here in the Texas countryside, there are enough

rodents for the owls in many a barn. And the hawks are so bad that we

just can't even raise baby chicks here, they all get taken once they are

big enough to roam the land. I buy adult hens instead. Heck, we saw a

hawk last week feeding in this hedge full of sparrows - he just pecked

them out of the plants one by one. It's like watching a National

Geographic special round these parts I tell ya <g>.

>

> FWIW though, my relatives in the city have a worse problem with rats

> than we do. They have them crawling up through the toilet into their

> house ...

Eeeeeeewwww!

>

> I think if you have the chickens running around it's less of a rat

> issue than if they are in a cage, actually. You have to confine the

> chickens at night, for their own protection, but they like to be on a

> perch so it doesn't matter much what the floor is made of. The best

> floor stuff though, is wood stove pellets: they absorb the manure and

> then you can give it to the worms, but you don't have to change it

> very often, it absorbs a lot. And if you used EM on the pellets, it

> would probably self-compost without worms.

Yeah, we coop them at night only. Chickens compete with fire ants and

since we started raising them, we just don't have that issue in our

yard. Plus, they need sun and bugs to eat. Of course, they hang out by

the kitchen door often, cuz I throw them tomato bottoms, greens, and all

that jazz. Snakes can be a problem in the coop with the eggs, but my I

have seen Dixie hen with a baby snake in her beak in the past. We just

use that stuff - what's it called - I want to say hardware cloth. It is

like a think screen material. We secured it along the outside of the

coop on the floor and stapled to the bottom of the plywood walls, so

that critters can't get in there to bother them by burrowing or whatnot.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

Hi Heidi,

>> Thanks for the great explanation, so it sounds as if you need a cat, beagle

or rat terrier to help you out. Of course, that would probably be another

mouth to feed, and then they come with their own set of problems (howling

and barking to name a couple).

Well, you don't necessarily need them, if you are careful. But rats are just a

fact of life on most places on earth. They've been living with humans for a long

time. I have an idea for a great rat trap though.

It runs on a wireless camera. So you set up a rat feeding station, and feed them

every day. They get used to the spot. Then, when you can see all the rats are in

one place, you press a button and close the door. You see, the thing is, they

learn what the " trigger " is for a trap and work around it. But they don't know

what a camera is.

Either that or you rig up a teeny little rat gun (or shock plate?) and connect

it to an internet site, and let people log in, wait for a rat, and shoot it.

Heck, you could probably make money off the site ... for $50 they could get the

rat hide tanned, or the little rat-head mounted ...

>> The EM sounds like good stuff, but it's expensive!

It isn't really expensive. You only use the " main " bottle as starter to make

more, and you use it in very dilute amounts. My problem was, when I made a

batch, the PH wouldn't go down as far as they say it should. So I'm going to get

some more and try again.

-- Heidi

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Want to start your own business?

Learn how on Small Business.

http://smallbusiness./r-index

[Guest guest]

Heidi wrote:

> I have an idea for a great rat trap though. It runs on a wireless camera.

> So you set up a rat feeding station, and feed them every day. They get

> used to the spot. Then, when you can see all the rats are in one place,

> you press a button and close the door. You see, the thing is, they learn

> what the " trigger " is for a trap and work around it. But they don't know

> what a camera is.

You should patent your idea!

> Either that or you rig up a teeny little rat gun (or shock plate?) and

> connect it to an internet site, and let people log in, wait for a rat, and

> shoot it. Heck, you could probably make money off the site ... for $50

> they could get the rat hide tanned, or the little rat-head mounted ...

Too funny (if you're not a rat!) I bet people would be lining up to

play......

> It isn't really expensive. You only use the " main " bottle as starter to

> make more, and you use it in very dilute amounts. My problem was, when I

> made a batch, the PH wouldn't go down as far as they say it should. So I'm

> going to get some more and try again.

From what I understand, it's quite complicated to make more, and not as

simple as, say, kefir. Please let me know if I am wrong about this.

and the K9's

[Guest guest]

The poison WORKS ... the problem is, the rats eventually get used to it and then

when the owls (or dogs) eat the rats, it kills the predator. Which is not what I

want! I've used it as a last resort too though. Another thing that works is a

big trash can with a little bridge across it: they fall off the bridge into the

trash can, and if there is water in the bottom they drown. Amazingly, they are

very stupid about water. We kept having them drown in the chicken cage, because

they were jumping up to get to the food dish, but would miss, then fall into the

water.

I expect my " rat cam " will work well enough ... it can catch possums etc too,

and tape evidence if the neighbor's dog is the culprit. If I get it working I'll

post the specs. It would work on snakes too. Actually if you CATCH the snake you

can probably sell it to a pet dealer.

