bigugli Posted August 2, 2023 Report Share Posted August 2, 2023 There has been a new surge in the population in the old Welland/Lake area. Probably due to them tearing up the water system on Lake, and also the demolition of the Garden City arena. We also have chicken coops in our neighbourhood. Tween the one neighbour and I we have killed over a dozen in the past week. and had way more traps tripped and emptied. I hope the rat candy is having an effect. This is way worse than the West Hill boogaloo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 2, 2023 Report Share Posted August 2, 2023 When they demolished the GM plant it sent rats loose on the surrounding hood . I thought chicken coops were illegal in the city . They do draw rats as well as skunks , squirrels ,rabbits , possums , and I have caught rats in my squirrel traps. Rats will eat many other foods from bird seed to tomatoes . When I baited my spring rat traps with food like chicken or raw bacon I tied the bait with string . They will tug on the string and set off the trap at the right moment , usually a quick kill on the head or neck . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted August 2, 2023 Report Share Posted August 2, 2023 10 hours ago, smerchly said: When they demolished the GM plant it sent rats loose on the surrounding hood . I thought chicken coops were illegal in the city . They do draw rats as well as skunks , squirrels ,rabbits , possums , and I have caught rats in my squirrel traps. Rats will eat many other foods from bird seed to tomatoes . When I baited my spring rat traps with food like chicken or raw bacon I tied the bait with string . They will tug on the string and set off the trap at the right moment , usually a quick kill on the head or neck . Good idea about tying the food to the trap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markster Posted August 2, 2023 Report Share Posted August 2, 2023 Hot gluing a seed or a corn kernel to the trap trigger also works good. Gets them to pull on the trap.😎 Tyler0420, verado and smerchly 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted August 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2023 They are really hungry. They trip all the traps every night. 2 more down this morning Bubba14 and smerchly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 4, 2023 Report Share Posted August 4, 2023 There are people who feed the squirrels ,birds ect. ( bird seed , peanuts, bread , left overs) and rats will raid gardens when they are hungry .When I had my huge apple tree I had a zoo here ! We saw 9 rats eating tree fall apples when there was some snow on the ground. I got rid of the tree and the 2 plastic compost barrels that they chewed through . Good luck Bruce , maybe they can smell your salsa ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted August 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2023 On 8/4/2023 at 12:42 PM, smerchly said: There are people who feed the squirrels ,birds ect. ( bird seed , peanuts, bread , left overs) and rats will raid gardens when they are hungry .When I had my huge apple tree I had a zoo here ! We saw 9 rats eating tree fall apples when there was some snow on the ground. I got rid of the tree and the 2 plastic compost barrels that they chewed through . Good luck Bruce , maybe they can smell your salsa ! We had nothing last year. Now they are all over the neighbourhood. We are getting good at killing the buggers. Maybe I'll tackle the surplus population of squirrels next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 7, 2023 Report Share Posted August 7, 2023 I trapped 50 squirrels in one season about 5 years ago and we still have a million of them .They breed like rats ! There is a walnut tree next door and it was loaded with nuts last year but looks nutless this year . I'll give them your addy Bruce ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogliq2 Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 I never used to feed the squirrels... but I do now. If the price of groceries keeps going the way it has been, they'll be on the menu soon .... lmao Bubba14 and smerchly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genec Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 I’m lucky here in Welland. we live at the end of a small dead end street with a park just behind that has a wooded area. We have a family of 5 foxes living in there, and haven’t seen a rat or mouse in the past few years! Really nice to have a live pest control crew in the neighbourhood!! Port_D_Guy, smerchly and Bubba14 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted January 28 Report Share Posted January 28 Mother Nature does some good things .....once in a while . Bubba14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted June 15 Report Share Posted June 15 On 8/2/2023 at 9:01 AM, Tyler0420 said: Good idea about tying the food to the trap We still have rats ,got one in the trap under the deck and 2 mice so far in the mouse traps . Something has been eating my small cuc plants and my first strawberries . One of my mouse traps disappeared this morning , thought a squirrel hit the peanut butter & took the trap up a tree . lol But , low & behold I found the trap today behind a 4 x 4 against the fence . The only thing in the trap was the head of a mouse .I believe a rat ate the dead mouse's body. That's a new one for me ! The rat trap is set again with some home cooked chicken skin & tied down with string . It looks like I'll need to keep the traps baited for a while again & I don't like to use poison as I don't want my small dog getting into it or chewing on a sick/dead rat floundering in the yard . How about you bigugli , still have rats in your area ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted June 15 Report Share Posted June 15 Keep some of those rats for pike bait. no rats in my backyard just some bunnies digging holes under the fence eating my grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted June 15 Report Share Posted June 15 10 hours ago, Tyler0420 said: Keep some of those rats for pike bait. no rats in my backyard just some bunnies digging holes under the fence eating my grass. Good idea Tyler , rats can swim well too, need to use live traps though . 