Over the years I’ve noticed the occasional rat (aka Brown Rat or Norway Rat) in my garden but not very often and I’d never noticed any damage they’d done to my plants or produce. I hated having them there but apparently not enough to do anything about it.
But this year it’s different. For over a month I saw at least one rat out there every day, often at about the same time of day and sometimes more than once a day. I never saw more than one at the same time but, knowing rats, where there’s one there’s usually more.
This is what put me over the edge!
Rats will readily eat many fruits and vegetables, but they love tomatoes. They ignore tomatoes when they’re green but when they begin to ripen up, this is what happens. When I saw this my blood boiled. Several times I saw a rat scurrying from beneath one tomato plant to another but for some reason it didn’t occur to me that they were actually eating the tomatoes. Silly me.
So now I’m a man on a mission to kill rats. Mess with my garden tomatoes and there’s a steep price to pay.
This is my rat-killing arsenal. Over the last few weeks it’s grown over time.
- Havahart trap – This trap has been a complete bust. Rats are too smart for it, even when it’s baited with peanut butter which is one of their favorite foods. I’ve watched rats walk right by it and go for my tomatoes.
- Slingshot – you may laugh at using a slingshot but they’re known to be effective against rats. The ammo I’m using (in bowl) is essentially steel ball bearings, so if I could ever hit one that would likely be the end of it. The problem with a slingshot is that they’re not very accurate (I’m getting better). I’ve taken about a dozen shots at rats and missed every time, but I’ve come very, very close. But they know it when a ball bearing goes whizzing by. There’s a wooden fence directly behind my garden to stop any stray ammo.
- Traditional rat trap – so far this has been my only effective weapon. I’ve killed three rats with them (I have two of them).
- Pellet gun – I know, it almost looks like a sniper rifle but it’s only an air rifle that shoots pellets. So far I haven’t used it and I hope not to. But I will if I have to.
After I caught my first rat in the traditional trap, they wouldn’t go anywhere near it when it was sitting on top of the ground. So I started burying the highly conspicuous wood platform so that all that could be seen above ground was the bait tray (baited with peanut butter) and the metal trapping mechanism. This works. I’ve caught two more rats with partially buried traps.
I hide the trap beneath my huge rhubarb plants where rats love to hide and birds don’t go. The last thing I want to do is trap a bird or some prowling neighborhood cat (I almost never see cats in my yard, or their tracks).
The photo below shows a dead rat in the trap. If you don’t want to see it, scroll no further. You’ve been warned.
This is one of the rats I caught beneath my rhubarb. Believe it or not, this rat wasn’t actually caught in the trap (not even its tail) – it was lying next to the trap as you see here. When the trap was sprung the metal mechanism must have hit the rat (probably in the head, killing it) and knocked the rat away from the trapping mechanism at the same time.
I’m relieved to report that it’s now been five days since I’ve seen a rat or any new garden damage caused by rats. I’m not naive enough to think I got them all but any survivors must have taken the hint and vamoosed. At least temporarily. Perhaps seeing their dead buddies in traps and having steel ball bearings whiz over their heads was a little too much for them.
Don’t waste your time trying to engender any sympathy or empathy in me for rats. It won’t happen. Yes, I know that rats are smart. Yes, I’ve had pet white rats and enjoyed them (they’re a different sub-species). And yes, I read “Ratman’s Notebooks” and saw the movie “Willard“.
I still hate rats.
Ron
Notes:
- My neighbors support my rat-killing efforts. They even encourage them.
- I’d never use rodenticides or sticky traps to kill rats and my goal is to always kill them “humanely” (a word that I find ironic). Even rats don’t deserve to suffer.
- My dad (who was living with me at the time) built the redwood patio table in photo #2 for me about 27 years ago. All I’ve done to it in those 27 years is sand it, twice (it’s outside year-round). Skilled craftmanship and quality materials matter.
Rats in the garden are a nuisance. At least there’s no bat’s in the belfry.