We have hawks killing chickens too, but I don't want to kill them. I've found

that netting works fine for hawks, or even just some strings strung between

trees. The hawks don't like interference: they won't even go under trees much,

they wait for the chickens to get into a big open area. Which the chickens hate

doing: given a chance, they stick to the trees. Which makes sense, they are

descended from jungle birds.

Re: OT: Rats

Heidi,

You crack me up....LOL.

After ten years of fighting the rats here, (we have chickens & pigeons and

have raised goats, emu, pheasant and quail) poison was the last resort. I have

never regretted it.

Crumbled 'One Bite' in a tuna can screwed to a ceiling joist keeps the place

reasonably rat free. It is only baited when evidence dictates. This place was

literally overrun with the Bustards. I was shooting them and I had two good

rat dogs, we couldn't keep up. Killed as many as nineteen in one night and they

were still breeding and fouling the livestock feed and running thru the trees.

Not so now.

The One Bite was crumbled fairly fine in case the rats dropped quantities

onto the barn floor and could be picked up by the dogs. Now, if I could just

find

a good solution to the damn snakes! C R

In a message dated 12/3/2006 3:23:38 PM Central Standard Time,

heidis13 (DOT) com writes:

>

>

> Hi Heidi,

>

> >> Thanks for the great explanation, so it sounds as if you need a cat,

> beagle

>

> or rat terrier to help you out. Of course, that would probably be another

>

> mouth to feed, and then they come with their own set of problems (howling

>

> and barking to name a couple).

> Well, you don't necessarily need them, if you are careful. But rats are just

> a fact of life on most places on earth. They've been living with humans for

> a long time. I have an idea for a great rat trap though.

>

> It runs on a wireless camera. So you set up a rat feeding station, and feed

> them every day. They get used to the spot. Then, when you can see all the

> rats are in one place, you press a button and close the door. You see, the

thing

> is, they learn what the " trigger " is for a trap and work around it. But they

> don't know what a camera is.

>

> Either that or you rig up a teeny little rat gun (or shock plate?) and

> connect it to an internet site, and let people log in, wait for a rat, and

shoot

> it. Heck, you could probably make money off the site ... for $50 they could

> get the rat hide tanned, or the little rat-head mounted ...

>

> >> The EM sounds like good stuff, but it's expensive!

>

> It isn't really expensive. You only use the " main " bottle as starter to make

> more, and you use it in very dilute amounts. My problem was, when I made a

> batch, the PH wouldn't go down as far as they say it should. So I'm going to

> get some more and try again.

>

> -- Heidi

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Why would you want to get rid of the snakes? The snakes help

you with the rat problem.

Victor

[Guest guest]

yes, I always add salt. Tried also with a lot of salt last time I

tried cucumbers. it didn´t heltp.

But only cabbage has been succesful, so i suppose I have to stop

experimenting for a while.

Although right now I am waiting for coconut biocare probiotica +

umebosha.

Tove

Den 4. des. 2006 kl. 16.40 skrev Victor:

> Why would you want to get rid of the snakes? The snakes help

> you with the rat problem.

> Victor

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/4/2006 10:08:03 AM Central Standard Time,

vfhartford@... writes:

> Why would you want to get rid of the snakes? The snakes help

> you with the rat problem.

> Victor

Victor,

The snakes are working me over during the night in warmer weather. At

one time, as I was speaking of in my prior post, my place was over-run with

rats and snakes. The rat problem is in hand and the snake problem is much less

than ever. I do however still have a problem with snakes migrating from a creek

bottom area nearby to feed on my young birds.

God knows I have enough Red-Tail Hawks hovering over my place daily

that no snake could survive an hour in the open daylight. Now that I have

almost no rats, my snake problem is greatly reduced, however they still come

from

the swamps to haunt me when I have young birds hatching. What I need is a

gaggle/flock/murder of owls? C R

[Guest guest]

Hi Heidi,

my what I learn between reading cookbook (history) and groups LOL.

Thanks for the great info on homesteading. I really want to learn.

Glad I don't have the rat in the toilet, and has a cat.

Audrey

<snippet>

The best floor stuff though, is wood stove pellets: they absorb the

manure and then you can give it to the worms, but you don't have to

change it very often, it absorbs a lot. And if you used EM on the

pellets, it would probably self-compost without worms.

>

> If you have, say, a rat terrier or beagle running around too, they

will sniff out the rats and dig them out. They love to do that ...

>

> -- Heidi

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> What is it about farm animals that attract rats? Is

it the manure? I

>

> think that you can discourage flies by adding diatamaceous earth to

the

>

> feed, but would that also discourage the rats I wonder?

>

>

>

> I like the idea of chickens and rabbits being in a barn with a

chicken wire

>

> floor, the poop falling through, and the earthworms consuming it.

Nice for

>

> the earthworms, BUT it probably isn't very comfy to live on top of

a chicken

>

> wire floor. Perhaps that's acceptable at night, or in just one

part of the

>

> barn.....

