Most Effective Rat Poison

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Cruise
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Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Cruise »

It is that time of year again, and I need to put some poison outside and kill some rats. I saw one rat that was the size of Godzilla. I'm only concerned with pellets that rats like to eat and will kill them. Effectiveness is the only criteria.

I'd appreciate any learned advice. Thank you.
Vanguard Fan 1367
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Vanguard Fan 1367 »

I have had some success with Ramik Green.
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sport
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by sport »

We had that problem one time. We called the county health department and they came out and placed poison in a strategic location. They told us it was something other animals would not eat. The man from the county took care of everything including removal of the poison after the rats disappeared. It did not cost us anything.
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sunny_socal
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by sunny_socal »

Traps are the most effective IME. And not the boxes with holes or any other fancy models, just a good old fashion 'snap' trap:
(See your local Home Depot)

PS Peanut Butter is good for bait

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lthenderson
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by lthenderson »

Cruise wrote:I need to put some poison outside and kill some rats.
Be forewarned that rat poison will also kill just about any kind of mammal or bird that eats it or enough poisoned rats. We lost a dog many years ago when it got into an outbuilding normally shut up where we had some rat poison. It wasn't pleasant watching the family dog hemorrhage to death.
wstrdg
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by wstrdg »

Traps are the most effective
+1 for traps over poison

Sick rats can crawl under your buildings, into your walls, and/or into your attics. They die there and rot and you'll end up spending big bucks to find them, remove the remains and repair the structure. Go for the traps.
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Vanguard Fan 1367 »

wstrdg wrote:
Traps are the most effective
+1 for traps over poison

Sick rats can crawl under your buildings, into your walls, and/or into your attics. They die there and rot and you'll end up spending big bucks to find them, remove the remains and repair the structure. Go for the traps.

In situations where the rats have died I have waited for the smell to die down and the structure seems to still be working ok.
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alfaspider
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by alfaspider »

Another vote for traps instead of poison. You need to seal any entry/exit points first, and then lay down traps.
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Pranav
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Pranav »

Consider non-poison option, where you can capture the rat alive in the cage, and then release the rat into the wild. We found this option to be most effective when we had mouse/rat issue in our previous residence.
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JW-Retired
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by JW-Retired »

Nothing is perfect. I can testify that my snap rat trap in the garage did in a young possum. It was close enough to rat size to get in.

I don't believe he would have eaten rat poison.
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alfaspider
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by alfaspider »

Pranav wrote:Consider non-poison option, where you can capture the rat alive in the cage, and then release the rat into the wild. We found this option to be most effective when we had mouse/rat issue in our previous residence.
From what I've read, a rat put into the wild in a territory not its own will quickly be killed by other rats or die from starvation or predators. Killing the rat quickly in a snap trap is more humane.
rebellovw
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by rebellovw »

Traps all the way. I use those black plastic jaw traps - that are reusable. You setup 3 - so that as the rat trips one - it flops into another and is fully caught.

Rinse and repeat.

Poison is a terrible way to do it and could affect other animals.

Seal all holes where rats get in.
Uniballer
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Uniballer »

Pranav wrote:Consider non-poison option, where you can capture the rat alive in the cage, and then release the rat into the wild. We found this option to be most effective when we had mouse/rat issue in our previous residence.
No. Rats and mice have been observed to return to their territories from over a mile away. CDC guidelines recommend snap traps.
sreynard
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by sreynard »

Another good non-poison traditional option is to get a cat. Can be quite effective, but it is best to get one with a good ratting pedigree. My neighbor has several outdoor cats, but unfortunately they seem to be defective models.

I put out several of the old Victor spring traps just this weekend. So far I'm one for two. One with a pinch of beef stew meat worked perfectly. The second with a mix of cheese slice and peanut butter caught nothing but air. Two others with a bit of polish sausage from Costco are still sitting there. Health conscious California rats? :?

