Rats Started Eating My Papayas

[JeffDM]

I finally moved my Ring battery-powered camera and caught the pesky critters that suddenly found a taste for my papayas.
https://ring.com/share/6533049396460174427
Now I just need to find a way to deal with them.
They don't seem to like the Rat X bait and have shied away from the Rat Zappers so I'm trying the old tried and true Victor snap traps.

[fruitlovers]

A piece of sheet metal around the trunk will make it too slippery for them to climb up.

[Coach62]

I'll rent you our cat - she is an excellent rat, mouse and rabbit killer. If only I could get her to go after these !&$@" deer!

[waxy]

Hate to break it to you, but if you see one rat then there's another 50 waiting somewhere else to forage your garden.
I had the same issue with rodents for several years, spent thousands, literally thousands of dollars on rodent control.

- Exterminators
- Live traps
- Sticky Traps
- Planks
- Water cannons
- Ultrasonic
- Alarms
- Pneumatic rods
The list goes on

Killed dozens a week and they keep coming and coming in swarms.
Literally at night you can hear them chewing on your trees making a new nest.
These aren't small rats, they're large Norwegian roof rats, tail girth is the size of your pinky finger, easily a 2-3 pounder.

During the day, it's squirrels...

Then I introduced 2 feral cats, amazing animals.
Best of all they were free!!!

Came to my scheduled appointment to pick them up at the animal shelter.
- Received all shots (They put down animals infected with rabies)
- Spayed or neutered
- Carriers and toiletry
- Microchipped
- You have a guarantee, if you do not like them return them no questions asked

I spent a few months taming and training them, but you'd have to keep them enclosed for a few weeks.
I took the time and patience to raise mine and it paid off handsomely.

Now, when I'm in the garden, the cats just curl up next to me, sleep or lay in the pots without digging any holes.
I leave 2 litter boxes, 1 on each end of the house.
It's a great feeling knowing you can grow anything and not have rodents eat everything down to a nub.

[fruitlovers]

Yeah, agreed, cats are the best rodent solution. Not just ofr the garden, but also for rodents coming in the house. Just don't over feed them, or they will get spoiled and not do their job.

[barath]

I agree cats are amazing.  I'm curious, do you feed your outdoor cats?  Or are they able to survive on just the rodents and other things they catch?  Also, do you give them flea/tick treatment?

Hate to break it to you, but if you see one rat then there's another 50 waiting somewhere else to forage your garden.
I had the same issue with rodents for several years, spent thousands, literally thousands of dollars on rodent control.

- Exterminators
- Live traps
- Sticky Traps
- Planks
- Water cannons
- Ultrasonic
- Alarms
- Pneumatic rods
The list goes on

Killed dozens a week and they keep coming and coming in swarms.
Literally at night you can hear them chewing on your trees making a new nest.
These aren't small rats, they're large Norwegian roof rats, tail girth is the size of your pinky finger, easily a 2-3 pounder.

During the day, it's squirrels...

Then I introduced 2 feral cats, amazing animals.
Best of all they were free!!!

Came to my scheduled appointment to pick them up at the animal shelter.
- Received all shots (They put down animals infected with rabies)
- Spayed or neutered
- Carriers and toiletry
- Microchipped
- You have a guarantee, if you do not like them return them no questions asked

I spent a few months taming and training them, but you'd have to keep them enclosed for a few weeks.
I took the time and patience to raise mine and it paid off handsomely.

Now, when I'm in the garden, the cats just curl up next to me, sleep or lay in the pots without digging any holes.
I leave 2 litter boxes, 1 on each end of the house.
It's a great feeling knowing you can grow anything and not have rodents eat everything down to a nub.

[Annonaceae]

I feel for you on this subject.  Check out Uromys caudimaculatus (can grow 3 times the size of a black rat) and or Hydromys chrysogaster ( there is a family using my fountain at night )  They eat my seeds and cut down the small trees from ground level for bedding material.  I use wire over seed pots. Generally catch them in cages with peanut butter and relocate.

[Coach62]

My cat was feral, she stumbled out of the woods when she was a kitten.  Got her young enough to tame her, but can never fully get the feral out of a cat.  She wants to be outdoors most of the time, comes in to eat and sleep, then wants to go back out. 