Good grief, this thread is over the top!!! I suppose it is an evolution of sorts. Back in the early 90s we were putting out D-con, both for mice and then rats. They had gotten in the walls. We were uneducated about second generation poisoning. Our five cats and two dogs couldn’t access this SHIT. But, one day the garage door was open and a neighbor’s small cat wandered in and found the mouse poison shoved under a metal cabinet with very little clearance. When I realized what happened I raced it to my vet and paid a large vet bill to save it. Fast forward to 2010 and streaming wildlife cams, I got a first hand education in barn owls bringing in poisoned rats to feed their young. It was horrifying to watch them die and think about all the possible things I might have poisoned back in the 90s having no clue at all. I have worked closely with pest control on two occasions where rats have gotten inside (different house) and learned everything I could. Absolutely NO poison, period. You have to get all the entry points. It seems to me after reading the original goal of saving your tomatoes, you just need to build a very simple structure over your planting bed or pots, that has 1/4” hardware cloth to keep the beasts out. All these comments about shooting them, drowning them, trying to outsmart them is sorta funny, but not really. I do release whatever I trap inside my garage but they are in the environment. Even if you kill 100 of them there are more, lol. I suspect they will be around long after humans have gone extinct!! Good luck Ron, I have a feeling you will figure out a solution so it doesn’t become a yearly hassle. Keep us posted.
I hate spiders but I don’t kill them. I trap them in a humane trap and release them outside, where they must have taken the wrong turn into the house. I don’t relish rats but what I do have is my own fault. I have cats which is the best way to do away with them. Whether you know it or not, we all, even though we don’t see them, have house mice. Rats only live 1-2 years. Brown rats 2 years, black rats 1 year. Some may live longer but not by much. I had a cat the other day bring me a rat that must have weighed 2 lbs. Cats have a very effective way to kill them. It happens in an instant. No pain at all. There is another way to stop it all together. There is fertility control that works much better over the long term and possibly even faster than setting out kill traps. It’s certainly less messy. Please don’t use rodenticides, they kill wildlife. Our raptors and others who rely on rodents to survive suffer tremendously when they’ve been poisoned with anticoagulants, bromethalin, strychnine, or arsenic compounds. I’ve taken care of too many to watch any longer. The pain involved is ridiculously tremendous even for the rodent. There’s no need for that, I don’t care who you are.
Mikel, like I said in my post, “I’d never use rodenticides or sticky traps to kill rats and my goal is to always kill them humanely. Even rats don’t deserve to suffer.”
I won’t have a cat. But if I did, I wouldn’t allow it roam outside.
Aaargh.
Good luck – and I approve of your methods.
Love, love, love that table.
And am drooling at fresh homegrown tomatoes. I do understand why the rats love them.
Thanks, EC. The only good thing I can say about rats is that they have good taste in garden produce.
Somewhere I have a photo of Dad building that table for me. It was a more complex project than one might think.
Rat wars. I have been in an intense rat war for over a year. We have never had so many in the 35 years we have lived in the house. I live by a creek, I have an open church dumpster by my back yard, I have multiple neighbors who compost, I feed wild birds, I have recently switched to mostly suet feeders but rats can climb like squirrels to the feeders. Then there is my giant tall cherry tree. Rats apparently love cherries, the rats will climb the giant tree and eat the cherries as soon as they start to turn orange. Other rats pick the cherries that fall to the grass. If I go out at night and shine a flashlight the ground under the tree and the cherry tree are full of rats. The rats in the trees will free fall from great heights and scurry back to the gully behind my fence. There are days when I have counted 20 coming up over my rock wall in a caravan from the gully where the landscape cloth is.The rats nest under the landscape cloth in the gully. I have one platform feeder with a net to catch what falls, not allowing seed onto the ground. The rats can hear when the big doves or squirrels hit the platform and they stream out from the gully hoping for falling seed. They run in the space between our two fence lines. They burrowed under my neighbors air conditioner pad right by my back door. Someone let a couple of pet rats go and they joined my yard rats, breeding and creating colorful and more adept at climbing rats. These new breeds nest up in trees and bushes! In a years time my