I just bought a box of 12. They're cheap enough I don't play with re-using them ($1.74 ea). Drop the whole thing in a plastic bag and into the trash can. No muss, no fuss. I had visions of the thing jumping up and biting me on the finger if I tried to get it out. :shock:
neilpilot
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by neilpilot »

Before I worked to seal the entry holes (at least the holes I could find), I placed 2 cheap ($15/light) LED strobes in the attic. I was dealing with one or more squirrels, and the flashing lights definitely drove them outside. No poison, and no disposal of dead animals.

I've read that rats will also leave if flashing lights are used.

Just as with traps or poison, this is not a permanent solution and entry points need to be addressed.
littlebird
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by littlebird »

My pest control guy - who seems to be the go-to guy in the area for rodents - uses snap traps baited with pb very successfully near my house, and bait stations with pellets in the further reaches of the property where outdoor-only desert rats (the 4-legged kind) roam.
likegarden
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by likegarden »

As you describe, your rats must be the same size as our squirrels. I tried to catch rabbits with a Havahart trap, caught only squirrels. Some got really mad at me. All got a nice ride into a forest and never came back. So, Havahart traps seem to work for relocation.
I have a problem with voles. In one area d-con does not seem to work, should change the poison perhaps.
MarvinK
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by MarvinK »

2 feral cats, spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Contact a local trap-neuter-release (TNR) group* in a city, or a rural vet.
Yes you do need to put out cat food for the cats.

The poison will also kill squirrels, counties or health dept rat control does have higher strength poison, and it helps usually if multiple neighbors group together to contact their local rat control dept.
Yes peanut butter works well in the snap traps.
*Note: I am a TNR volunteer in my city.
whonoze
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by whonoze »

Veterinarian here. Please don't use poisons...the old generation made rodents and whatever ate the rodents or baits die by bleeding to death, but at least there is an antidote if given early. The newer generation poisons have no antidote. :(
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sreynard
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by sreynard »

MarvinK wrote:2 feral cats, spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Contact a local trap-neuter-release (TNR) group* in a city, or a rural vet.
Yes you do need to put out cat food for the cats.

The poison will also kill squirrels, counties or health dept rat control does have higher strength poison, and it helps usually if multiple neighbors group together to contact their local rat control dept.
Yes peanut butter works well in the snap traps.
*Note: I am a TNR volunteer in my city.
I saw that the Humane Society around here also sometimes have "farm cats" available. They are friendlier than feral cats, but pretty much outside only "working" cats. My guess is they are probably not liter box trained.
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by MarvinK »

sreynard wrote:
I saw that the Humane Society around here also sometimes have "farm cats" available. They are friendlier than feral cats, but pretty much outside only "working" cats. My guess is they are probably not liter box trained.
Yes, I could have been clearer.
Many areas have different phrases, generally: alley cats, barn cats, farm cats, working cats, outdoor cats, community cats are feral cats, yet their their degree of socialization varies. In my city we mostly call our cats Community Cats since they don't "belong" to anyone, they belong to everyone...usually neighbors put out food. We call our placement program Blue Collar Cats, because they have a job to do (mouse and rat deterrence), and it's catchy in our marketing and our residents and businesses can relate to this.

Based on experience, there is a spectrum of feral-ness, some are more socialized towards humans and they're friendly - to - some you just see at a far distance. There's a range. Much like the spectrum of Bogleheads, some of us call ourselves BH and stick solely to the 3 fund portfolio, other BH have more funds (even active funds) but have an underlying interest in low cost index funds.

