Ever tried the rat zapper?

My problem was that they got out of the trap. Big, strong critters.
Cayenne didn't work very well for squirrels at our feeder, but the rats do a lot more sniffing. We just put a few big nuts in the feeder and that keeps the squirrels busy and away from the feeder most of the time. They will waste a couple of hours on a very large walnut.

Well, unfortunately, I took down all the feeders when I started entertaining rats.

ceejay, every time i leave the house there are egrets in the ditch. cutting the grass in the pasture is the best way to draw them in. they are every where. herons are seen fairly often. they are all beautiful creatures. we have several rookeries (i think that's what they are called) all within 10 miles of one another. we live right between avery and jefferson islands. lake martin i have heard draws people from all over the world to bird watch. but this past year there has been a huge drop in the number of birds there and they can't figure out why. kind of scary.

rookery - that's the word I couldn't think of! LOL
I wonder if Rita had anything to do with the populaiton drop. Katrina was too far east, I think...

NY2CA you need a fleet of ratzappers in your kitchen! Not that the darn things work.

Day 8- The Rat Zapper sits in zapless form not having electrified anything but my ire. Made in China, indeed. I'm beginning to have doubts....Tonight we will use Bluelytes' Peanut Butter idea as bait and move it to the floor of the garage.

NY2CA, if I put the Zapper on ebay will you buy it from me? LOL! Sorry to hear about your broken leg- a cast in summer is never fun. A cast is never fun- year round!

LOL. Well maybe if you take paypal! :-)

Cast has been SOOOOOOO un-fun - and the last two days really annoyingly hot.....I was able to soak the rest of me in cool bath, but not that dang right leg! And you know, what is with homes near SF bay not having any air conditioning? I remember the realtor well....she said, "it really doesn't get hot enough around here for an air conditioner"....oh suuuurrree......It got 95 INSIDE yesterday!!

Thank you for letting me get that out of my system....I'm all better now. And cast comes off Tuesday!!! (And will probably put an end to my e-bay addiction, so you'd better get that zapper up there fast!! :-))

Did you just move out here? This heat we're having now is really unusual, normally if you live in Oakland you only wish you had AC 2-3 days a year and it's usually in September when the fog's starting to die down. If it makes you feel better, it's 112 over here just a few miles from you! And some people over here don't have AC either, although personally I wouldn't do without it because we do get enough 90+ days here that I think it's a good (and necessary!) investment.

I've been here less than a year. And this is the first heat like this. So I've gotten drenched in rain and now toasting :-)) No, really the weather is normally wonderful - and I know being on this side of the hills is a bit cooler! Couldn't survive there without A/C!

This message was edited Jul 24, 2006 9:17 AM

Did I mention the superior Chinese technology of the Rat Zapper?

WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL the 8th night in service and we zapped our first vermin- a smaller rat. The zapper was moved to the edge of the garage floor where we've seen them travel on occasion vs the attic. Still used the dog food kibble as bait, no peanut butter yet.

My faith is restored.
NY2CA congrats on getting that cast off soon. Ecrane- 112 is just unimaginable. Hope you cool off soon.

I am glad to hear that your Zapper worked. I have one - fairly recent purchase - and I've not gotten anything in mine yet, so I've been monitoring yours, so to speak.

My rats are outside, so I put mine in a plastic bag secured with a rubber band as per directions for outside use. I didn't get anything the 1st few nights. Then we had a monsoon. When I got home the thing was sitting (on patio) in a 1/2" stream of water that was rushing over the patio. The light was on - but, sadly no one was home.

After that I moved it up onto my patio bench to keep it drier. About that time the raccoon family located it, chewed holes in the plastic bag, emptied out the dog food, tossed the Zapper around on the patio a bit - I think they were playing football with it, stomped on it (apparently). So now the light does not come on when I turn it on. : ( Will have to check to see if the batteries are dead, but as they were only used for a few days, they shouldn't be...

Oh scutler - your famous raccoons! (I've been following your other thread).....did you forget to throw them their bag of food that day! :-)

NY2CA, "Famous" raccoons? lol

Yes, that was the evening when I was running very late and, hearing something at the back door, turned to see 2 of the kids peering in the lower pains of the french doors. ; )

They are so cute. It's hard to get angry with them even when they ransack the patio or make the bird feeder into a jungle gym. I just figure "Mom" has to teach them to do these things - else they wouldn't be raccoons.

But I'm afraid they may have damaged my Zapper. I was waiting to see your results before I order another. Not sure how I'll raccoon-proof it. Maybe I'll try mine in the garage, too.

SCUTLER,
Maybe YOU could try POOCHELLA's peanut butter bait thing, and report back??

Ummmm, not to be picky, but if you put it in a plastic bag secured with a rubber band, how does the rat get IN?? lol

Scutler - I have missed you! Do you have another running saga? If so, what is the forum?

Oh! You mean the rat has to get INSIDE the Zapper?! Well, no wonder it didn't work. FOTFLOL!!!

