Rats in garden...

We’re currently on day 4 of peanut butter mixed with bicarbonate of soda - the bicarbonate reacts with their stomach acid and froths up. Rats don’t have reflux/puke capability so it compresses their diaphragm and ……..so far does sweet f all!

Traps next!

If you have any furniture in the garden keep moving it about, rats are pretty cautious.

They don't like white vinegar, cheap enough.

That's not the PH way though. At any sign of a rat you must panic and then chuck poison everywhere, not giving the slightest feck what chooses to eat it, and if that doesn't work try feeding them weird concotions of chemicals so they die painful, lingering deaths in your garden.

As a side note we've had occasional rat visitors on and off for years, alongside the badgers, hedgehogs, foxes etc. They haven't multiplied (in fact they don't tend to last too long due to the abundant predators) and we've never had a single issue with one chewing wires, getting in the house or doing any other noticeable damage.

They can be quite entertaining to watch too. You don't have to immediately panic because there's a rat in the garden, they're pretty much everywhere you go anyway you've just made them slightly easier to spot by giving them a peaceful and openly visible food source.

Agreed. We are in the country in the woods, with a stream and ponds. So we get literally everything: otters, rats, herons, badgers, all the birds of prey, and an army of squirrels.

None of them actually cause an issue, they are all just trying to survive whilst passing through.

I've had much worse experiances with the homo sapien variety.

I did say the Amazon ones would be no good.

DOC 150 were designed for New Zealand as they put a ban on Fenn mk 4 and 6’s as they suggest it’s not humane how they crush the target species body rather than a hammer blow to the skull like the DOC, as I said I’d swap my dozen or so Fenns for your one DOC, I only have one of them but it’s the most used, easiest to set up and easiest to dispatch of the catch after.

You did. And you were right

I'd ordered them by the time you first posted.

I'll return them.

No

Fair point, however the same would apply to that person within reason.

In this case the OP has said he has no next door neighbours so no worries there I guess

There's a relatively big difference between assuming there are rats, seeing signs of rats, and seeing rats in broad daylight in the open.

The latter is usually a sign that there is insufficient predators in that part of the world or too good conditions (food, water, shelter) and the population is booming.

Neighbour had chickens. We ended up with rats nesting in brick shed. The shed was need of repair anyway but issue had to be addressed.

So i've had the DOC 150 out and set up since Friday.

This is the setup i went for

https://www.strangfordincubators.com/product/stran...

And this is how it how it looks when set out



Enty hole in to first compartment, entry hole then in to second compartment where the trap is and lies flat, this section open at far side of that with a place to put the food.

So, one way in at one end. Other end vented with holes.

Put it out on Friday with a lump of snickers chocolate bar in the food part along with some peanuts and sunflower seeds.

I wore gloves the whole time too.

The rats have had a look round it but havent went in.

I've moved it today here down a bit further and right beside where they come out of the hedge. I put some sunflower seeds - just one or two - in the front compartment to lure them in with a false sense of security.

Did that 15 mins ago.

To be honest - i thought we'd have had success by now.

Disappointed that we're well in to day 2 and nothing.

Is there any different bait i should be trying?

To be honest, up until now they'd have fought you for sunflower seeds and peanuts, so thought i was on to a winner with those....