She is a prolific killer of rats, I have no idea where they keep coming from she gets so many.  Some she eats, I try to take them from her as you never know what they may be carrying.

She is the best cat in the world, she never once has gone to the bathroom in the house.  She doesn't even use the litter box, she only goes outside.  I almost wish she wasn't fixed as she can't live forever.

Yes, we had her fixed, she gets her shots, we do give her flea treatments, etc. 

Now, like I said, if only I could get her to chased the *&#$@& deer out of my yard....

The dog will, but I'm always afraid she may dart out into the street, she is pitch black and there are no street lights on our street, so I do worry about her getting hit by a car.  She is also a good dog, I had a bear that kept knocking over my beehives, the dog took off after that bear fearlessly.  She is a tad nuts sometime, she is a curr, bred to hunt hogs.

[waxy]

I agree cats are amazing.  I'm curious, do you feed your outdoor cats?  Or are they able to survive on just the rodents and other things they catch?  Also, do you give them flea/tick treatment?

Hate to break it to you, but if you see one rat then there's another 50 waiting somewhere else to forage your garden.
I had the same issue with rodents for several years, spent thousands, literally thousands of dollars on rodent control.

- Exterminators
- Live traps
- Sticky Traps
- Planks
- Water cannons
- Ultrasonic
- Alarms
- Pneumatic rods
The list goes on

Killed dozens a week and they keep coming and coming in swarms.
Literally at night you can hear them chewing on your trees making a new nest.
These aren't small rats, they're large Norwegian roof rats, tail girth is the size of your pinky finger, easily a 2-3 pounder.

During the day, it's squirrels...

Then I introduced 2 feral cats, amazing animals.
Best of all they were free!!!

Came to my scheduled appointment to pick them up at the animal shelter.
- Received all shots (They put down animals infected with rabies)
- Spayed or neutered
- Carriers and toiletry
- Microchipped
- You have a guarantee, if you do not like them return them no questions asked

I spent a few months taming and training them, but you'd have to keep them enclosed for a few weeks.
I took the time and patience to raise mine and it paid off handsomely.

Now, when I'm in the garden, the cats just curl up next to me, sleep or lay in the pots without digging any holes.
I leave 2 litter boxes, 1 on each end of the house.
It's a great feeling knowing you can grow anything and not have rodents eat everything down to a nub.

Hi Barath,

I feed them canned tuna with no bi-product, it's $.66 per 5oz can from the grocery stores.
I split the can in half and mix it with Meow Mix dry food.
I spend 15-20 bucks a month to feed them.

They're only fed when I see them by my door, that means they didn't catch anything that night and they're hungry.
OR they sometimes bring a dead rat or bird to my backyard door expecting for a trade.
They may be feral but sometimes they just chase and kill their prey without eating it.
I don't give them flea or tick meds, they received their shots and don't seem to have issues with fleas yet.
Until they show signs I'll provide them

Mine get along very well with my dogs, I have 3 dogs, 1 toy sized, 2 small sized.
They like to have lunch or dinner together when I feed them it's pretty amazing how wild animals can get along so well.
Unlike humans, it's like we're born to hate and not appreciate company of others.
I also pick mine up and play with them from time to time.

I grew up not liking cats my whole life and skeptical about the outcome, but these 2 have stole my heart and I love them as much as my dogs. They're very affectionate once you take the time to appreciate them. Trust me on this, if you have a big garden, you'll be very happy with cats as their company in the garden speaks volumes of how much more enjoyable your garden can be.

Male cats tend to wander off frequently, female cats will stay with you as long as you provide them food, water and shelter.
They love cardboard boxes, just throw a towel in there and that's all they need.
The maintenance is very low, much easier than my dogs to be honest.

[waxy]

I feel for you on this subject.  Check out Uromys caudimaculatus (can grow 3 times the size of a black rat) and or Hydromys chrysogaster ( there is a family using my fountain at night )  They eat my seeds and cut down the small trees from ground level for bedding material.  I use wire over seed pots. Generally catch them in cages with peanut butter and relocate.

To my understanding, feral cats in parts of Australia have brought many species to the brink of extinction.
Many reasons why I support spayed or neutered cats.
I thought there were other apex predators and cats were slightly below them.

