The rats have moved in ............. the fenn traps have come out

[IanB 0]

Tune the trap up a bit, and then put a little bit of bait under the plate. The rats will try and 'dig' the plate to get too the bait......

 

I'm not a fan of bending traps. A little careful filing is ok. If you take too much off, let me know and I'll send you a replacement brass trigger.

 

Mat I don't bend them but sometimes on traps the pan can be set down at too low an angle and prevents the trigger releasing, a simple slight bend upwards of the pan by hand and that problem is remedied, its also simple to just bend it slighlty back by hand if required, i.e reversable, when filing its easy to take off but a bit harder to put back.. I know we all have our own methods, and fileing will make the trap even more sensitive maybe too much, IF required and raise the pan very slightly but create more work, why not just tweak by hand... End of the day, its still going to catch rats regardless, just set it fine and ensure its sitting firm with no restrictions, test fire in situ if required using an old piece of hose..

[meinnotts 1]

right then 1 bent and 1 filed seems to be the order of the day and i will see what works best for me.............

[IanB 0]

right then 1 bent and 1 filed seems to be the order of the day and i will see what works best for me.............

 

To be honest mate you shouldn't be needing to adjust the pan height at all, just set them fine and try it..

[woodga 170]

sound advice ian

[meinnotts 1]

cheers to everyone that has replied to this thread so far, i think its a good example of how useful a resource a forum can be. Having made a couple of mistakes on setting the traps, ie - wrong way and incorrect baiting i have just come in from resetting the 5 Fenns the right way round and with a bit of bait on the right side of the trap so the rats actually have to cross the trap to get to it

 

because the traps are going to be down pretty much 24/7 from now i have also spent a bit of time making sure the traps are set nicely into the ground with plenty of space for them to spring without catching the sides

 

i have pegged the chains into the ground just in case

 

as for setting them to a 'fine tickle' nearly lost all fingers at the knickles at couple of times but think i got that sorted

 

its a case of waiting till the morning now and hoping to have had a few more

[boothy 0]

good catch bud

[MR TEA POT 1,287]

i was going to use a old tent peg got plenty of them knocking aorund

 

Hi mate i use a wire netting staple for securing the trap.Just put the trap chain under the side of your cubby with the big ring pressed againest the side of the wood and knock a staple in,over the ring and in to the wood.I find in some places you can not get a peg in the ground like in grain barns,so with the trap stapled to the cubby its going no where.

 

Well done mate and keep at it

 

Has for removing the dead rats from the traps.....ALWAYS,ALWAYS wear gloves.

Edited March 23, 2009 by MR TEA POT

[meinnotts 1]

well guys, went own and checked the traps this morning, unfortunately nothing occuring, hopefully will pick up a few more rats over the next couple of weeks though to get the numbers down a bit because from the number of runs etc i reckon there are a few more than 2 littleuns

[IanB 0]

Try to isolate any other food sources meinnotts, and as said use a little bait on one side of a blind tunnel to entice if required..

[meinnotts 1]

well i have had two more,one in the fenn and one in the live trap

 

thought the dog was going to chew its way through the live trap this morning trying to get at it

 

another littleun took the pic about 8pm last night

 

 

one much bigger rat caught in the live trap last night

 

 

one thing that worries me now is that i have picked off 4 in the last couple of days, maybe there is more of a problem than i first thought, especially considering that 3 of the 4 have been littleuns

[Lost Generation 93]

Good effort, it's nice to see the old fenns in action.

 

A couple of points to consider. Firstly, that trap looks like it's the wrong way around. They need to be across the run rather than inline with it. I would either not bait at all, or use much less bait.

 

I always 'tune' my new traps. If you take the brass trigger out, you can file it back a little, which makes the plate sit a little higher.

 

It would also pay to boil the new traps rather than just weathering them. There are a couple of posts on trap preparation over on uktrapper forum.

 

Keep the fenns set all the time, and you will pick up the rats before they get established. Ditchshitter wrote a very good post about rat control around small scale poultry over on the 'living off the land' board.

 

 

If the traps are catching they clearly dont need boiling or degreasing, I used to do this but stopped because I have never found that it makes any difference

[jakepotjo 3]

you will know if you have a problem if you more then one more adult the look of the adult is it a buck the young look around 10 12 weeks old so ther will be another litter some were so if you get the doe then you could crack the problem

 

nice to see people haveing a go at traping it is fun no matter how much you do it

[MR TEA POT 1,287]

Well done mate keep at them

[meinnotts 1]

right then guys thats a couple of nights without any catches in any of the traps and without any of them being trip, i backfilled the entry points under the coop earlier in the week so i could see where any new runs were, but nothing this week ........................ would the fact that i have had 3 in the fenns and 1 in the cage trap have made the others (if there are any which i am sure there are) wary

 

are they likely to stay away for a few nights until they get hungry and then maybe come back again ?

 

i have not baited any of the traps but am thinking that i might do as suggested and block off one end and bait the tunnel to try and pick up some more of the filthy egits

 

its that or just leave em 24/7 and keep my eye on any new entry points that they dig in

[meinnotts 1]

this rat trapping has got me 'foxed' !

 

had a few the first few nights and now nothing, they are definately still around because i have found 2 new rat holes that go under a concrete slab and the dog keeps marking

 

i have reset the traps once in slightly different locations but no luck in the fenns or the live trap

 

any idea's greatfully received from the more experienced trappers ?