I have ebbs and flows to barn rat infestations.

Can't use poison at my place....

What's the go-to solution for barn rats. I catch one and that spot goes dead. They are not as easy and predictable as mice.

I have bait stations I can use without poison but with the fancy black plastic rat traps that fit in them.... I have wooden rats traps for conventional use....plus a million other types of traps.

Do barn rats hug walls like mice do? I often blind set mice but haven't had as much success with barn rats. Their sign is everywhere but they seem spread out and not concentrated.

Are barn rats really tougher that coyotes for me to catch???? LOL

MZ

I have caught Norway rats in every type of trap you mentioned, including Conibears. ( Which, by the way, were very successful ) If you will come to Wisconsin and catch coyotes for me, I will go to New York and catch at least one Norway for every coyote.

thanks!

Mark,
Adult Norway rats will often exhibit neophobic behavior towards new items or new 'foods' that appear suddenly in their environment, and will even avoid existing items that have been moved or displaced. In my opinion, the act of you capturing a rat at a given location should not cause others to avoid that area for that reason.
I commonly experience cannibalism of captured rats and will reset the same locations, and catch others, but those 'cannibals' could be stressed by limited food resources, high population / competition, etc. at those specific sites. Rats also require water daily - might be a location tip for you - or you could start watering them. Yes they will travel some of the same pathways / edges regularly. If you are blind setting consider smaller footholds vs. traditional rat traps - don't need to be bedded, covered or blended like a coyote set of course, but don't make it a barrier that is easier to go around rather than over, especially with their neophobic tendencies. Could also consider fencing them towards the trap / edge with some wing boards if plausible. I love the 2 1/2" round body-grips for burrow entrances, if you have any of those. Rats 'imprint' on available food sources from the time they are nursing, and from other rats droppings, so if you know what they are feeding on, you might avert some of that neophobic behavior with the right bait. Other than that, due to the periodic nature of your infestations, I would suggest installing your bait ( snap-trap ) boxes in your preferred locations and leaving them there permanently if possible - nail them down, then set up as needed. As far as baits, I use them all, peanut butter, commercial baits, and so on, but my change up baits are Slim-Jim sticks and Jameson's Fireball paste bait - designed for coons I believe, but a truly outstanding rodent bait I have found. I'm no rat expert, but do have to deal with them frequently for my clients. Just my opinion & limited personal experience FWIW.

Good luck & best regards,

Mike Tucker

Edited : And yes, that last one really can be more difficult than a coyote….seriously…. :-)

Good Post Mike!

Another aspect I've heard folks offer up believe it was at a WCT a couple years ago, was the idea of baiting all the traps but leaving them unset. Check them to see if the bait is gone, if all the bait is gone, add more traps and more bait, until you see that you have enough there to get a big catch the first time setting. I think this was mentioned for mice in fact maybe Rex Marsh? But makes sense for rats as well I would think.

Is this a place you can use a pellet rifle and spotlight on as well? Could complement your action in this manner along with the other suggestions above from folks...

Is it a farm MZ? I've worked on a group of dairies in one of my old jobs and there are just so many places they can get feed makes it tough, plus lots of shelter/harborage....

Justin

Very helpful! Thanks!

No, not a farm...just a barn in the country with lots of dog food, bird seed, grass seed, beaver/coyote/raccoon flesh, coyote legs, fox feet, etc.

The Golden Coral of the Rat World!

Thanks!

Zagman

Zags I usually trap a few big silos/grainerys each year. I teat it like coyote trapping and have been fairly successful. I use the Havahart chipmunk size cages baited up with birdseed....I like to set heavy. After making a catch the droppings and stink usually brings more in. Re-set and catch more...I can't believe the tenacity of these critters They are the coyotes of the rat world!

RBG traps out of Indiana... good man makes them.

Where do you buy 2 1/2" round body grips?

Wildlife Control Supplies carries the RBG traps. ( Click on the banner at the top of this page )

I buy all the old wire Catch Alls I can find. I even make my own versions just for rats.
I like a multi catch trap as the first one seems to draw the rest in.
In my opinion for what its worth there is nothing harder to catch than a barn rat that has been nipped and got away.

Polydactyl Cat

I use many box traps any size. I blind set along walls, fences, buildings any straight edge. No bait just lots of traps. You will catch em

We use small cage traps made for chipmunks, rats and small squirrels. 3x3x18 I believe are the size dimensions.They are sold by WCS in Ct. We set dozens of them on some jobs. By the time we get a call for a rat problem whether commercial or residential most have used the most obvious and normally available methods already. Therefore you need to move on to other open and more acceptable devices from the get go.

Like forgetting the dirt holes and going to scent posts and flat sets when hole sets loose their effectiveness.

I believe Lundy is making the same small cage trap now that we have used for many years. Rats can be challenging no doubt particularly when they have already been some what educated to several new presentations.

Well said Bob.

Rats seem to like open ends just running through. The 3x3 is small enough that you can carry a bunch. I just happen to have many 6x6 and even 8x8 I just set light triggers and they catch em too. I have only caught one double though