However, about 4 weeks ago, we had two rats who, in broad daylight over 3-4 days, climbed up our pawpaw trees and ate our last 3 pawpaws. My daughter was eating her lunch, and called me to look at the 'possums"!!!! Rats - even outside - I can't cope with. I called the council, and the man with his dogs came out - it appears that they are nesting on my neighbours place (yes, the neighbour with the ficus). I have been putting bait out for 3 weeks now, and it is still being eaten. I have spoken to the neighbours behind (also share a boundary with this same neighbour) and they had actually seen rats 2 weeks before me, and have been baiting for that much longer than I have.

The bait we are both using is that stuff that they have to eat often over 7-10 days (anti-coagulant whatever) before it kills them. I don't know if it is rats or mice still eating the bait - but the bait is in the middle of a 60cm long, 7cm diameter pvc pipe, so I don't think anything other than mice/rats is eating it.

SO - my question is - once my chooks are big enough to eat mice, like mistymorn said in my other thread - eating rodents that have been eating bait is not going to be good for them! Yet I imagine that having chook feed etc all over the ground will actually attract MORE rodents. Is there a happy equilibrium? And even if I stop putting out baits - my neighbours aren't going to - and mice that are sick from bait will be easier for the chooks to catch.

How does eveyone else cope?

Rose - I know they are meant to die out of sight - but I kept seeing these rats for over 2 weeks after neighbour first put out bait - in broad daylight! middle if the day! so assuming they were already eating the bait, and already sick......... eek!

I live on tenterhooks that the ficus is going to sprout green buds overnight..................

If you dont want to use bait for the rats, well buy a couple of rat traps bigger version of mouse trap and get a needle and cotton put it through a pumpkin seed and tie it to the trap where the bait goes and brush linseed oil on it that will make it a bit slippery and the rat will have to grab on to it harder and bang off will go the trap.

Dont ask me why they like linseed oil but they do and believe me it works, so give it a go...Cheers...MM.

*sheepish grinning smilie here*

if they are bush rats raymondo, it will get worse before it gets better - we border on a 3 acre site that has recently got council approval to be developed. In 3 stages no less. The way townhouse developments go round here, I'll be living next to a building site and rat breeding ground for the next 5 years.

you have to get in and get control or it will get far worse before it gets better. if they get into the house they will chew all and any cables almost their first chore dunno what it is that attracts them maybe the electric field??

so the priority is to keep them out of your wall cavities and roof cavity, we had one find it's way into the house and it chewed through nearly all telephone cables (lying on the floor as they do) first up and then ac cables to tv etc.,.

baits take time to work they don't kill instantly so keep them out and fresh so to speak. no good blaming neighbours etc.,. they will make a home anywhere they love living and sharing with us humans, for the paw paw trees try putting some sort of skirt around the tree a fair way up like an old 8" with bottom cut out and slit down the side so as to slide it around the trunk, but you need to minimise their food source.

not all rats will go to a trap the best bait pumpkin seed or potato, and if yuop set traps leave it unsprung so the rat gets a couple of feeds and gets used to eating from the trap then set it you will get a very surprised rat that way.

and even when the rats appear to be gone keep the baits there to get the next wave early.

len

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Our chicks are not quite 4 weeks old yet. I'm assuming it will be a few months before they are big enough to tackle a mouse - even a sick one. So for the time being I'll keep baiting. One of the chicken books I borrowed from the library had a really good idea for a bait station - pvc pipe with a "T" junction - at least 60cm long along the ground, with the "T" bit in the middle (upside down T), with another length of pipe 1m or so long. The tall length of pipe has wire attached to hold it up against the fence, and a cap on top to stop the rain. To add bait, just take of the cap and drop it down. Living in the middle of a building site has its advantages - finding pvc pipe was not a problem, I just needed to buy the T connection and a cap. So I'm quite happy to have these out in my garden - mice, rats, and probably the odd baby cane toad or imported Indonesian gecko are the only things that can get into it.

how is your wife? hope everything is well with your family, and you're enjoying the school hols with the grandkids.

we make bait covers from icecream containers you know the 1/2 gallon ones, cut an opening in 2 alternate sides cover the bait which is most likely sitting in a tray made from those bikky trays that bikkies come in and a small rock on top so it don't blow away. the tomcat bait people say their bait is all weather anyway. but the pipe idea sounds good if you have the stuff laying around.

len