Thinking of buying a pet ferret for a rat problem?

[tommydog 0]

I have a small croft and have a periodic rat and mouse problem in my attic. I know the solution is finding out where they are getting in, but thats proving very difficult with a 200 year old stone cottage. I can catch mice all day long, but the rats seem to be a lot more intelligent and won’t go near the traps. I absolutely refuse to put poison down.

 

Correct me if this is a crazy idea, but I was thinking about getting a ferret and letting it live in the attic. Is this a bad idea? How trainable are they, would they bite through cables and cause similar damage to rats?

 

Also anyone know anything about rat behaviour. Would the ferret have to hunt down every single rat, or would a ferret picking off a few rats be enough for the rest of the rats to bugger off? Would the smell of a ferret be enough to deter future rats from coming into the attic, or am I always likely to have a problem unless I can find out where they are getting in?

 

I did think about getting a ratting dog or a cat, but I don’t think they would be much use up there, as they seem to be hiding under the floor boards and there is no way a cat or dog could get under there.

[The one 8,511]

Stick to your traps they will work 24/7 the problem is your giving them food and shelter break the cycle get them moving about and the traps will work 

 

[patterdale 674]

How about using a couple of trail cameras to monitor suspected entrance points?

[wildman 535]

Ferret  won't chew cables, don't  have  incisors  that are  constantly  growing  like rodents  have, but  keeping one lose in your attic ,not a good idea  ,Ferret s are proper  escape  artists  and  will  find a way  out  ,but you  could  let one roam about  up there with  a collar  an a leash keeping  your  eye on him smell would  soon put rats of and Ferret  would indicate  where  rats are getting  in , all the  best 

[terryd 8,638]

Forget ferret and rats don’t tend to worry about there smell.  Maybe air rifle and night setup or stick with traps I would say 

[Bredbeddle 0]

     I think this is probably a very good idea!

     Put a ferret in your attic and seal it up. I'm sure you won't have a mice/rat problem anymore.  I mean, at the very most, you're out one ferret.  And who can get too attached to something that smells like a gerbil... 

     I say don't feed him so he's hungry and if you still have a rat problem after 2 weeks add a cat named Schrödinger and never look in there again. 

     Let me know how it goes beceause I just told my girlfriend she should get rid of the squirrels in her attic the same way....

 

Bredbeddle 

[Franks dad 903]

18 hours ago, Bredbeddle said:

     I think this is probably a very good idea!

     Put a ferret in your attic and seal it up. I'm sure you won't have a mice/rat problem anymore.  I mean, at the very most, you're out one ferret.  And who can get too attached to something that smells like a gerbil... 

     I say don't feed him so he's hungry and if you still have a rat problem after 2 weeks add a cat named Schrödinger and never look in there again. 

     Let me know how it goes beceause I just told my girlfriend she should get rid of the squirrels in her attic the same way....

 

Bredbeddle 

Ex girlfriend by now probably, so I wouldn’t worry about her squirrels 🐿 

[DIDO.1 22,845]

No you can't turn ferrets loose in your loft for squirrels or rats you absolute mentalists .

Find out how they are getting in and if that's beyond your capabilities then find someone who can. And no a ferret won't indicate entry points. 

Try looking at drains 

[Lenjr1958 0]

Back when I was in my late twenties I lived in a little five acre ranchette when I was going to school rented a room from this couple. They had milk cows and they had chickens and grain of course and they had a big mouse problem. When I moved in I had a female ferret and one night after a mouse had crawled over my face the next day I went around the room found the holes they were coming through the drywall. And then that night I just waited until I heard them scratching and I opened up my females cage and turned her loose needless to say within a week I had no more mice in my room. And she would hunt them down and when she would find them all you'd hear is a little squeak then it would be all over with and then I would go and get her out of the box and her box and I would take the mouse away and then she would get some kind of a meat treat whether a piece of chicken or even just a little bit of a piece of beef or something like that just as a treat. But even the couple that lived that own the house said that while I live there with her they notice the mice even upstairs that were in their kitchen had gone down quite a bit. So yes ferrets will help to keep the mouse population down and rats but once they start killing they get a lot harder to handle my little female turned into an absolute tyrant and I had to end up basically keeping her away from people as much as possible she got to biting quite a bit she wouldn't bite me but she did everybody else and I think it was just the fact of the killing I allowed her to do. That's my experience with him as a matter of fact I'm looking for another ferret to add to my house here because of a mouse problem that I have. So y'all can get mad at me for what I do but it works and I'm going to keep doing it God bless you all and I hope that answers some questions.

[dazbrowne 13 372]

Let's hope he gets no trespassers be on here next saying I'm thinking about letting 2 lions roam the land to get rid off them wont chew my fences will the