Rat Bait

[Tiercel 6,986]

Regarding the neophobia. Could that be linked to the time of year and the age of the rat, or the rats lifestyle in that it is looking for pastures new therefore all it sees will be new. I used to have trouble with rats as my garden backs onto waste ground, over time I have identified two main runs unsurprisingly up the fence each side of the garden. I now have two trapping stations positioned at the bottom of the garden and no trouble from rats, unless they enter from next door, who just sits and grows his fecking hair allday.

 

One thing I have noticed though, come may I will start to get young rats in the traps and that will continue through the summer with never an adult caught, yet come october it will be the odd very large rat, as if they have been living on the waste ground but are looking for warmer climates for the winter so moving in on the buildings?

 

TC

[Matt 160]

Regarding the neophobia. Could that be linked to the time of year and the age of the rat, or the rats lifestyle in that it is looking for pastures new therefore all it sees will be new. I used to have trouble with rats as my garden backs onto waste ground, over time I have identified two main runs unsurprisingly up the fence each side of the garden. I now have two trapping stations positioned at the bottom of the garden and no trouble from rats, unless they enter from next door, who just sits and grows his fecking hair allday.

My personal opinion is that some social groups are more neophobic than others. The farm I mentioned earlier in the thread is relatively new, and was built on a green field site in the middle of an old airfield. Rats on the surrounding farms were nowhere near as bad.

 

One thing I have noticed though, come may I will start to get young rats in the traps and that will continue through the summer with never an adult caught, yet come october it will be the odd very large rat, as if they have been living on the waste ground but are looking for warmer climates for the winter so moving in on the buildings?

 

TC

It's not at all unusual to have seasonal migration of rats. These days, the harvesting of wholecrop maize seems to signal the start of an influx of rats.

 

I think food or lack of it, causes more migration than the weather. When we had the bad snow a couple of years ago I didn't notice any massive increase in calls, although I do know that pest controllers who live in areas prone to flooding do notice an increase in calls when rats are flooded out of drains and burrows.

 

 

Who would have thought that this would turn into such an interesting thread?

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

..... If they are entering for the horse food, then bait with the horse food as it is at that moment in time their natural diet. ..... I then changed to nutella and peanut butter mixture and the results improved remarkably ..... It does seem that rats that have never seen or smelt peanut butter in their lives are attracted to it.

 

So could it be that while rats are omnivours they also have a sweet tooth and will take sweet smelling and tasting food in preferance to grain no matter where they reside?

 

My own view on this is that; It's just because rats are such totally opportunistic omnivours, they'll 'try anything once'. And, as I believe I stated above; In a modern SGACR, that once may lead to a spit and further refusal.

 

If it's bait used to position them on, or in a trap? They're f**ked. And, they don't get to pass on any genetic interference either.

[Tiercel 6,986]

Just wondering, does the neophibia on the farm include the young rats? Also is the area of the farm quite large? Is there movement of family groups within the area of the farm? For example, I would expect a very low return from a grain store baiting with grain as there is so much food for them. Would you not then try a different bait to stand out from the crowd so to speak?

 

It is intresting, as a strictly amatuer one trick pony on trapping rats (fens) I have found over the years what works for my back yard.

 

TC

[Matt 160]

Just wondering, does the neophobia on the farm include the young rats? Also is the area of the farm quite large? Is there movement of family groups within the area of the farm? For example, I would expect a very low return from a grain store baiting with grain as there is so much food for them. Would you not then try a different bait to stand out from the crowd so to speak?

Young and old were just the same.... Neophobic in the extreme.

 

 

It is intresting, as a strictly amatuer one trick pony on trapping rats (fenns) I have found over the years what works for my back yard.

 

TC

I think that's a significant point TC.

 

One of the beauties of pest control is that no two jobs are the same. What works in one area may fail miserably elsewhere.

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Also the neophobia that rats are classed as, how long does that neophobia last? In my very limited experience if I find a rat in the shed it will usually takes around 5 days before they will enter the trap cuddy. Although I have caught on the first night, perhaps that is dependant on how long the rat has been in residence?

 

 

" Neo ". From the Austro Hungarian, isn't it? For 'New'? Something like that.

 

Your self professed " Amateur " status as a rat catcher belies your clean slate, clear visioned approach, TC

 

We actually seem to share very much the same view, on this issue.

 

Put simply? Rat moves from point A to B with caution. Having sussed out there's none of TC's fatally interesting, chocolate drizzled f**king traps, en route? Rat then probes the ground to point C. And so on.

 

Rat then knows his land. He can now dash, with reckless abandon, from A to K. Knowing he's sniffed, touched, minutely examined his way about it and found it all cool.

 

It's when anything on That route changes that rat shits himself and goes all paranoiac.

 

Suddenly banging down a f**king great snapper would get this reaction. But, adding something as constantly interestingly tantalising as a scent (Nut or choc) will help, eventually, break down that suspicion.

