Rats Rats Rats Advice Please

Hasbeennoall

Member
Mixed Farmer
Hi all
I am new on here so please go gentle.
We have a small farm of about 300 acres and this year we are over run with rats.
I am looking at getting my ticket to purchase some stronger poison I see LANTRA do a e learning course "Rodent Control on farms" but at the bottom of the page it says "please note this course is not part of a qualification to be a pest controller" but I am not looking at becoming a pest controller just want to thin our rats out and need the certificate.
Could anyone please advise what to do or who to speak to.
Thanks Rob
Don't suppose this will help ,I failed with poison and birds can die from it ,but luck has four years ago came across some ex soldiers (ex Afghanistan)they came first night with special gas airguns and shot 145rats that time and pretty much cleared them out !it was amazing they shot first bunch in dark wait a min and rest keep coming to eat dead rats and so on, needless to say jam one happy man
 

Kalc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Hi all
I am new on here so please go gentle.
We have a small farm of about 300 acres and this year we are over run with rats.
I am looking at getting my ticket to purchase some stronger poison I see LANTRA do a e learning course "Rodent Control on farms" but at the bottom of the page it says "please note this course is not part of a qualification to be a pest controller" but I am not looking at becoming a pest controller just want to thin our rats out and need the certificate.
Could anyone please advise what to do or who to speak to.
Thanks Rob

Afternoon, I'm not sure where you are based but if you are close i may be able to help with an airgun and night vision? We do a bit up at our farm on rats and am more than happy to help reduce the numbers if you aren't too far away! Feel free to drop me a message on here, i am working today so may not pick up a message til later, but if i can help i would love to be able to

kind regards
Karlos
 

Widgetone

Member
Trade
Location
Westish Suffolk
Same here ! Got bait down all over, and to be honest, not seen many. But one of the little b4stards has took a likening to the soundproofing under the digger bonnet.
Mice have been responsible for that at ours over the years. I guess they like to bed down overnight on a warm engine block - just a pity they like wires and fuel injectors....
 

RushesToo

Member
Location
Fingringhoe
@Widgetone Chilli powder - doesn't kill them, but stops them chewing stuff, mix with oil if you want it to stick to something that isn't. Not tried tabasco - but probably would work.
If you aren't managing to kill them then this may save you a packet of time and money. Spread it over anything you don't want them eating.

Note - wear gloves either when you apply or when you go for a pee. If you don't it will demonstrate in a rather painful way why they won't eat chilli.
 
Mice have been responsible for that at ours over the years. I guess they like to bed down overnight on a warm engine block - just a pity they like wires and fuel injectors....
Try Racumin foam. Like builders foam. Just put a small golf ball size where they run and they take it back to the nest and licking each other share it around. The positive is they come outside stagger about and die.
 

Shutesy

Moderator
Arable Farmer
pretty sure they are trying to or are in the process of banning Fenn traps
From what I have read it only applies to Stoats, you can still catch Weasels, Rats and Squirrels with them, problem is you can't just set one and then stick a sign above saying 'No Stoats allowed'. But for a rat problem in a barn I think you could set one pretty safely knowing your likely to only catch rats.
 

Dr. Alkathene

Member
Livestock Farmer
From what I have read it only applies to Stoats, you can still catch Weasels, Rats and Squirrels with them, problem is you can't just set one and then stick a sign above saying 'No Stoats allowed'. But for a rat problem in a barn I think you could set one pretty safely knowing your likely to only catch rats.
Trouble is if a rat can get in the trap so can a stoat, another brainwave from office know all’s.

I expect sabs will be wanting dead / road kill stoats to plant in Fenn traps, take a picture of and try to stir up trouble....
 

britt

Member
BASE UK Member
pretty sure they are trying to or are in the process of banning Fenn traps
Fenn traps have been banned under international fur trade rules, not vermin control rules.
Stoats are the only species which are affected in this country.
So if you are setting traps to catch stoats to sell the fur you are braking the law. If you set Fenn traps to catch rats as vermin you are not braking the law.
I don't think the law has yet been tested where a stoat has been caught unintentionally. But if you have set traps in or around farm buildings I think it would be impossible to prove that you had intended to catch stoats.
 
Any tips on how to get ratty out of my combine? I have blown the combine off , opened all the panels, sprayed diesel inside, attached poison blocks to machine. i run the machine every other day, it’s in an open ish shed with cats around. it has already damaged some wires.
 

Pushdyke

Member
Start her up put everything in gear including the tank auger give it some revs let it spin for 5 minutes that should shift any vermin.
If you've got the cats trained sit them down at the back before you start.
 

GarMan

Member
Location
South East
Best would be to get an air rifle and start practicing. Invite friends over and have a competition as to who can shoot the most. If that doesn't work. worth inviting a few locals who wants to do vermin control for free. May help keep the numbers down.
 

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