BC Pack rats any solutions ?

[Gibbs505]

Do these carry the hantavirus? If so be very careful cleaning up. That virus is deadly!

 

[crazy_davey]

The BC pack rat's I'm famniliar with are about 1-3lb's, bushy tail that peels off when you grab it, bad attitude.

We used live traps baited with shiney Christmas tree ornaments and dispatched them with a .22 after they clamp the end of the barrel in there mouth...

Nasty filthy critters... Mothball's work on mice, never stopped our pack rats.

Shiny stuff is key, they love shiny things that they can pack away. They also love nylon and bright colored ropes, I know this very well from when I used to climb a lot.

And correct, mothball's do nothing to deter them and a lot of the poisons they just pack away for later. I know of a few who have eaten the poison only to crap it out and continue on...

 

[crazy_davey]

Here is a bushy tailed woodrat AKA Packrat. This was taken in a cave out by Canmore.



Here is where they roam.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Here is a bushy tailed woodrat AKA Packrat. This was taken in a cave out by Canmore

Messed around in caves full of their ####. Must be a popular hang out .

Grizz

 

[H Wally]

We spent about 3 years rat proofing our buildings. Best thing is coarse steel wool stuffed into every crack, gap, space and nook you can find from the building's foundation to peak. Every bit of steel wool is then filled with hard expanding foam - best is when the foam and wool are thoroughly mixed. Big thing to know is that expanding foam is crazily powerful - a little goes a massively long way... it'll lift or shift a building or wall used in even moderate amounts. We've got log buildings and haven't had a mouse or rat in years.

 

[jaydog]

Apparently this works well:

5 gallon bucket 1/4 full of RV antifreeze (less toxic than auto) with a ramp made of a thin strip of wood and peanut butter bait on a dowel over the brim.
.........

Not apparently, it does!! I can't imagine leaving a cabin for the winter without one of these set up. The antifreeze is a pain with dogs around though as its deadly to them. Coming back to the cabin after a couple months can mean for a nasty job empting the pail.....

 

[crazy_davey]

Not apparently, it does!! I can't imagine leaving a cabin for the winter without one of these set up. The antifreeze is a pain with dogs around though as its deadly to them. Coming back to the cabin after a couple months can mean for a nasty job empting the pail.....

For packrats or mice? I know it works for mice, but have seen less than stellar results for packrats...

 

[roccoskeet]

5 gallon pail trap works great.
Keep liquid deep enough they can't reach bottom to push off to jump up.
Metal pail also may help against sharp claws.
I've used this for years.
Good luck

 

[Canadian_Zuk]

Looks like the peanut butter soon gets knocked off. Maybe pop-rivet a bottle cap to one side to put the peanut butter in and a small metal weight to the opposite side. Would have to be light enough that Country Mouse would still be heavy enough to make the "log" spin though! A layer of some opaque oil on top of the anti-freeze might keep the dead bodies from spooking the little fellas!

I've been using this method for 25 at the camp now. I use 6-10" of antifreeze, and sometimes I have upwards of 30 mice in the bucket.

Peanut butter works, but gets moldy quickly. My "log roll" is now made from a plastic water bottle with bird seed hot glued to it. The bait lasts the entire off season now as it stays put on the roll. I only glue a 2" wide band of seed around the middle, I don't take it right to the edges. The ramp needs to be places 4" from te roller or they will hang onto the ramp wit their back legs and lick the log clean. You need them to jump from the ramp to the bait, and the little bugger will leap for it.

Edit: step it up to a garbage can size trap for those buggers lol

 

[regulate34]

my friends go south for the winter. they use dryer sheets. buy a box or two. scatter them everyware. they have been doing it on the ranch for the last 5 yrs and its working for them

 

[regulate34]

also that can and peanut butter over a bucket works great in the shop. I use plumbing antifreeze in the winter

 

[sherlockbonez]

You need to do some exclusion work be ause you cant kill all of them if they keep coming in from the outside. A tin cat is way smaller in acabin than the bucket contraption. Make sure you have enough traps to knock thr whole population down in one shot.

Rodenticide should be last resort so they dont contaminate your food when you are around the cabin.

 

[jaydog]

For packrats or mice? I know it works for mice, but have seen less than stellar results for packrats...

Bah- mouth in gear before brain in motion....... My experience is with mice. Mice in four provinces to be exact, but not packrats. Do I need to scale up (garbage can?) to accomodate a packrat? How do they not fall victim to this?

 

[captonion]

Fly bait!