Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Speaking of rats

Someone mentioned rats in the 'possum topic.

I took this pic Sunday while out trying to get some bunnies or quail on the last day of the season. Never saw any, but I did find this among quite a few others out there.

For those of you who live back east or, God forbid, in the city and don't know what pack rats are, this is where they live when they're not trying to set up house in your sheds/shops/garages.

Oh, this is not the largest I have ever seen, just a good sized abode. Rem 20ga 870 Express youth model for scale (short buttstock fits me good!)

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Geno

Never seen anything like that but I've seen more Pack Rats than I care to.
Usually in my shed or cutting the tops off of my tomato plants.

So they build those big houses? Looks like a beaver lodge. How many you think are in there?

Nice hunting there FG!

Yeah, they can be quite the pests. I'm not sure about the "flavor" of pack rat we have up there in our area as I don't see any really big nests there either. Down here in NorCal is where I've seen the biggest I think. Lots down in AZ too, but most of them are smaller and made with lots of cactus. Guess they don't need as big a fortress when it's armored with all those spines.

Coyotes and such will try to get into these houses, but it's quite a bit of work for little reward.

These rats were prime prey for spotted owls when I worked for the timber company over on the coast. Our owls were in pretty good shape, the ones in OR and WA tended to rely more on flying squirrels. The rats liked the cuts and second growth better. Perhaps we should have imported the rats to OR and WA?

Geno

PS, what brand of pellet pistol. One of those could be handy around this place down here. Will it work on rabbits too?

I just read that house/nest is called a midden.

Not sure how many in there. From what I've read they have storage rooms built in there. I'd hazard a guess as one "family". The house basically serves as protection from coyotes and such. They are so interwoven and such good size a 'yote, fox, etc would have a hard time getting them out of there.

The area I was in there was another nest under a tree about every 50-100 yards of walking, so there's no shortage of them.

I've actually got one or two nests out near the fence lines of my property. Have only trapped a couple in the woodshed though, but there's evidence of them having nested in there in the past, in the stacked cordwood. I'll not be tearing down those nests as there are vermin in them also, fleas etc and for all I know, Hanta virus. When I retire, I may just have to wait for a nice wet winter day and torch them.

For now, the hooty owls in the neighborhood can get after them! I'm planning on some barn owl boxes too.

Geno

PS, oh, they will find shiny things to bring in there too, the old pop tops were popular with them.

Pretty cool, thanks for posting!

very true terrible infestation of fleas ticks you name it in those nests. one of the only things we could burn anytime we found them when I worked for game and fish

Hunts,
great pics, nice job on the rats!

Guessing the top gun is the Victory you sometimes mention in other threads?

But what it that lower pistol? Short carbon fiber barrel?

Geno

Buckmark Black Label. Finish is carbon fiber dip..... it's steel.

Thank you hunts,

I think it looks pretty fancy.

Hope the little dog (not so little any more) is doing well.

Geno

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I wouldn't exactly call it hunting Geno hunting....I trap em in a small live trap and then shoot em in the noggin .
The gun just makes for a better picture.....grin

It's an old Crossman I've had forever.
I'm not sure about taking rabbits with it. I once shot a Squirrel that was getting into my bird feeders with it. I don't think it even punctured the skin, he jumped up in the air, bitched at me for a bit, and scampered away.

I used to find one drowned in the water trough once in a while when I lived in No. NV.
They looked more like the ones Don posted . Never saw a nest (that I know of) down there either.

I had the dang things around a place we lived on the coast in NorCal. Used to pump up the bb gun 5-6 times and shoot them at the compost pile. Many times seemed to not bother them. Was hoping yours might be a more powerful pistol as easier to deploy than my air rifle.

Not much need now, as I don't see many and have only trapped the one in the woodshed. When I come back from work next fall, the air rifle will be coming with me though!

Should work fine on the bunnies too, should the need arise. Maybe on the EUrasian collared doves too. 4 of them on the seed today I put out for the quail, juncos, and jays.

I may look into a small live trap, as sometimes the darn Victor rat trap misses them. Even with my "adaptation".

Geno

If/when a packrat shows up at my place or in camp, life stops until it is dead. It's totally worth it to skip a day at work if a pack rat dies.

1minute,

For some reason that sounds as if it comes from a man with much experience with the darn things!

Geno

Traps work well

Locals used to tear open the "nests" in the fall to steal the pinon (pine nuts) the rats had gathered.

Speaking of rats. I have had them since fall. They come into the chicken coop and eat the leftover corn. I didn't believe it a thirst so I set up the trail cam. I have never gotten more than one on the cam. There most likely is more though. They stay under my shed. I am sure I got rid of some , I hope anyhow. When I find a fresh hole, I take a 1.25" hose and stick it in the hole a ways and the other end goes to my tractor muffler for 15 min. or so. It snowed last night and saw a trail from the woodshed to the chicken coop. They completely avoid the victor trap. Never got a rat, but got a chipmunk instead. I suppose a small live trap is in order. I tried a 110 conniebear trap with peanut butter but they seem to be much smarter than that. I hate to use poison though.

Seems the rats are gone since winter. I found an easy way to do it. I waited till around the end of February and made sure there was no food or water. In a week there was no sign of them. I dont think they went somewhere else but starved to death in the winter . By then there is little left anywhere to eat in the wild so when all the chicken food went back in the garbage can they starved , , I think.