J-u-s-t k-i-dding, skidivur. You put the Zapper in a gallon size freezer bag such that the bottom (closed end) of the bag is over the back (closed end) of the Zapper and the top (open end) of the bag is secured around the front (open end) of the Zapper with a rubber band. The rubber band goes around both the bag and the Zapper to secure the bag to the sides (neck) of the Zapper so that the bag fits around the Zapper much like a sock. Neither the bag nor the Zapper is closed. This setup doesn't make the Zapper water-tight; hence the apparent short circuit during the heavy rainfall and temporary light flooding. It's just meant to cover the battery compartment (which is on the top) and act as an umbrella to shed rain that would otherwise pour into the circuitry.

I had been thinking of trying the peanut butter, but didn't get around to it before the chain of events described above brought my poor Zapper to its current state lifelessness. (But I do have to go and try a new set of batteries just in case. I mean maybe it's not really dead just in a coma.)

Hi, CJ. Thank you SO VERY MUCH. I really appreciate that. No, I don't have anything active going on right now. In early June my Grandmother died, and I sort of dropped out of "sight" for a while - needed some time to deal with things and such. I considered adding something to the threads I had going at the time to let people know why I dissapeared but decided against it because they were all such light-hearted, peaceful, happy threads and I didn't want to bring everyone else down and/or end them on a sad note. Anyhow, I'm feeling much better now and have begun to think about starting another thread(s). Seems like I run most of my "sagas" in Wildlife and Garden Foes - since my ongoing relationship with the creatures in my garden often teeter-totters on that fence between the 2: friend and foe (but mostly the former).

Thanks again for asking.: )
When I get one going again, if I don't see you there, I'll give you a 'holler. Ok?

Please do. I just found the raccoon thread with the happy ending. Well, who knows when it will end, eh?
CJ

I've missed you very much scutler. So sorry to hear the reason why you were gone for so long.

SCUTLER,
Double Dittos to what EQUILIBRIUM said :)

BIG THANKS, you guys! Really, I am doing well now. Thanks for caring.

BTW, I checked my Zapper. Turns out, the raccoons had knocked the batteries loose when they were tossing it around the patio to see if they could make anymore food drop out of it. Aren't they cute?! So, when I popped the batteries back into place, poof, it works fine again. I thought it should have been tougher than that but wasn't sure if the mini-flood had done it in. I put it in the garage for now - even though I've never actually seen any sign of rats in there. I figure I'll try it in there for a while, at least until I can think of a way to raccoon-proof it. As if THAT's possible.

No, I didn't go the extra effort to get out the peanut butter jar - yet. Hey it took me a week to check the batteries. I never like to do everything right away, like to save something for tomorrow. lol

Hi all - I'm here to spout praise for my rat zapper and can't find a place to do it in Garden Watchdog.. A few weeks ago I posted for help with a rat in another forum and Scutler referred me to the zapper. I bought one on ebay for $50 with shipping, but all was quiet under the house. Scutler warned me not to be fooled and a few days ago, the noises started again. I put it in the bathroom with dog food for a couple of nights until the food was gone, then charged it up with more food last night. Rat in the morning - a big one. Dumped it in the trash and reset it. Left for a few hours - came back and there was another one - even BIGGER! I swear this thing weighs five pounds!

I am glad I spent the $50 for that thing - and that I don't have to touch the dead rats or look at blood or hear them scream or traps snapping....wish they'd just accept the eviction notice and head out on their own.

I think an important aspect to placement is that it isn't out in the open where the rat has to run across a place to get to it - better along a wall or some big object.

Amazing that thing was so close to where I sleep-the bathroom is next to the bedroom-I've never seen any droppings in the house, only hear them below and in the wall.

Way to go Laura!

I think placing it anywhere in the vicinity of where you have seen or heard them might be a good idea too. Around here, they were pretty bold. They used to run right in front of you to get to animal feeds. We check the batteries regularly and keep these up and running. They earn their keep. Very few sightings in the past few years and the zappers aren't filled every day any longer.

Beats the heck out of jaw traps and poison. I find both to be cruel and inhumane and totally non-discriminatory.

What kind of rat is it, Lauren?

Rattus norvegicus which is highly invasive just like an English House Sparrow and the European Starling.

not a wood rat? or is it the same? I'm rat-ignorant, but the ones you say are ship jumpers - are wood rats native?

The Wood Rat is indigenous out west. It's a cute little thing. You can look it up under this name- Neotoma cinerea. They're also called Pack Rats. They have large cute ears and hair on their tails that can be bushy. Color seems real close to what you photographed but I would have thought that even upside down in your photo that the ears would have shown. I don't see any nice big ears poking out from either side of his head.

The rat in your garbage can has no hair on its tail that I can see and I did enlarge the photo and the color of the underside is consistant with what I've seen before associated with Norway rats but there is variability in color. Looks to me as if this is what you have but he is sort of belly up-
http://www.ndi4all.org/grade45/Norway-BrownRat-c.html
http://www.wildaboutnz.co.nz/assets/_sitephotos/NorwayRat.jpg
middle image here- http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_facts/Rats.htm

Here's the darker grayish brown Norway Rat version out my way-
http://nematode.unl.edu/norwayrat.htm

There's another one in the trap already. Radar, my cat is sitting behind it and the red light is blinking. I was no more than 15 feet away at any time in these last 4 hours and didn't hear a thing.

