I’d recommend capsaicin pellets. Either from an airgun or slingshot. Basically anything you can to piss them off enough to not want to live there. If you don’t mind corpses, steel shot works a treat.
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if you cant have cats, try getting the used litterbox dumps from friends with cats and then pour that shit anywhere you see the rats. the smell of a predator may push them away. works for chimunks
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I live just outside a large metroplex on 2 acres. The suburbs. Still kind of country but turning more and more city. Not enough space to “farm”. I don’t have a big green tractor. . Two big dogs is enough dogs. Can’t trade them in for Jack Russell like they’re Ford trucks for Chevy trucks. I have many guns, rifles, pocket pistols . 7mm.,.22 Cal. 12 g…25 Cal .40 Cal… having guns is not the problem. Being a responsible gun owner, property owner and respecting the neighbors safety and local laws are more important.
The spring cleaning is overdue. The organic thing isn’t a must. It was a good thought. Rid the rats with no corpses rotting away in hidden places[quote=“Lobstah, post:17, topic:51720”]
If you want to stay organic, peppermint oil is your friend. They say to mix is with water and spray it…fuck that.
Go full strength
[/quote]
Thank you @Lobstah that’s the answers I’m looking for. I knew there will be a hand full of sprays or tonics or plants I can put out that will work all day and night without me having to put together a possy and rounding up the dogs, local sherrif ,game wardens to HUNT a rascly varment.
One nieghbor said something about some kind of citrus oil and when I was googling it I came across og.com…
Something the smell or taste that will send them running away to die in somebody else’s place.
Traps will be the second choice, lethal of course. Don’t need any extra pets. Too busy to feed the owls, they must have another good food source here apparently. .
I do not want to deal with live or dead rats.so organic deterrents to keep them off of my place would be the smartest thing.
If I was a little more redneck and drank buckets of beer, I could see rounding up a possey and hunting my 2 acres. Lol
No posions period. Dead rats in places I can’t find , only smell. No thank you.
Dead rats from posions my dogs chewing on. No thank you
Maybe you can see where I’m coming from.
Before they start tunneling under my underground crop.
So do they harm the weed plant? If so, it’s worse than I thought
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There’s a YouTuber that’s like obsessed with rats rat traps old ones new ones obscure ones homemade ones he has like1,000 ways catch rats wish I could remember the name if you don’t want to kill him there’s a bunch of different live traps but with the chickens you won’t ever really be shot of them good luck edit you are right about the poison I don’t know why but dogs seem to love that decon
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Is this the guy you’re talking about? He’s reviewed some neat and bizarre traps over the years.
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No way you can put down enough essential oils in 2 acres consistently and thoroughly enough to actually deter a rat infestation. We’d be talking like a 55 gallon drum of peppermint oil lol. It might help but if they want in they’ll get in. Sounds like traps everywhere are your best bet. The ultrasonic pest repellers are hogwash. I understand the concern about dogs chewing on the poisoned corpses.
They do make dog-safe baits (corn gluten based, blocks their intestines and they dehydrate to death, brand name RatX) but results are mixed/poor. Might be worth a shot, have no experience with those particular types of bait.
They’re smart creatures and they learn relatively quickly, you’ll probably want several types of traps lest they get wise to a particular one.
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Yeah it sure is don’t know how it helps but he’s got a lot of cool videos maybe you can get an idea on there
They will tunnel through the root system. I had plants in grow bags last summer out on my deck. They’d go up the side, tunnel down inside, then chew their way out of the bag near the bottom. Ruined bags, set plants back by forcing another potting session.
And I don’t know if this is actual cause/effect, BUT…I have a bed in front of the house with 3 espaliered apple trees in it. Last summer I noticed tunnels at the base of #3. This spring, the other two trees are in full blossom, covered with leaves and flowers, but #3 has almost no leaves and the buds are way behind 1 and 2.
I’m blaming rats.
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I haven’t used the oil, was recommended by an old farmer nearby to keep them out of the house/barn. Not to cover 2acres 
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how about trying to hide the poison so that the animals don’t get to it
Because the rats might die somewhere accessible to the dogs. Rat poison works byblocking their bloods ability to clot, basically they internally hemorrhage and bleed out. If a dog eats a poisoned one, same thing would happen. Interesting enough, its used in small doses as a blood thinner for heart patients.
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I understand exactly where you’re coming from. It’s what drove me to eventually sit on my front porch for an hour before the rascally little chipmunk was dispatched with a .177 cal air gun. Every animal has a right to live. I tried to preserve that, but at some point vermin start to cause property damage. Deterrents don’t keep vermin away nearly as well as a predator. My cats are indoor cats, so it was up to me.
Capsaicin is a 100% natural deterrent that seems to work on nearly every animal (except maybe humans). Put it on what you want left alone, or plant peppers in your garden beds, around the chickens maybe? They dogs will leave it well alone, but aren’t in any danger if they don’t.
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Certainly, the area must be inspected before the dogs come out. Rats bring poison to their nest as supplies. this is the fastest way to eliminate their overgrowth. And, of course, it will help take away all possible sources of food for rats.
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Depending on the size of the dog and how many rats they’d have to eat to ingest a significant dose…that I couldn’t say. A 2-8 oz rat that ate a couple granules vs a 50lb dog…but yeah bait stations are made to be tamper-proof to dogs and cats. It would be easy to keep my dog from eating a poisoned rat, he’s a lazy homebody who’d rather be on the couch sleeping than gallivanting outside all day, but a busy curious unleashed farm dog is different than my couch potato.
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I had a groundhog under my flashing around my home for over a year, it ignored cayenne powder, black pepper, an itch powder I tried, broken glass buried into the spot it was coming in and out at, used cat litter… Its finally gone but I dont know why. It ignored everything I did though.
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Like I said, no posions. Because
Rats crawling into a hiding spot that I can’t get to without tearing down an out building to get to. So a Dead poisoned rat that I can’t find or get to ,----- but will have the Pleasure of smelling for a week or two or dieing and my dog wants to chew on it making him sick from poisons, no thank you.
Its like you people telling me to put out poisons are just cruel and sick. Do y’all hate dogs? ???
Where do you get, at a feed store?
I’m going to give it a try .
Thank you for the info.
I don’t think I’ll have to soak my property. I’m thinking just around my house and outbuildings and garden… . Thats where they want to be. Not out in the yard where the Pitbull eat cats and squirrels and birds and anything else that they can catch and kill.
Yes they gave killed a couple of rats but no they aren’t cats or Jack Russel’s, I don’t see them hunting rats.
Thank you @ChemicalDependant im going to Google now.
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You have some Cayenne pepper? Or basically whatever the spiciest spice you have in the house. Dust with that around potential entry-exit points.
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You can google non-toxic rat bait. Usually made with plaster of paris and baking soda, I think. Mix in some peanut butter for bait.
Lots of recipes on Youtube for it.
Won’t harm pets, but not so good for rats…so they claim.
Lob
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It’s found in all peppers, so just find some ground pepper, the spicier the better. Cheyenne is usually pretty available.
It’s also in pepper spray and you probably can spray it just the same as a water/pepper mix.
I currently have a woodchuck with babies under the porch, and I think Cheyenne pepper and water sprayed on one side of their nest. But I’ve been forbidden to until the babies grow up a bit, of course.
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