Treehouse Humane Society in Chicago, for example is a well known program Tree House Cats at Work and the link has further info:
http://www.treehouseanimals.org/site/Pa ... feral_cats
squirm
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by squirm »

Barn cats.
bgrpph
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by bgrpph »

ck out site- domyownpestcontrol.com if u want bait stations/bait/traps they have lots of info & chemicals u can't get at local homedepot/lowes etc-
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TxAg
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by TxAg »

Traps work but poison is better. Try Tractor Supply.
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Crimsontide
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Crimsontide »

Most effective I've found is the Tom Cat Bait Station. Traps require way too much maintaince...
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TxAg
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by TxAg »

I stumbled acoss this:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department ... /agdex3441


Alberta, Canada uses Warfarin with great results.
Cyclone

Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Cyclone »

A long time ago I read to mix half cement (not concrete - cement is the powder mixed to make concrete) and half cocoa, and place it in a shallow pan alongside a pan of water. I have no idea if it actually works.

We had a dog that used to love rat poison. He would growl and snap at you if you tried to take it away. He lived quite awhile (for a dog).
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fundtalker123
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by fundtalker123 »

Just write your adviser a letter instructing to move your investments to Vanguard.
JBTX
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by JBTX »

We can get quite a few in our neighborhood. I’m skeptical traps would work, or else you’d have to constantly replace them and catch/harm a lot of squirrels in the process. We had terminix install some bait stations. They help control them but still occasionally see them in back under deck.

We had to work to seal the attic, remove places where rats could easily get to roof and into attic. Few years ago it became a problem but we seemed to have stopped that for now.
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by hicabob »

Rat poisons around here have been killing the bobcats that eat the rats that ate the poison. My neighbor found 2 dead ones and one almost dead.
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by JW-Retired »

JBTX wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:50 am We can get quite a few in our neighborhood. I’m skeptical traps would work, or else you’d have to constantly replace them and catch/harm a lot of squirrels in the process.
Google up "live traps". No civilian casualties whatsoever. You can catch and release the squirrels but drown any rats (in the trap).
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jdb
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by jdb »

Get a screech owl house and put it in nearby tree. We have had families of screech owls living in our screech owl houses past few years and no rat or mice problems. Plus they are cute to watch. Only time I tried a rat trap caught a juvenile skunk by its paw. Never again. Good luck.
MJW
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by MJW »

If you've followed this forum for any time you would know that the first place to start is to sign the rats up with Edward Jones.

:idea:
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Sandtrap
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Sandtrap »

Use Jiff Peanut Butter because it's the sweetest, highest sugar content, and the smell is irresistible.
In a recent taste test, 9 out of 10 mice and rats and field pack rats prefer Jiff over any other leading brand.

Creamy is better than chunky.
Image

*Also, 9 out of 10 rats prefer the plastic paddle actuators over the metal tabs because they are less sensitive and make for a drama free meal.
Last edited by Sandtrap on Thu Mar 22, 2018 11:31 am, edited 2 times in total.
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F150HD
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by F150HD »

sunny_socal wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:33 am Traps are the most effective IME. And not the boxes with holes or any other fancy models, just a good old fashion 'snap' trap:
(See your local Home Depot)

PS Peanut Butter is good for bait

Image
IMO traps w/ the plastic paddles are not a good choice. If the animal nudges the paddle upwards, the trap doesn't fire, in fact the chance of it firing decreases as it locks in the lever.

Much preferable to use this type w/ the metal tougue (tho a mousetrap, same idea). They trigger faster, no fail if the food morsel is touched. See how the lever attaches to the tongue. Better design.

FWIW.... :happy

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F150HD
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by F150HD »

neilpilot wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2017 3:58 pm ....I placed 2 cheap ($15/light) LED strobes in the attic. I was dealing with one or more squirrels, and the flashing lights definitely drove them outside. No poison, and no disposal of dead animals.
What if they think its a dance club and invite their friends to get down?
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jplee3
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by jplee3 »

