Rats in stables :( how to get rid

[Shysmum]

Got a BIG problem with rats in the stables. They even come out while I am there, about 10 of them. I dont do rats ? Sonic repellent, anti vermin spray, humane traps...nope. I've taken to feeding the ponies outside and sweeping and disinfecting once they've finished. I need a cat.

 

[Reacher]

I dont expect you are anywhere near me. My terrier loves a rat hunt. I no longer have any in my garden as have revised my composting methods? , along with terrier doing his stuff, but he managed to kill one in a flowerbed opposite Asda a few weeks ago whilst on a lead as we were passing ? . Oh the shame ...

I’m in Cumbria so probably not near you unfortunately- otherwise I would be jumping at the offer to borrow your terrier.
Asda should be grateful to you for dealing with their rat problem!

 

[Reacher]

We had a fantastic she cat for several years at the farm. Quite a little semi longhair. She was a brilliant rat catcher, used to bring them to show us before she ate them. While she was with us we rarely saw a rat but after she died they moved back in big time and we had to resort to poisoning which worked ok. None of our other cats would touch rats though one did kill a stoat once. We don't seem to have too much of a problem at the moment and I can only think it is because cats from the local houses are doing the job for us.

In my teens we had a cat which adopted us - he used to leave mice corpses on the door step as a present. Bonny grey cat with green eyes.

 

[Reacher]

The rats ignore the humane traps so would they ignore the poison bait stations too? Unless it’s the bait I’ve used that they don’t like.

Also are they really safe to use near the horses- I worry rats would take the bait elsewhere where it might be eaten by a cat etc? (After all the rats do seem to move the horse poo around the stable!)

You might struggle to find so.ekne who will work ferrets in there, they should only be worked somewhere they can be dug out if they don't come out. Personally I have never put a ferret against a rat anyway ferrets can end up with terrible injuries as its not an easy kill for them.
I would bait up and block the holes personlly

Sadly you have to poison. We have rat baiting stations which are secure and keep other animals (dogs/cats etc) away and we constatnly keep poison topped up. There seem to be a ot of rats this year.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have a rat problem in my stables - timber stables, in one stable there is a rat hole chewed through the wall in each corner of stable by the party wall. Recently the rats have started piling heaps of scrabbled up horse poo in the corners by these holes!
I hate the thought of them scuttling around pi55ing on hay etc. We put out a cage trap with some peanut butter as bait but they are ignoring it. I covered the cage with bits of matting which I thought might make it look inviting to a rat but may that's not helping.

Any suggestions as to how to catch them? I've also heard of sonic repellers, but wonder if these would affect the horses.

I use this, and the rats love it. Works well on ours https://www.pestfix.co.uk/ruby-blocks.asp

 

[twiggy2]

Use the nesorexa bait bags, you can put 2 orb3 bags inside each hole then block up the hole.
The biggest thing you can do to get rats to take the food you want them to is to have a big tidy up and keep food locked away with no spillage, also check they are not in your muck heap if you have one, check hay and especially straw stack too

 

[rabatsa]

You also need professional bait not the bog standard over the counter stuff which does not have much active ingredient in it.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

You also need professional bait not the bog standard over the counter stuff which does not have much active ingredient in it.

This is, they use it at London zoo, and seeing the dead rats we find it does work.
https://www.pestfix.co.uk/ruby-blocks.asp

 

[Esmae]

The rats ignore the humane traps so would they ignore the poison bait stations too? Unless it’s the bait I’ve used that they don’t like.

Also are they really safe to use near the horses- I worry rats would take the bait elsewhere where it might be eaten by a cat etc? (After all the rats do seem to move the horse poo around the stable!)

Rats are not daft. I have bait boxes everywhere and I handle them as little as possible. You will need to let the human scent dissipate and not move the boxes from their position for the rats to come to think they are part of the furniture and go looking for the bait. Make sure there are no food alternatives or they will have that first. Bait boxes are designed for the rat to eat in the box so it is rare for them to remove the bait and leave it lying about. We also have cats here, but they are old now (we are having new kittens shortly) hence the rats are taking the P. While the bait is being taken, check the box every few days until all goes quiet and then make sure the box is baited up and check once a month or so. That is what I do and I don't have a problem anymore, although new rats appear from time to time and as they eat their special treats they go just as quickly.

