Summertime trapping :)

kansasdad · Jul 27, 2014

About a month ago my wife told me that she saw a furry creature with a long tail disappear under the side porch. An internet search revealed that we were most likely dealing with an Eastern Woodrat. As we have a GSP, English Pointer and a Jack Russell ( or whatever they are called now) I was certain that this rodents' days were numbered. I saw little pieces of rodent tail disappearing into the woodpile next to the garden several times over the next weeks, but all was cool ......until I saw the damage being inflicted to the ripening tomatoes, and the cucumbers. This meant war!!

As we have roaming cats in the neighborhood, rat traps were not a good choice. A little internet search found that Tractor Supply had a two-fer sale for the easy to handle cost of $25. One raccoon size and one smaller size trap found its way to the homestead. Baited with birdseed I could not prevent myself from peeking into the side yard several times before the magical sunset hour arrived. Success!!! One tomatoe nibbling cucumber crushing Eastern Woodrat had met his/her match.

kansasdad · Jul 27, 2014

Now that I had him, I was going to have to "deal" with the rodent. We live just outside the city limits, but it is a suburban setting. Discharging a firearm in city limits ticketing doesn't sound like a bucket list item, although I was "safe" on that account due to us being outside the city line, but my Ruger 22 vs Woodrat seemed to be quite a messy, and possibly a dangerous proposition.

My across the street neighbor has been in a deadly battle of wits with neighborhood squirrels for as long as we have lived in the neighborhood. I have watched his handiwork with a pellet gun take out several fox squirrels with single shot effectiveness. I walked across the street just as he was finishing off his early evening cool one, and I told him of my conquest and made my request to borrow his pellet gun. Searching his garage, it became apparent that the pellet gun was not in its appointed place. "Hold on", says friendly Charles, "I've got just what you need". He comes back with a small container of very unusual 22 ammo. The projectile is the size of a BB and the cartridge is dwarfed in size by a 22LR. He told me that the noise produced by this mini 22 is minimal, and should be exactly what I needed to humanely dispatch the garden pilferer.

He was correct on both accounts as the noise on discharge is about equivalent to a sharp hammer blow to a nail. The Rat was dispatched instantaneously and there was little ricochet/back spray. Three more rats have fallen to my mighty trapping skills. This is fun protecting my garden.

I discovered that the Ruger does not extract the empty, and due to its very short size, the tweezers are necessary to place the round into the chamber.

sbhooper · Jul 27, 2014

Those wood rats get huge. I have them in my wood pile all the time, if I forget to keep the poison out.

dmandoes · Jul 27, 2014

its a good thing you caught more than one. one would hardly make a meal. the wife would have to go hungry.

tarheel · Jul 27, 2014

I thought there for a little bit that you might have a Hispid Cotton Rat instead because the wood rat usually has more gray and less brown but after looking at enough images that Roman nose was evidence enough of it's being a wood rat.
I'm having the same problem with Cotton rats, eating big holes in some of my best tomatoes just as they're about ready to pick. In the past the ground squirrels have been a problem with an occasional squirrel getting in on the act, but I have a pair of marsh hawks in the neighborhood which keep the squirrels close to the trees. I plant 18-24 tomatoes so usually have enough to share, but now the rats are getting into my jalapenos too.

1_pointer · Jul 28, 2014

Victory! That's a cool little cartridge. Your endeavor does bring up a good point, all houses should be have a bb/pellet gun handy!

Having 2 young boys, we are well 'armed', but I recommend every hunter have one. A box stuffed tight with grocery bags will stop a bb fired with just a couple of pumps. Makes it easy to turn your suburban garage into a gun range...

My son's shot more rounds in the garage than anywhere.

