Sounds like you are feeding your cats to much fish and they prefer this to rats Smudge?  If they are water rats they will be too big and aggressive for cats to handle - you need a small dog that goes for them - I think Jack Russell do this pretty well?

Probably best to remove food supply from the area by putting in plastic bins and hit poison baits hard - its that time of year when they move inside.

Store all rods & reels in the bedroom & have the wife guard them.

Also, if you feel the need for a fondle in the middle of the night , they're right there, at hand

http://www.raticator.co.nz/

Mate just moved to country where there were heaps of rats, borrowed my trap & killed 30 odd in no time at all. Now numbers have fallen but he's bought himself one of these & is leaving it set & getting a couple a week. Still using original date bait......

Recently I've heard them again, so I've got the old school heavy duty wooden traps, hopefully cut the buggers in half.

Going to try the dates in the traps as I used Peanut butter last time but they seemed to go off it.

Problem solved.

 

May not kill them but will make them silly as a chook .... did for Smudge anyway !

I've trained the dogs to sniff out when rats are about so I know when one comes visiting. Once they come for a visit they never leave. 

I took this pic tonight and this is just a weeks worth of Macadamia husks since I filled in the hole under the tree that the dogs dug trying to get to a rat. The tree beside this one has a birds nest overflowing with the same things. 

No rats here

Winter storage?

I'd say we don't have a problem at all.

This isn't any digging by me or the dogs. I guess the rats decided they ran out of room in their burrow and are doing some home renovations. Set 4 traps last night. All empty this morning. I might need to use a different bait than the nuts as they obviously have enough. 

Took the earlier advice on this forum and used dates as bait. Both rats still had their teeth in the date when I found them, so at least they went out quick and enjoying the moment!

Finally got one on that bait I've had out since friday, reckon he was just casing it...

 

As most of us know after months of ferocious resistance it was very much a "touch & go" situation as to whether the city would stand or fall despite the valiant tenacious actions of the Russian defenders at huge cost on both sides. The Germans had gathered their tanks etc. ready for an all out assault that was bound to succeed. Hitler was furious with his commanders that it had taken so long so had sent reinforcements to ensure there would be no excuse for this final assault to falter.

 

As it so happened there was a bit of a of an unexpected cold snap bringing snow & sleet, so it was decided to delay the assault for a few days to let the weather improve. What they did not know is that the rodent population of field mice, along with the rats had taken refuge in the relative comfort within the confines of the tanks & the various military vehicles. The hordes of rodents also found a seemingly ready food source in the myriad of electrical wiring, instruments etc.

 

When orders were finally given several days later to prepare to move en masse towards the city, many tanks etc. would not start, others malfunctioned once they did start & a lot caught fire internally, which is not an ideal situation with a couple of tonnes of explosive ammo stored inside.

 

Rather fortuitously for the Russians they had planned on an almost suicidal counter attack but were amazed to find the enemy to be in almost total disarray & so often virtually "sitting ducks" 

 

It was not the end of the confrontation but was certainly a defining point that allowed the Russians

to beat the Germans at their own game by forming a "pinzer" movement around behind two German divisions isolating them from supplies or means of escape. The generals requested permission from high command to surrender but Hilter beside himself in rage instead ordered them to fight unto the death refusing to send any more reinforcements.

 

Meanwhile the Russians via broadcasts from low flying aircraft & leaflet drops were encouraging individual German soldiers to surrender which many faced with cold & hunger did so in their thousands to a point the generals of the encircled divisions defying Hilters' orders did likewise, whilst the rest began a retreat back towards Germany.

 

And to think  .... all because of a few thousand rodents .... count yourself lucky smudge !

 

 

 

Now have baits nailed to floor plates, traps baited with kumura, jam, peanut butter and cheese, barstools.

 

Cheers

I did find one of my pre-feeding spots still had lots of dates but all the cat bikkies have gone (now that I have removed the unset trap - suspicious effin rats!). Restocked the bikkies, so we'll see what happens tonight.

 

So are cats John according to Gareth Morgan.

Someone hates you and has spent many a year and generations of rats to get them to do this just to you. Did you pull any pony tails while you were at kindy? 

Seriously though the buggers have set up shop in your pride and joy and are gathering bedding. I had a mouse do this in my boat and every time I ripped the floor up (no easy task either) it would hide up in the front under a bit of floor I couldn't remove so about the third time I emptied a full can of fly spay into the compartment and no further issues.