smoker vs ferret vs spade ???

[sambo123 629]

what would you ratting lads say is best to get the little buggers out their holes? mi mates pesterin me sayin we should get a smoker but i want to stick to ferrets. what do you lads say .i also prefer using a spade but hes intent on wantin a smoker... thanks sam

[tod 3]

i have used both smoker and ferrets and think a good ferret is more reliable than a smoker.some days the rats wont bolt using a smoker and prefer to die in the hole .you get days days when the smoker works a treat and everything seems to bolt .overall the ferrets are more consistant for bolting rats.

[jak n meg 4]

i would hav to go with you tod ferrets all the way

[Guest COMPUTER HUNTER]

do what you want to do not what your mate wants you to do if he wants a smoker get 1

[highlander 0]

Well I usually smoke rats out but as tod says somedays they just wont bolt. Ferrets are great for the job if the dogs are steady to them. I also like digging them out dirty job and not for the faint hearted when the bolt out from under your feet and run over your legs. But great fun all the same. Each to there own I will use any method some times diffrent places need different methods.

[timmy k 591]

ferrets any day, as some say the smoker doesnt always work and they just die down the holes, which defies the point of ratting, unfortunatly my dogs dont like ferrets so i just use a smoker or let the dogs dig them but with 2 lurchers they tend to lose the holes

[marko 30]

i use the two and some points to take into account you dont have to wait for the smoker to come out once the rats have bolted job done move on to the next one as for bolting the rats quicker with a ferret try telling that to a big doe with a nest of youngsters also if your ferrets get carved up then its like your dog out of action for a week or two i must say though i love ferreting but with the weather getting milder every year the rats are breeding more throughout the year and are less likely to bolt as said with youngsters.

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Ive used a few smoker's over the year's and they can work well if you keep the dog's away from the hole's but how practical is that when you have upto a dozen terrier's running wild..

And once the terrier's start digging that's where you have problem's getting them to bolt..

I much prefer the ferret and spade method because..........

(1) the ferret's are getting worked

(2) if the rat's are stubborn and wont bolt they will be there another day

And (3) the most important of all you are not fecking the terrier's nose and chest up like you do with a smoker..

I wont rule smoker's out and will still use them for ferret dangerous place's but only as a last resort..

Millet

 

 

Good advice there Millet

[porkypowell 2]

My biggest concern would be the damage fumes can do to a dog as they seem to be a favourite method to commit suicide so they will do harm in large doses.

The only downside with ferrets is you need to keep a couple more as the working life of a ratting ferret isn't as long as rabbiting ferret.

Simon

[bill88 6]

what would you ratting lads say is best to get the little buggers out their holes? mi mates pesterin me sayin we should get a smoker but i want to stick to ferrets. what do you lads say .i also prefer using a spade but hes intent on wantin a smoker... thanks sam

Don't you know smokings bad for you.

[sambo123 629]

what would you ratting lads say is best to get the little buggers out their holes? mi mates pesterin me sayin we should get a smoker but i want to stick to ferrets. what do you lads say .i also prefer using a spade but hes intent on wantin a smoker... thanks sam

Don't you know smokings bad for you.

yes...

[paulus 26]

depends whot you are doing, if your out to have fun then ferrets are fine but if your doing a job on a shoot or whotever then a smoker is good because your there to kill rats.

[victoria vixen 0]

Spirit of Ammonia....will flat run even a fox out of a hole! May be hard to get where you're at...Also may be illegal, so you'd want to check that out first. But I can tell you that NOTHING andI do mean NOTHING will stay in a hole once it's poured in there. It also is very, very, dangerous substance in the wrong hands and can be lethal if swallowed. Please be advised!

[porkypowell 2]

The only downside with ferrets is you need to keep a couple more as the working life of a ratting ferret isn't as long as rabbiting ferret.

Simon

.. i beg to differ as a ratting ferret will live just aslong as a rabbiting ferret.. .. but the only thing differant to a rabbiting one is the ratting one's will nearlly allway's give up on the rat's once they have had a good bit of punishement..

But they alway's seem to make cracking rabbiting ferret's afterwards.

Millet

P.s edited to add ive done a lot of ratting over the years and to date ive never ever lost a ferret through rat bites.

 

 

I canot say that I have had a ferret die as a result of a rat bite but They seem to be out of action a bit more due to swelling of the face and Like you rightly pointed out do tend to jib. Normally after the second season but some are just into s&m and go at them for ever. I love to see their little tail sick out on end after they been underground.

Simon

Edited February 26, 2007 by porkypowell