Pack rat is the same as a pica, yes? I had one in the house in CO. Saw it at night, running in the rafters when I'd be reading by candlelight (no grid-power). It sure made a mess for as cute as it was and very smart so that we couldn't live trap it. It didn't multiply, fortunately. When we first moved in, we had so many mice in the two rooms that had ceilings they could easily make enough running noises to keep you awake - and make you worry they'd fall through the accousitic ceiling tiles!

No, Pack Rat is another common name for Neotoma cinerea. I don't know what a Pica Rat is. I also don't know what a Ship Jumper Rat is but I got to thinking about that one and I'm thinking you meant Ship Rat. The Ship Rat is also called a Roof Rat. That's Rattus rattus if you want to look it up. They're much darker in color than the Norway Rat and they're out your way too. Both are introduced species. The Roof Rat also has no hair on its tail. My girlfriend is inundated with them in CA. She bought a new house out there and they're everywhere. Guess what I bought her for a housewarming present??? She's as thrilled with her new RatZapper as you are with yours. I wrapped it up real purty and sent her extra batteries. One difference though, Lisa is burying any Roof Rat she zaps out back. She says she doesn't want them in her garbage. We just toss them out into the fields around here for the scavengers. A few years ago we used to get visits from Turkey Vultures. They ate them. Opossums eat them and quite a few other critters eat them. If you have a raptor rehab center anywhere near you maybe you could put them in ziplock baggies and toss them in your freezer. When you have enough, toss them all in a cooler and drop them off. Those places would be grateful and they can always use them particularly since they haven't been poisoned. You might want to rethink throwing them out in the garbage. There is a clean up crew out there that might benefit from them. Just a thought.

I had been wondering about the garbage. I could toss them over the fence for other critters. I don't want to handle or look at them at all. They are in the garbage because I was actually surprised at getting one rat, and certainly not three. Didn't think this all the way through. I'm pretty sure I'm not taking those out of the garbage can, but any others I'll fling into the woods. NO WAY are they going in my freezer. There's a line there...

I didn't mean any kind of rat other than one that had stowed away aboard ships to get here-I know very little about rats. I did actually look at the first one and think it would be good food for someone.

I'm glad you pointed out another perspective, however.

Take a wad of paper towels and grab it by the tail and fling it. They sail through the air pretty good. You'll never have to touch it at all.

Once the scavengers have at them, field mice will go at the bones. The field mice need to gnaw or else they die. Keeps their teeth in check. Their teeth grow continuously and they must file them down. There will be nothing left within a very short time. Returned to dust so to speak. At Thanksgiving, the kids fight over who gets to pitch the big turkey out into the woods. Actually, we toss out all bones. The little critters of the woodland and wetlands don't let anything go to waste and it reduces what ends up in landfills.

Can I use this for mice also? The mice always come in as soon as the weather turns cold. I've been using snap traps but would gladly switch to a more humane trap.

You're probably going to laugh but HavAHeart makes a live trap for mice. That's what we use and just toss them back outside since they're part of the natural food chain. Owls and other critters eat mice.

The same manufacturer also makes one of these for mice. I've seen them at hardware stores.

Hi Equil,
I have tried the havahart with poor results. I am probably the only person in my neighborhood who did a daily morning mouse drive and release to the open space areas.

The problem for me with mice in the house is that they carry fleas so right about this time every year I have to start treating all of my indoor only cats for fleas. The mice start making their way into the house in October. Go online because there is definitely a zapper for mice. You just bait it a little differently than you would for a rat. Peanut butter should work.

Well, number four was dispatched before I went to bed last night, and number five was waiting for me - HUGE - biggest so far - this morning. How can they be living under my house and not be heard?

I'll let the woods critters eat them, but I don't want my dogs to get them. Rat and dog hair (a huge amount, good fertilizer) is about all that's in that can now, so I can just dump it. At this point, even the paper towel is too close, but at this rate, I'll likely get over that.

In this place, I've never had mice come in (not too loud), but I see them outside under woodpiles and such all the time. I don't go out of my way to kill them, but also not to save them. I'll give Humboldt State a jingle and see if they want them, as I'm pretty sure they have raptors in their wildlife program. I know they have coyotes. However, I can't get into the idea of freezing them. Don't have room, anyway.

Hello all! I just stumbled on this thread, after posting a plea for help/ideas recently for the same problem. After reading all the experiences...I am ordering one NOW! Our small community has become infested in recent months, and nothing seems to work. We have run the gamut of traps, electronic plugs, poisons,home remedies, ultra-sonic devices and on and on.

Even though I can not stomach the idea of deposing of a dead body..ugh! I have to do something..the idea of one getting in the house is scaring me to death.

I just wanted to thank everyone for sharing info....Since joining DG
in the past few months...I have not ceased to be amazed at the wealth of knowledge shared here. Thank you for being there!

This is the vendor I got mine from.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300171463549&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_IT&refitem=300157886852&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&usedrule2=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget