Pestie Advice Please

[Bugz 6]

Hi guys, just wanted some advice from one pestie to another

 

I offered up my services at a lake i fish as they are seriously overrun with Rats. Each time i do a night session i cant sleep, you can hear them sneaking accross the noisey gravel, and even in my bivvy. The sun hadnt even set and they were out and about terrorising me.

 

They didnt take me up on the offer of help, despite me offering to swap my services for fishing time on the Lake.

 

Now id have gone about things with cage traps, as obviously a whole load of other wildlife to protect, including bats.

Just heard they have ordered a load of rat boxes and poison.

 

What advice should i offer them before they go kill everything in sight?

Edited August 6, 2013 by Bugz

[riohog 5,957]

Hi guys, just wanted some advice from one pestie to another

 

I offered up my services at a lake i fish as they are seriously overrun with Rats. Each time i do a night session i cant sleep, you can hear them sneaking accross the noisey gravel, and even in my bivvy. The sun hadnt even set and they were out and about terrorising me.

 

They didnt take me up on the offer of help, despite me offering to swap my services for fishing time on the Lake.

 

Now id have gone about things with traps, as obviously a whole load of other wildlife to protect, including bats.

Just heard they have ordered a load of rat boxes and poison.

 

What advice should i offer them before they go kill everything in sight?

its obvious they don't need your input so keep your nose out of it not your concern

[paulus 26]

how would bait blocks inside bait stations effect bats secondary poisoning is a rare occurrence with the newer rodenticides, plus rats tend to seek the dark and solitude when feeling a little unwell.

[Bugz 6]

 

Hi guys, just wanted some advice from one pestie to another

 

I offered up my services at a lake i fish as they are seriously overrun with Rats. Each time i do a night session i cant sleep, you can hear them sneaking accross the noisey gravel, and even in my bivvy. The sun hadnt even set and they were out and about terrorising me.

 

They didnt take me up on the offer of help, despite me offering to swap my services for fishing time on the Lake.

 

Now id have gone about things with traps, as obviously a whole load of other wildlife to protect, including bats.

Just heard they have ordered a load of rat boxes and poison.

 

What advice should i offer them before they go kill everything in sight?

its obvious they don't need your input so keep your nose out of it not your concern

 

Yeah theres always that, pmsl. Just a place i enjoy fishing.

[Matt 160]

Sadly, the issue with second generation rodenticides is secondary poisoning, it's non targets like Wood mice eating bait left in boxes for long periods of time and passing it further up the food chain via raptors.

 

Bait boxes are not the whole answer in situations like this; find the burrows, bait them and keep baiting them until bait take stops.

 

They should also make sure they have adequate litter bins, as it's probably food from waste bait and general overnight litter that is attracting the rats in the begining.

 

I wouldn't bother with traps in this kind of situation unless it's a resistant area for the simple reason that they will be constantly interfered with. A bit of discrete burrow baiting should sort the issue out within two or three weeks.

[The one 8,623]

Only other thing i can think of is maybe its no the litter that's attracting them but left over ground bait left on the ground so as said you need to find the burrows and start there

[Bugz 6]

Well they are not interested in any advice, so just have to cross my fingers they know what they are doing.

[Bugz 6]

Only other thing i can think of is maybe its no the litter that's attracting them but left over ground bait left on the ground so as said you need to find the burrows and start there

I think the problem is lack of litter.

For many years the place was a dump, litter everywhere. New owners have cleaned the place up really well and now theres not enough food scraps left for the Rats who have now taken over the place with large numbers.

Hence why they have got very brave and desperate to steal the bait, or lunch from right under your nose, day or night.

[The one 8,623]

Shame its the middle of summer and theres so much cover you could have great fun with a smoker , but do you think if they put bait boxes down discretely they are trying to ignore the problem

[paulus 26]

The problem with fishing lakes is the rats burrows tend to be under concrete or wooden pegs and around the banks close to the water course. the last job i did the fishery owner was not keen on having loose bait spooned into the burrows close to the water due to the possibility of contamination of the water as he had invested thousands upon thousands on fish stocks, but as has already been said, every situation is different and a full assessment is the only safe way to decide what options will best suit. The risk of secondary poisoning can be reduced by the use of multiple dose poisons rather than a single dose one, We smoked and dug most burrows with a pack of terriers and then used bait stations to reduce numbers further once the bulk had been killed by the terriers.

[Matt 160]

There are no 'single dose' rodenticides available in the UK for outdoor use.

 

Modern second generation rodenticides like Bromadialone and Difenacoum offer little or no risk of contamination of water, especially if they are placed as far down the burrow as possible.

 

Smoking them out for dogs would be a good way of getting an initial knockdown, but I'm not sure if I'd want to do it while the lakes were open. There are some strange anglers out there who think that killing animals is cruel and wrong but are perfectly happy to catch and release fish.

 

I did a similar job a few years ago; got quite a bit of grief off some anglers, but cleared the problem up eventually. The site owners then increased the number of bins and asked the fishermen to use the bins for waste bait rather than letting it build up on the banks etc.

 

Pampas grass is a nightmare in this situation; fishery owners love the stuff and so do rats...

[paulus 26]

There are no 'single dose' rodenticides available in the UK for outdoor use.

 

Modern second generation rodenticides like Bromadialone and Difenacoum offer little or no risk of contamination of water, especially if they are placed as far down the burrow as possible.

 

Smoking them out for dogs would be a good way of getting an initial knockdown, but I'm not sure if I'd want to do it while the lakes were open. There are some strange anglers out there who think that killing animals is cruel and wrong but are perfectly happy to catch and release fish.

 

I did a similar job a few years ago; got quite a bit of grief off some anglers, but cleared the problem up eventually. The site owners then increased the number of bins and asked the fishermen to use the bins for waste bait rather than letting it build up on the banks etc.

 

Pampas grass is a nightmare in this situation; fishery owners love the stuff and so do rats...

this bloke closed the lake for a morning so we could do it as there were loads over on the island and we had to go over by boat.. the biggest problem was each peg was covered with four foot square concrete slabs and the rats were jumping in the lake and swimming to and from the island we had about 30 terriers and we could have done with more there were men, terriers and shovels flying everywhere.

[stubby 175]

notice that no one has mentioned water voles (which are protected) and to alot of folks that dont deal with pests everyday can look or be mistaken for rats, I would mention that to the fishery owners,

[DIDO.1 22,871]

id just buy an air pistol and get some proper sport while waiting for those fat tame carp to set your alarm off and wake you up

[fireman 11,657]

id just buy an air pistol and get some proper sport while waiting for those fat tame carp to set your alarm off and wake you up

I'd have thought smart and took a lamp and terrier myself and feck knows why he wanted to kill them all for the fishery,better sport than catching those big gold fish in their big goldfish bowls