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redneckpaul
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# Posted: 8 Sep 2020 09:48pm
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Thought a rabbit was under the cabin so I set a trap and caught this...a rat
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spoofer
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2020 06:31am
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Rats don't look like that in ny lol
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countrygirl
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2020 12:06pm
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interesting, never see a rat with fur on the tail.
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ratfink56
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2020 01:45pm
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_rat
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hattie
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:20pm
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Oh no....a pack rat. I have far too much experience with these critters at a heritage cabin our Society is preserving. They are nasty, disease-ridden, and stink!
You are very lucky to have caught it in a trap. They are very cautious about things like that. They also won't take poison. We use an air gun to shoot the ones in the cellar of the old cabin we are looking after. My air gun has a laser on it because the cellar is too close quarters to use a scope.
To mark their territory, they will urinate on everything they walk across and it stinks really bad. They will steal things. If you have keys or anything shiny missing you can bet the pack rat took it. They keep stashes of their "treasures". The one in the loft in the cabin this spring included a domino, a nail, an egg shell and a very soft nest made out of an entire roll of toilet paper.
They have very cute faces but don't let that fool you. I got very sick twice last year after going into the cellar with only a surgical mask. I now wear an N-95 mask and try not to disturb things down there. If they are in a dark place and you shine a light on them, they won't run away - they will just stare at you so that makes it easier to shoot them. I would lay money that isn't the only pack rat you have.
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redneckpaul
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2020 11:02pm
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I wasn`t sure what it was when I first caught it. Of course they are alive when you catch them in a leg hold trap and had to thump it when I pulled him out of the hole.
Me Wife and I are looking at it WTF is that...gopher?
We finally realized that its a rat. Seen lot of critters but never a rat in MT. First time for everything. Set more traps but never caught anything. Hopefully its the last raat I ever see!
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2020 09:07am
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There is NEVER just One Rat ! That is universal my friend. There are several varieties too, some being worse than others.
None of them have bladder control, they urinate as they travel and that leaves them "known" trails they follow, this is usually quite noticeable as you'll see the darkened trails and the smell is a give away. Trapping them conventionally is almost impossible, they are very smart and will not approach anything with human smell. Seting up specific "Bait Stations" which they acclimate to with "regular feed" and the n switching that to poisoned bait once hey start using it, is one of teh few working methods (although many don't like it).
WARNING, Baiting Rats with poison is used a lot BUT there are hazards in doing so. There is a risk to any predator / scavenger (think, eagles, hawks vultures) consuming a poisoned rat. Many of the poisons have to be handled with care as well and safety for kids, pets etc must be considered.
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95XL883
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2020 10:14am
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I am with Steve. There is never just one rat. They are a big problem on my 40 and the surrounding areas. They will take poison bait but they are so prolific that it is almost a losing battle. And with any poison there is a concern of what else it affects. You should consider bucket traps. (A 5 gallon bucket with some water in the bottom and a rod with a bottle that spins easily at the top of the bucket. Put a little peanut butter on the bottle and a 2x4 as a ramp to the top of the bucket. Make it so the rat has to jump from the ramp to the bottle. The rat falls into the water and drowns.).
I wound up buying a shipping container for my tractor. So far, (three years) they haven't found a way in.
If they are under your house, I would strongly consider enclosing it with hardware cloth. You may have to cover the area under your cabin with it as well as they are prolific diggers. A good cat or a rat terrier would be helpful but that is another animal to care for. I would try to keep the area under the cabin completely clear. The rats do not like being in the open and mow the grass around the cabin. They don't like short grass. Keep any wood stacks and stumps away from the cabin. Any vehicle or equipment parked for more than a day or two is susceptible to being a home for them.
Good luck.
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Nate R
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2020 10:51am
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Agreed, where there's one, there's more.
Learned this recently: A note about the poison. Rats (and gerbils, hamsters, and mice) cannot vomit. Unlike my dogs. It turns out that corn gluten and salt can kill rats and mice by stopping up their digestive system and causing dehydration. The rats become comatose and die in their burrows. Although poisonous to rats, corn gluten won’t hurt other wildlife – and other wildlife can eat any dead rats and not be poisoned themselves.
From a trusted source: https://www.deer.psu.edu/a-man-a-plan-a-rat/
So may be worth looking into that poison option.
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SCSJeff
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2020 04:47pm
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well, from the picture it appears to be a "bushy-tailed woodrat". Good news for you is that according to wikipedia, they are usually solitary animals
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2020 05:58pm - Edited by: hattie
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I've never had luck using a bucket trap with rats (mice yes, rats no). They are just too darn smart.
I did try using cold, old wood ashes and, surprisingly, they don't seem to like walking through it. I put ashes under a deck on the old cabin and around the sides of it. When we went to the cabin yesterday I did not smell the rats (their urine has a very distinct smell). While I didn't go into the cellar, I felt pretty confident the wood ashes are keeping them away. You may want to try it.
If you are googling and find the suggestion about putting out dried potato flakes and water, don't bother. The theory is that the rats love potatoes so will gorge themselves on the potato flakes, drink lots of water and explode. The rats we have did enjoy the potato flakes and the water but none of them exploded. 
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2020 06:30pm
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One thing that works as well, for all rodents, including chipmunks & squirrels. I thought it was nuts till I tried it.
Take Garlic & really hot Peppers blend it with water in a blender, strain out the chunkies and spray it on where they enter / exit or where they re chewing to make holes... Watch & Laugh as they take one bite and RUN and they won't go near it when it's really fresh.
Bucket traps with chunky peanut butter get's the mice but not chippies, squirrels or rats.
Living within a huge forest - combat with critters on a regular basis. Of course I had to side the house with Live Edge Cedar which seem to provide entertainment for chippies etc. Dag Nabbit !
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redneckpaul
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2020 08:11pm
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5 years at the property and this is the first rat I`ve seen. I don`t think I have a big problem but I will take everyones advice and keep on the lookout. Traps, poison whatever it takes I`ll stay on top of it.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 12 Sep 2020 08:01am
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I have family in the AZ desert..you cant put anything chewable down for even a week before the rats move in. They actually had to make a coral to keep the rats out and park there vehicles in. I believe those are pack rats. They will screw the tires right off your car so everything has to be in the coral or the shipping container they own.
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95XL883
Member
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# Posted: 12 Sep 2020 05:53pm
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Nate,
Thanks for the info on the corn gluten alternative as a rat/mouse poison. I will look into it shortly. It would be really nice to not have to worry about my dog getting into it.
Hattie,
Interesting on the wood ashes. I'm not sure how I can use it but I will be looking for an opportunity to try.
Steve,
Interesting on the pepper spray. Might be fun/satisfying to watch them run but I really want them gone permanently.
Brett,
I can attest to their chewing proclivity. Supposedly their teeth are always growing so chewing is a necessity for them. While they didn't chew on the tires or the metal of my tractor, everything else was fair game. They like plastic (think overflow tanks and shift/lever knobs and handles), fuel lines and electrical lines. They literally ate almost an entire pto knob. One thing they don't like is liquid electrical tape. I used a bunch of it and they didn't touch any of those repairs. To replace all the damaged parts will set me back $3,500. I spent $3,000 on a shipping container and another $20 on liquid electrical tape. Got the tractor running and now it is the container unless it is being used.
Paul, good luck with them. They are pests for sure.
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