 

[Reacher]

Thanks everyone I will order some of the recommended bait if the dogs aren’t successful

 

[Abby-Lou]

I do a mixture of bait boxes & traps works well

 

[sport horse]

They are gobbling up the poison at the moment - there are loads about. Never had a problem with the feral cats getting near the poison or a poisoned rat. At least the ferals have been here nealy 14 years and survived! They are now retired feral cats and live on tinned felix and go cat!!

 

[Reacher]

They are gobbling up the poison at the moment - there are loads about. Never had a problem with the feral cats getting near the poison or a poisoned rat. At least the ferals have been here nealy 14 years and survived! They are now retired feral cats and live on tinned felix and go cat!!

Sounds like ex-feral cats are living in the manner to which they wanted to become accustomed!

 

[Griffin]

If you don't already, you could try 'no mess' bird seed. I feed the birds in my garden but I only use table feeders and only put out enough for the day, so that when rats are most active, it has been eaten.

If you can stop their access to water, that will help too but not easy in a stables.

 

[Reacher]

If you don't already, you could try 'no mess' bird seed. I feed the birds in my garden but I only use table feeders and only put out enough for the day, so that when rats are most active, it has been eaten.

If you can stop their access to water, that will help too but not easy in a stables.

Oh I haven’t come across no mess bird seed - I will have a look thanks.

The birds do drop a lot on the floor - a bird table instead of the hanging bird feeders is a good idea thank you.

PS - I hadn’t thought of rats drinking out of the horse drinkers - eew!!

 

[Griffin]

Oh I haven’t come across no mess bird seed - I will have a look thanks.

The birds do drop a lot on the floor - a bird table instead of the hanging bird feeders is a good idea thank you.

PS - I hadn’t thought of rats drinking out of the horse drinkers - eew!!

You're very welcome, I only came across it when I had rats in my garden due to next door renovating their house (and leaving all their rubbish in a pile in the garden). I didn't want to stop feeding the birds, so I had to adapt what I was doing (so I changed to tables and removed water bowls for a bit). Garden Wildlife Direct are probably the cheapest for no mess online.

Sadly, I quite often find dead juvenile rats in water troughs in the summer because some of ours have brick surrounds that they climb and then can't get out. I actually quite like rats themselves, just not the urine and disease aspects of them, so I try to get them to move on rather than kill them if possible (although sometimes you just have to 'off' them).

 

[laura_nash]

I think pretty much everyone who came into the country store where I used to work asking about rat poison or traps also either kept chickens or fed the wild birds.

Yes, we solved our rat problem by teaching our chickens to use a special rat proof feeder that they had to stand on to open. Not seen one since.

 

[Ceriann]

We have 3 feral cats - no mice or rat issue since they moved in. I wouldn’t poison - risk of secondary poisoning in prey birds we have locally and they do build resistance. I think the rats/mice have just decamped now as don’t see any alive or dead.

 

[scats]

I hate telling our YO about rats as she puts poison out and it generally upsets me to think of the poor rats death (I love rats, even skanky wild ones)
I’d rather we had a cat who could hopefully do the job quicker.

I got quite attached to a yard rat a few years ago. He’d come out every night while I was having my coffee and just sort of mill around. He was huge. YO sorted him out some poison and I found him dead down the back of a bale in the barn.

 

[Frano]

Cats the only way.

 

[Reacher]

I hate telling our YO about rats as she puts poison out and it generally upsets me to think of the poor rats death (I love rats, even skanky wild ones)
I’d rather we had a cat who could hopefully do the job quicker.

I got quite attached to a yard rat a few years ago. He’d come out every night while I was having my coffee and just sort of mill around. He was huge. YO sorted him out some poison and I found him dead down the back of a bale in the barn.

Yeah I don't like the idea of the lingering death either and don't want birds of prey eating poisoned ones. I could live and let live if they weren't getting out of control.

 

[ally111]

Chopped raw sweet potato worked for me! It’s supposed to be toxic to rats. I just put it in all the holes I could find for a few days.

 

[scruffyponies]

Our go-to rat disposal unit is our cavalier king charles spaniel. The bigger, scarier dogs are hopeless. She, on the other hand, is a ruthless rat-murdering machine. She makes it look easy.