tenet claims he has shot 60 with a pellet gun. Rat X worked for a while to keep the numbers down but I have to add a light coat of peanut butter for them to eat it. They got wise and stopped eating it . Rat X is suppose to only work on rats, my orange cat ate a bag (he likes peanut butter) and was fine, he threw up a gelatinous blob, I took him to the vet and was told he should be fine due to the make up of Rat X. My orange cat is a good ratter and gets 4-6 a week, he eats the smaller, minus a few parts, but leaves the large rats at the front door, dead. My strategy for trapping works but only once a month. First I set up boxes, cages, boards to cover the traps and create a one lane maze. I let the maze remain up for a week so the rats are use to them, they seem to like the cover they provide. I have a large variety of traps, tube, vole snap traps, live and old style snap traps, 24 in total. I put all the traps out at once under the maze I created along trails and by dens. I chum all the traps with peanut butter for three consecutive days, but do not set the taps. The traps are in boxes with rat size openings, under boards and covered with old bottomless birdcages, where I also scatter a bit of bird seed too. Forth day I set all the traps. I get a rat in every trap within an hour. I can quickly reset the traps after the first group but only catch about 6-8, a third try for the same day is not successful. I have to wait about a month to do it again. The rats are very smart. I am still seeing about 4 regulars under my feeders and along the fence lines. I might give Rat X another try before my next trap blitz in a few days. My neighbors on each side of me have an exterminator come once a month and fill bait boxes with poison, which I hate, it doesn’t seem to be working anymore though. I used to find poisoned rats in my yard by the bird baths but I have not seen any for a couple of years. Either they are dying somewhere else or the rats stopped taking what ever bait they are using, similar to my experience with Rat X.
Holy moly, April. I guess I shouldn’t complain. Sounds like you have this rat-outfoxing business down to a science. I’m impressed.
I have a neighbor who’s been trying to grow cherry tomatoes on her patio, and the squirrels have wreaked absolute havoc with them. I had to laugh. Some country people I know call squirrels ‘limb rats,’ and it seems they have at least one behavior in common with their cousins.
Shoreacres, surprisingly I haven’t seen any squirrels in my back yard for some time. Not even Bandito.
Holy BLTs*, Batman! As soon as I saw that tomato I imagined the air being blue with certain “vocabulary.” Glad it seems like they’ve taken the hint. Would love to see some more shots of your garden, including some closeups of that rhubarb (my mouth is watering!). Love your table and its very special provenance too.
*Speaking of, have you had a chance to eat any of your own tomatoes in BLT or ‘mater sandwich form?
Marty, your first two sentences were so funny, and accurate, I laughed out loud.
Photos of various parts of my garden are already in the works. They probably won’t include the rhubarb though – by this time of year it’s waaaay past its prime. Ugly even. But it sure looked (and tasted) good until about three weeks ago.
Yes, I’ve had BLT’s made with my tomatoes twice in the last 10 days. Yesterday I bought more bacon for the next ones. I’ve also been eating my tomatoes in salads, on Navajo tacos and regular tacos and directly off the vine while I’m watering the garden. I may turn red soon and it won’t be from embarrassment. Not this time…
“They probably won’t include the rhubarb though…” Then I might need some BLT assembly shots to make up for it. 😉
It’s a hard call, but we’re with you! It’s a shame you can’t feed them to another critter like our friend does in Arizona with pack rats – his property is full of owls, hawks and rattlesnakes. He’s very careful…
I wish I could too, Burrdoo. Disposing of dead rats before they become ‘aromatic’ is another challenge.
I have dealt with them too and find the traditional trap works well. I have also had good luck with the Tomcat plastic trap. They are more expensive and are made of plastic, but they hold up outside much better. I’ve used both simultaneously in different spots, and they both seem to catch rats that may avoid the other kind.
I tried the adhesive strips too, but those were worthless.
On the tomato damage note, a few years ago I had similar damage to some of mine. But it was often higher. I thought it was rats but wondered how they were climbing high (3-4 feet sometimes). I discovered it was scrub jays. I solved that by netting them. Only time I’ve had to do it. Never had the problem before or since.
Kent, I looked for the plastic ones but couldn’t find any.
Interesting about your Scrub Jays. I’ve never had a problem with birds of any kind eating my tomatoes. Not yet anyway.
IFA usually has the plastic traps.