Muskeez · Jul 28, 2014

Gotta love trapping season

Another even more silent way to dispatch of them is to give them what my dad refers to as a baptism. Drop entire cage into a barrel of water. No noise, no blood. Wrap rodent in bag and freeze until garbage pick-up day. but plinking them with pellet gun is more fun!

noharleyyet · Jul 28, 2014

1_pointer said:
Victory! That's a cool little cartridge. Your endeavor does bring up a good point, all houses should be have a bb/pellet gun handy! Having 2 young boys, we are well 'armed', but I recommend every hunter have one. A box stuffed tight with grocery bags will stop a bb fired with just a couple of pumps. Makes it easy to turn your suburban garage into a gun range... My son's shot more rounds in the garage than anywhere.

....recommended decor.

roadhunter · Jul 28, 2014

Sounds like a successful trapping endeavor.

I remember those sub sonic 22 rounds. They used to be called CB. Great for shooting stuff in town without alarming the neighbors.

1_pointer · Jul 28, 2014

noharleyyet said:
....recommended decor.

That would peg the cool meter fo' sho'!

kansasdad · Jul 28, 2014

Day three of my campaign of rat terror, and I have run into trouble. The borrowed stock of 22bb ammo has run out. My ever resourcefull wife "borrowed" some CCI brand 22 bird shot in LR form that has proven valuable in the defense of an airplane hanger from marauding rats, so I knew they would work on my caged rats. Slightly louder than the 22bb, when used at point blank range, the bird shot proved equally lethal on my latest victim.

Making the neighborhood safer, one Woodrat at a time.

1Pointer, I SHOULD get a pellet gun shouldn't I, cause then I wouldn't need to "borrow" any more funky 22 ammo.

1_pointer · Jul 28, 2014

That's about as good a rationale for a new toy as you'll get!

A pump pistol would suffice for trap dispatchment. Then again, there's always the option of using a hammer...

kansasdad · Jul 31, 2014

The neighborhood Woodland Rat population has taken a significant nose dive, and finally this morning, I found a sight I had been dreading........a smallish sleepy opossum. Thankfully he was not too mad at me for providing food and a slightly crowded jail cell for the night. I did entertain the thought of removing him permanently from the population, but didn't want to do so as under Kansas regulations there is a furbearer season, and we are a long ways from that time of the year.

kansasdad · Aug 30, 2014

The rat population continues to nosedive and fortunately there have been no more possum incursions. Imagine my surprise when I went to check the newly bird seed baited traps when I discover not one but two female cardinals trapped in my trap. And they didn't even say thanks for the meal when I released them.

Teal season can't get here soon enough.

captaincoot · Aug 30, 2014

I might be using to much fire power on the gophers .270

You are hell on animals with them cages

pointingdogsrule · Aug 30, 2014

Taste like chicken

good luck to all
the dog

kansasdad · Oct 24, 2015

So this is happening to my mostly dormant garden. Rats eating on some remaining carrots. In my best Bugs Bunny voice......"this means war".

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So I go to where my live traps have been sitting next to the garden, both of them on "safe". The smaller on has the door locked open, and I find that my awesome trapping skills are no match for "safe". A rat has tried to enter the trap through the mesh, and caught himself and died there.

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kansasdad · Oct 24, 2015

I found the larger live trap which was also set on "Safe", but unlike the first trap with the door locked open, this trap was snapped shut. Evidently no match for my awesome trapping skills as once again I found that somehow a rat had found its way into the trap, but found no escape.

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And just to put it out there, I am coming after all your relatives too........

Hem · Oct 24, 2015

This summer I had a Pack Rat take residence of my engine compartment on my Tundra.My pointer was sniffing around the front of the truck, so upon hoisting the hood I discovered a very fat rat nesting in fresh cuttings centered on my engine.Immediately the rat retreated to safer holdings behind the engine.Long story short.I drove close to 200 miles with the rat hiding inside the truck somewhere before I finally caught it with some jerky in a rat trap.

Z Barebow · Oct 26, 2015

Add some water and rehydrate them. You might be able to repeat the fun!

Summertime trapping :)

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