 

And, again, I'd suggest that a New smell will lure him stronger than just More of the horse feed smell he's used to.

 

Smells the same - Looks different? Get to f**k. Plenty here that smells the same and I Know is cool.

 

Smells different and looks different ....? I'm a rat. I eat just about Anything. I have to try this new thing, lest it turn out to be Food of the Gods. I'll just balance that potential pay off with my caution of the fact that it Looks new.

 

End result's the same though: That enthralling scent will win in the end. Bugger will come to the Smell.

 

 

Rat caught on the first night? " Common Sense ". Rat hasn't yet finger tip searched the entire shed. Doesn't see your trap as new .....

 

This is why I keep traps down, and refresh the bait, 'for ever'. The first rodent may die of old age, ignoring this obvious ruse of mine. But, the new kids on my block won't necessarily know the shit Is new! Just another texture / object to explore. Gently. And it smells interesting too ..... SNAP!

[Tiercel 6,986]

Pete,

 

I do not bait the outer traps they are just left in situ 24-7-365 but they work, and work well at that, go figure? The only time I bait is in the shed. That said, thinking about it, I have used the traps as baited traps with peanut butter in the past so there may well be the residue of the bait left on the plates, enough to attract them? I did start off baiting them but the slugs have a field day on it so I just left them unbaited and they seem to work.

 

TC

[Tiercel 6,986]

Just thinking back, about 5 years ago before I started the outside traps I had a rat in the garden that would lick peanutbutter off a fen without setting it off. To be honest he was doing my head in, I had tried every trick I knew of to catch the bugger, even putting the PB under the trigger plate and burrying the trap and he dug underneath the trap and licked the plate clean. It was then I tried the drop box I set the box on a plank with PB on the plate and dog biscuits around the box and inside, took about a week but I had the bugger in the end, a big old buck.

 

TC

[Tiercel 6,986]

 

Also the neophobia that rats are classed as, how long does that neophobia last? In my very limited experience if I find a rat in the shed it will usually takes around 5 days before they will enter the trap cuddy. Although I have caught on the first night, perhaps that is dependant on how long the rat has been in residence?

 

 

" Neo ". From the Austro Hungarian, isn't it? For 'New'? Something like that.

 

Your self professed " Amateur " status as a rat catcher belies your clean slate, clear visioned approach, TC

 

We actually seem to share very much the same view, on this issue.

 

Put simply? Rat moves from point A to B with caution. Having sussed out there's none of TC's fatally interesting, chocolate drizzled f**king traps, en route? Rat then probes the ground to point C. And so on.

 

Rat then knows his land. He can now dash, with reckless abandon, from A to K. Knowing he's sniffed, touched, minutely examined his way about it and found it all cool.

 

It's when anything on That route changes that rat shits himself and goes all paranoiac.

 

Suddenly banging down a f**king great snapper would get this reaction. But, adding something as constantly interestingly tantalising as a scent (Nut or choc) will help, eventually, break down that suspicion.

 

And, again, I'd suggest that a New smell will lure him stronger than just More of the horse feed smell he's used to.

 

Smells the same - Looks different? Get to f**k. Plenty here that smells the same and I Know is cool.

 

Smells different and looks different ....? I'm a rat. I eat just about Anything. I have to try this new thing, lest it turn out to be Food of the Gods. I'll just balance that potential pay off with my caution of the fact that it Looks new.

 

End result's the same though: That enthralling scent will win in the end. Bugger will come to the Smell.

 

 

Rat caught on the first night? " Common Sense ". Rat hasn't yet finger tip searched the entire shed. Doesn't see your trap as new .....

 

This is why I keep traps down, and refresh the bait, 'for ever'. The first rodent may die of old age, ignoring this obvious ruse of mine. But, the new kids on my block won't necessarily know the shit Is new! Just another texture / object to explore. Gently. And it smells interesting too ..... SNAP!

 

I have to agree with most of that Pete, when rats migrate all ground is new and they have to expore it to get to know it.

 

TC

[Matt 160]

I cured the neophobia in these in one afternoon:

 

[Matt 160]

With a bit of help:

 

[Mole man Kent 26]

My friend in Wales catches rats in his pheasant pens with Mars bar and he really is remote Wales. Anything that smells edible surely they're going to give it a go?

[harry boi 1]

I got 6 traps in my yard i use Choclate roll cakes .. pork pie with loads butter... sausage with butter they love it mate

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

How many junkies have ye caught, Harry?

[J Darcy 5,871]

I was asked to trap a rat in a guys loft a while back. It was moving up and down the cavity walls, entering his kitchen during the night. The thing is that this rat simply would not go near a baited trap. After a week I still hadn't caught it, so I changed tactics and a MK4 set on it's run from under the loft insulation nailed it. Maybe sometimes bait is much, much less important than the positioning of the trap.Maybe?