🙃 Another one in the trap this morning , I'm on a roll ! They like my wife's chicken better than KFC . I think their tails would be good for swim baits . Tyler0420 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted July 7 Report Share Posted July 7 Got another one yesterday morning , 6 rats now and there's a new hole going under the lattice on the back deck . I also found a hole at the corner of the back fence 80 ft. away . There's a large 12" culvert buried behind the new fence that probably retains some water they may like . I'll use my squirrel/rat trap combo there tonight with fresh cooked chicken skin . I don't know what is attracting them here food wise ! Bubba14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted July 8 Report Share Posted July 8 4 hours ago, smerchly said: Got another one yesterday morning , 6 rats now and there's a new hole going under the lattice on the back deck . I also found a hole at the corner of the back fence 80 ft. away . There's a large 12" culvert buried behind the new fence that probably retains some water they may like . I'll use my squirrel/rat trap combo there tonight with fresh cooked chicken skin . I don't know what is attracting them here food wise ! Any bird feeders around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted July 8 Report Share Posted July 8 1 hour ago, Tyler0420 said: Any bird feeders around? There may be bird feeders , I have birds nesting and find the odd bit of bread crust in my yard .The rats may like my veggies I'm growing ,we had green beans for dinner today & the strawberries are getting larger but still green . The smelly green bins may attract them as well . We were sitting on the deck tonight and I saw a rat run across the yard ! I set 2 traps . Bubba14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 I let our doggie out for his morning roundabout in the yard and noticed something odd near the back of the yard . It was a big dead rat that got into the neighbours special rat cuisine and dropped dead on my grass . Doggie didn't know what to make of it and I quickly took it away from him as it had blood around the nose and mouth. It was a big one, 16" from head to tail ! That's rat #12 so far and the traps will be set all summer as my tomatoes & cucs are now ripening and they will eat them ! This big guy could be mistaken for a beaver in the water ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 I’m glad no rats around me. Or their good at playing hide n seek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 Rats thrive in these dense housing areas because they know where to find food and water. Many are cooking outside and they can smell the bbq's cooking the goodies. Some people have bird feeders and rats and mice will eat the seeds and some feed the squirrels. They loved my old apple tree ( now deceased) They have many places to make their home like under decks, sheds, ect. The traps and poison will have to be in place until we see no sign of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba14 Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 My son has trapped 5 in the past two weeks (and one juvenile skunk!). They are drawn to the neighbours bird feeder that is right beside his fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave524 Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 Guess the days of going to the local dump at night with a flashlight strapped to the barrel of your .22 are long gone 🤣 Bubba14 and Tyler0420 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 2 hours ago, Bubba14 said: My son has trapped 5 in the past two weeks (and one juvenile skunk!). They are drawn to the neighbours bird feeder that is right beside his fence. I've caught rats in my 7" x 7" squirrel traps and a red squirrel (vicious) , possum , skunks (many) and a blue jay, all lived to raid your yard 😄 1 hour ago, dave524 said: Guess the days of going to the local dump at night with a flashlight strapped to the barrel of your .22 are long gone 🤣 We did that many years ago and those dumps are now 'pristine' parks or have buildings on them, like Anchor Point on Ontario St. where we went during the daytime and poured water down rat holes for our golf tourneys . ⛳ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 3 hours ago, Bubba14 said: My son has trapped 5 in the past two weeks (and one juvenile skunk!). They are drawn to the neighbours bird feeder that is right beside his fence. I’d be taking the bird feeder every night until they get the point. Stop feeding the rats the birds don’t need your seed either. smerchly and Bubba14 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave524 Posted August 4 Report Share Posted August 4 2 hours ago, smerchly said: We did that many years ago and those dumps are now 'pristine' parks or have buildings on them, like Anchor Point on Ontario St. where we went during the daytime and poured water down rat holes for our golf tourneys . ⛳ The local dump were I shot is now a leash free dog park, only a bunch of vent tubes tell the tale that it was once a dump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.