I've had two Victor rat traps fail on me 3 times. The first time the rat got slapped on the nose and took off (though I didn't give it any 'adjustment' time leaving it unbaited). Most recently, a new trap I set (but modified with popsicle stick shims for supposedly greater spring power) trapped a rat temporarily until it worked itself free and scampered off. The third time I had a modified trap (both with popsicle stick shims and 5x 1-1/4" drywall screws in a U-shape sticking up from the bottom on the inside of the bail spring, supposedly to 'pin' the rat) that was secured down to a 1x6 board weighed down by a brick - a rat stepped on it and tried to pull the parmesan rind off that I had secured onto it. The bail was set off and the rat was literally 'bounced' off the trap by the force of the spring. I'm perplexed how it managed to not get pinned at all... I guess I need to use hypodermic needles or something! I have 2 of these incidents captured on video and 1 partially but mostly out of view... pretty ridiculous but these are definitely larger rats and pretty cunning. There's at least one that keeps coming back to check things out but appears to be avoiding all but the Tomcat trap (which did capture and kill a rat in daylight hours a few days back). I've had good luck with the Tomcat trap thus far, successfully trapping two rats (one I had to dispatch myself because I could hear it squealing and still alive). The most recent kill it may have been the same thing but likely expired faster. I just purchased a Victor Electronic rat trap so hopefully that will help.

Otherwise, I've also been reading that Vitamin D (D2 and D3) can be used to poison rats. What I'm not clear on is *how much* - I've heard of people recommending crushing 3-4 D3 tablets into a tablespoon of PB and setting it out for them to eat. They slowly die over the course of a week supposedly. The thing that is left out in all this is what dosage tablets those are. I have 5000IU and 2000IU soft gels and would love to try breaking those up and mixing into some PB but not sure how much would be needed, and if the powder form would be better to use than the oil form.
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CaliJim
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by CaliJim »

hicabob wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:15 am Rat poisons around here have been killing the bobcats that eat the rats that ate the poison. My neighbor found 2 dead ones and one almost dead.
+1

that has happened around here too. last year were were greatly dismayed to see a bobcat in distress by the side of a trail. the ranger we talked to said they had taken 2 bobcat carcasses to UCD for post-mortems and they both had been killed by rat poison.

poisons get into the ecosystem. traps take more effort but are better for the wild life
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shell921
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by shell921 »

Poison is so bad for our environment & wild life. I bought a mouse
zapper at Home Depot for under $20. It uses a battery and
electrocutes mice humanely. No blood or mess.
I killed 8 mice in 2 days with the silly thing.

HD sells a
larger one for rats similar to the one shown here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7mViyElROI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFmXEM9PmNU

You can also install an owl box !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz-TLYlzKog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3vENKxVx0A
jplee3
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by jplee3 »

shell921 wrote: Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:19 pm Poison is so bad for our environment & wild life. I bought a mouse
zapper at Home Depot for under $20. It uses a battery and
electrocutes mice humanely. No blood or mess.
I killed 8 mice in 2 days with the silly thing.

HD sells a
larger one for rats similar to the one shown here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7mViyElROI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFmXEM9PmNU

You can also install an owl box !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz-TLYlzKog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3vENKxVx0A
I can't believe how much more the rat traps are on average than the standard mouse trap. I wonder what the huge difference is other than the larger entry hole. Maybe the metal plate isn't as large and that's the bulk of it?
ralph124cf
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by ralph124cf »

MarvinK wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:15 pm 2 feral cats, spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Contact a local trap-neuter-release (TNR) group* in a city, or a rural vet.
Yes you do need to put out cat food for the cats.

The poison will also kill squirrels, counties or health dept rat control does have higher strength poison, and it helps usually if multiple neighbors group together to contact their local rat control dept.
Yes peanut butter works well in the snap traps.
*Note: I am a TNR volunteer in my city.
Cats would not work for the rats that I have seen around here. The rat would win that fight.

Try a Rat Terrier, or a Yorkie or Jack Russell.


Ralph
reggiesimpson
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by reggiesimpson »

Try and find their escape hole then block it and shove a hose down the other hole and drown them. Works for me.
Trism
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Re: Most Effective Rat Poison

Post by Trism »

Arby's
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