I like that table. You have all the right tools. If they don’t work, get a big cat or a Diamondback Rattler. We have trapped quite a few Pack Rats here over the years and we don’t even have a veggie garden. Even if there are no veggies they will eat various plant leaves and stems etc. My wife and I laugh while setting those big traps. We are both very nervous just thinking about getting a finger caught in one. We are extremely careful setting them.
Glad you like the table, Everett. I love it. And then there’s the sentimental value too.
That rat trap could literally break a finger of an adult human. I’m very careful with it.
I held my breath while reading your list of “means of execution”–
I should have known they all would be conscientious choices. Too
bad you can’t hire a BIG OWL for an evening or so–but then again,
with a rat– I’d hate to chance an owl being injured–good luck !
Thanks, Kris. I also won’t be using slingshot or pellet gun ammo that contains lead.
I support all of your methods and will add one, an electric traps. Mine has 4C batteries or you could go for the big daddy 4D batteries. So far I’ve gotten 3 and accidentally 1 squirrel. It’s another option for you😃
Good luck
Diana, I researched those electric traps and seriously considered getting one. But in the end I didn’t because I didn’t want to kill any squirrels. Besides, the ones I saw said “for indoor use only”, probably to protect electrical components from rain and sprinklers.
Yes, it is for indoors but I was desperate. I would put it out overnight but forgot and got the squirrel. As much as I have a big problem with them also I felt bad.
Don’t feel to bad about it, Diana. It wasn’t your intention and “stuff” happens.
Well Ron, I support both your motives and method’s.
Never had any luck with rodent catching with Havahart traps, though I did have some success with them to relocate a couple racoons.
Have found that taking steps to eliminate known or potential rat residences can help.
We have a lemon tree in the backyard. For a time we noticed that something had been eating the rind, but not the juicy pulp of the lemons. I learned that rats love lemon rind but not the pulp. We have a small playhouse on a raised floor foundation. Installing quarter inch wire mesh between the ground and the raised floor denied access to this probable nesting area. Must have been. No more damaged lemons.
Michael, I’ve had that Havahart trap since the mid-70’s. It’s old and the tripping mechanism doesn’t work perfectly, even with adjustments, so that could be part of the problem. But I don’t think so. I believe they refuse to enter the trap at all. They’re just too damn smart.
I catch rats with mine but then I have a live rat I have to dispose of. Haley use to euthanize them for me but won’t anymore. What would you do with the live rat if you catch one?
April, I thought about shooting it with the pellet gun but that would make a lot of noise that I’d prefer not to make.
So my plan was to fill my wheelbarrow with water and drop the trap in the water, rat and all. I dread doing it but I can think of no better way.
Glad you’re having some success for the moment anyway! 😉 NASTY creatures. 🙁 Yep, hitting your tomatoes is a death sentence! 😉 Don’t want the cops to see you with the pellet gun the way things are going with that these days.
Fortunately, we don’t have to deal with those here – just the occasional packrat and have never seen one in the garden……. Robins are an occasional issue when the strawberries run out.
Judy, don’t worry about the cops. I probably won’t even use the pellet gun but if I do it would only be in my back yard.
A friend of mine just told me about a huge problem she had with Rock Squirrels getting into their greenhouse. I had no idea that Rock Squirrels could be such a pest.
Rats are a problem in that area. I used to live on Bullion across from the police station (used to be fire station) and we were at a party down closer to the river. The host started talking about his rat problem. We had a good laugh and all the men decided to head out to his wood pile to take care of ‘em. We went out the door and it had started to rain. The anti-rat mob immediately dissipated. Didn’t take much to defeat us tough guys.
You’re right, Brad – being close to the river probably doesn’t help. I’m about a quarter mile from the river but apparently that’s close enough.
Yuck! But good for you that you’re killing the nasty creatures. I have another gardening friend who has rats that eat her tomatoes and she’s trying to get rid of them as well. She lives in Cottonwood Heights—-so clearly there are rats everywhere in this valley. Man the barricades, I say! Power to the people (and the tomatoes)! It really hurts my heart to see that mangled, once lovely tomato. I mean, what’s better than a ripe tomato from the garden? (answer: nothing!)
Loved your comment, Sue – all of it.
This spring I didn’t sink over $1000 worth of delivered compost into my garden only to have rats eat my tomatoes.