>

>

>

> and the K9's

>

>

>

> > My earthworms are all outside. We have a lot in the garden too,

but the

>

> > problem is, if I bury my garbage, the rats go dig after it. Farm

animals

>

> > attract rats, and you have to be really careful.

>

> > == Heidi

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

Hi Heidi,

Thanks again, learning alot from you. Snakes Ack! Last time I was in

the country boonies, caught a diamond back black widow spider, and ran

over a snake with the lawn mower.

Audrey

<snipppet>

>

> The One Bite was crumbled fairly fine in case the rats dropped

quantities

> onto the barn floor and could be picked up by the dogs. Now, if I

could just find

> a good solution to the damn snakes! C R

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Deanna,

Wow, not read some of these great ideas on the chicken group? Anyone

for fried snake Heh!

Audrey

<snippet>

We secured it along the outside of the

> coop on the floor and stapled to the bottom of the plywood walls, so

> that critters can't get in there to bother them by burrowing or

whatnot.

>

>

> Deanna

>

[Guest guest]

Haha, Coke! Yes, the burping part is true I've read, they make a peanut

butter mix with baking soda too works and won't hurt the other animals.

Audrey

<snippet>

They love the sugared drink, but the carbonation

> builds up in their bodies and presses on their hearts. They can not

burp, so

> die.

> > Pat in CA

>

[Guest guest]

Wow, not read some of these great ideas on the chicken group? Anyone

> for fried snake Heh!

> ---------------------

Snake is very dry, even more so than a rabbit. While on the desert we

tried most of the wildlife there, and liked some. Also, sea gulls are not

good at all, snakes should have added fat and not cooked at a high heat.

Pat in CA

[Guest guest]

Well, that was CR, not me. My runins with animals are mainly

slipping on duck poop or occasionally tangling with

goat horns. The rats we really don't *see* ... they bother

the animals and made a mess of our car wires once, but you

never actually see them except maybe out of the corner of

your eye.

Our neighbors though, dump all their garbage into a pile

in the back yard, and a black bear camped out there

for awhile, eating the garbage! The neighbor just sat

and watched it.

Seattle doesn't really get black widows, or toxic snakes.

Our only snakes are little garter snakes, which really are cute.

We have tons of them, but we like that they eat voles.

-- Heidi

Re: OT: Rats

Hi Heidi,

Thanks again, learning alot from you. Snakes Ack! Last time I was in

the country boonies, caught a diamond back black widow spider, and ran

over a snake with the lawn mower.

Audrey

<snipppet>

>

> The One Bite was crumbled fairly fine in case the rats dropped

quantities

> onto the barn floor and could be picked up by the dogs. Now, if I

could just find

> a good solution to the damn snakes! C R

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Cheap talk?

Check out Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

http://voice.

[Guest guest]

Well really, we aren't nearly in the realm of homesteaders. More

like " gentleman farmers " . I mean, I write software for

a living. I just like growing my own food when possible.

It's hard to remember these days, but when my Mom was a kid,

she lived *in town* and they raised their own chickens, and many

of their own vegetables. In Europe, the small little garden plots, the

" kitchen gardens " actually supplied a lot of the vegies. Today, with

the neat greenhouse technology available, it doesn't take acreage

to grow your own food. Shoot, you could grow enough meat

chickens to feed you for a year in the space of the average dog

kennel (without stressing out the chickens at all).

-- Heidi

Re: OT: Rats

Hi Heidi,

my what I learn between reading cookbook (history) and groups LOL.

Thanks for the great info on homesteading. I really want to learn.

Glad I don't have the rat in the toilet, and has a cat.

Audrey

<snippet>

The best floor stuff though, is wood stove pellets: they absorb the

manure and then you can give it to the worms, but you don't have to

change it very often, it absorbs a lot. And if you used EM on the

pellets, it would probably self-compost without worms.

>

> If you have, say, a rat terrier or beagle running around too, they

will sniff out the rats and dig them out. They love to do that ...

>

> -- Heidi

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> What is it about farm animals that attract rats? Is

it the manure? I

>

> think that you can discourage flies by adding diatamaceous earth to

the

>

> feed, but would that also discourage the rats I wonder?

>

>

>

> I like the idea of chickens and rabbits being in a barn with a

chicken wire

>

> floor, the poop falling through, and the earthworms consuming it.

Nice for

>

> the earthworms, BUT it probably isn't very comfy to live on top of

a chicken

>

> wire floor. Perhaps that's acceptable at night, or in just one

part of the

>

> barn.....

>

>

>

> and the K9's

>

>

>

> > My earthworms are all outside. We have a lot in the garden too,

but the

>

> > problem is, if I bury my garbage, the rats go dig after it. Farm

animals

>

> > attract rats, and you have to be really careful.

>

> > == Heidi

>

>

>

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