Re: Rats eating anything.

["Sandy Bolinger" <bolinger@bigsky.net>]

We have these great live-traps that catch a pack rat every time we set
one...then rat and trap gets put in a bucket of water.

----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Holland <lanconn@tds.net>
To: <Howard4567@aol.com>; <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2000 7:59 PM
Subject: RC: Rats eating anything.


> Howard...
>
> The .22 is a good idea....but instead of using regular loads, try rat
> shot. It's a .22 rifle bullet with pellets (like a shotgun). It doesn't
> shoot holes in your barn (it won't penetrate tin), is more accurate than
> a pellet gun, (hard to miss, even with a pistol) and eliminates the risk
> of shooting something like your neighbors horse/dog/or even person
> accidentally.  I don't have any rats/mice..but it also works great on
> birds that insist on roosting in my barn and pooping all over...my
> apologies to bird lovers...I have lots of places for them to roost, put
> up bird houses, feed them, etc....but I have to draw the line somewhere.
> They even come in thru the turbines on the roof...and then can't get
> out....my cat is now conditioned to immediately put in an appearance for
> "dinner" when he hears my .22.  He hasn't had much luck catching them on
> his own.  In fact, he hasn't had much luck with mice...but he DOES
> deliver moles on my deck with remarkable regularity...I guess I have
> "Moler" instead of a "Mouser".  :)
>
> Regards, Jim and Sun of Dimanche
>
> Howard4567@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > In a message dated 12/10/00 4:45:02 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> > Marv@MarvWalker.com writes:
> >
> > << The best rat medicine I found was a Crossman pump-up pellet rifle.
It
> > shoots
> >  at around 750 feet per second and is flatter than a pancake at 100
feet.
> >   >>
> >
> > I have bullet holes in my tack room from my attack of the rats in my
barn
> > with a 22.  I knew I had a problem one day when I spotted a couple of
the
> > nasty creatures moving inside my tack/feed room.  One of the rodents had
> > eaten thru my plastic trash can lid to get to the horse feed inside so,
I had
> > put a horse blanket on top of the lid, hoping to keep them out.
> >
> > One night, and it figues this would happen to me at night, I threw on
the
> > light switch, nonchalantly walked over to the feed area, removed the
blanket
> > covering the feed lid, and as I did, a big ole rat, who was burried in
the
> > blanket, leaped on to my shoulder, and crawled on my head and then,
jumped
> > from my head up into the rafters.  I was in a total state of shock!
> >
> > I ran into my house and got out a 22 handgun.  I went back to the tack
room
> > and just waited.  For hours it seemed.  Then I spotted one of them
crawling
> > in the room from up above where I have a space between the roof and the
wall.
> >  Bang!  Missed, but took a chunk of wood out of my wall.  Bang, bang.
Two
> > more chunks missing.
> >
> > After awhile I realized the 22 was not the answer.  The next day I
bought a
> > ton of rat poison and put it all over, inside the feed room.  After a
few
> > days I found dead rats all everywhere.  Totally gross, especially when I
had
> > to fish them out of some of the horses' water buckets.  I think eating
the
> > poison makes the rats really need water.
> >
> > Anyway, the pellet gun is a good idea (less damage than a .22) but rat
poison
> > is about the only thing that really works.  I no longer have rats
crawling on
> > my body when I remove the blanket covering the feed can.  I'll do just
about
> > anything for my horses but this was asking a little too much.
> >
> > cya,
> > Howard
> >
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