[waxy]

My cat was feral, she stumbled out of the woods when she was a kitten.  Got her young enough to tame her, but can never fully get the feral out of a cat.  She wants to be outdoors most of the time, comes in to eat and sleep, then wants to go back out. 

She is a prolific killer of rats, I have no idea where they keep coming from she gets so many.  Some she eats, I try to take them from her as you never know what they may be carrying.

She is the best cat in the world, she never once has gone to the bathroom in the house.  She doesn't even use the litter box, she only goes outside.  I almost wish she wasn't fixed as she can't live forever.

Yes, we had her fixed, she gets her shots, we do give her flea treatments, etc. 

Now, like I said, if only I could get her to chased the *&#$@& deer out of my yard....

The dog will, but I'm always afraid she may dart out into the street, she is pitch black and there are no street lights on our street, so I do worry about her getting hit by a car.  She is also a good dog, I had a bear that kept knocking over my beehives, the dog took off after that bear fearlessly.  She is a tad nuts sometime, she is a curr, bred to hunt hogs.

That's a very wonderful experience and I'm glad the outcome was so pleasant!
You did the right thing treating her, because I was told that they live a healthier life.

My ferals are the same way too, they'll claw me from time to time but without their paws.
They used to hiss so much but now they stopped, all the do is meow or purr.
They too, do not like staying indoors, they love it outdoors, always finding somewhere high to perch.

I saw her chase after a raccoon omg I thought the coon was going to eat her!
Then her sister showed up, and they double teamed them it was unreal how it happened, totally amazing!

[fruitlovers]

I feel for you on this subject.  Check out Uromys caudimaculatus (can grow 3 times the size of a black rat) and or Hydromys chrysogaster ( there is a family using my fountain at night )  They eat my seeds and cut down the small trees from ground level for bedding material.  I use wire over seed pots. Generally catch them in cages with peanut butter and relocate.

To my understanding, feral cats in parts of Australia have brought many species to the brink of extinction.
Many reasons why I support spayed or neutered cats.
I thought there were other apex predators and cats were slightly below them.

Same problem with cats here. I think that is the only down side of cats. Domesticated cats often go feral and hunt out our native species of birds. But i think most of the damage has already been done.

[Paquicuba]

Wow! Not good at all. I do have several papaya trees and sometimes the papayas over-ripe on the tree, so I should consider myself very lucky when it comes to critters eating my papayas. My problem is with squirrels eating my mangos, but somehow they're not interested at all in eating the papayas.
My house is next to a canal, so at night time I get huge frogs that come to hang around the house to eat whatever shows up that will fit in their mouth and I'm pretty sure that rats could be in their menu. Plus I do have a lot of garden snakes around the house as well.

[JeffDM]

This morning I wasn't up early enough to move the Victor rat trap in my Papaya plant and a Mockingbird got snapped in the trap.  I thought he was a goner, but I went out and opened the trap, dumped him in the corner of the yard and he must have only been stunned because the next time I looked, he was gone.  That's the trouble with using those traps - they're just too dangerous and whack any critter that trips them.

[marklee]

Get a rodent box where only rodents can enter, you can fit a trap inside. Contact www.sdvector.com and they will come out and give you an idea, mostly for keeping rodents out of your house since we'll never control outside rodents.

[JeffDM]

"...since we'll never control outside rodents."?
Well, let's just throw in the towel and stop trying to grow any fruit or vegetables.

[waxy]

I've caught many birds with my live traps, it's funny how they even get in there.
Caught the same one more than 3 times before, because I put a paper dymo label on their leg.

[marklee]

"...since we'll never control outside rodents."?
Well, let's just throw in the towel and stop trying to grow any fruit or vegetables.

Pretty much they are here to stay, one just has to make their fruit trees unattainable to the rodents with  traps, and barriers. In the next few years typical rodent poison will be unavailable in California. A birth control bait will be used in the next few years, it has a real short half life so that it will not affect animals that consume the rodents.

[Samu]

Get a rodent box where only rodents can enter, you can fit a trap inside.

Something like this? It's a tube, with built in trap mechanism inside:
https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/WCSTUBE.html

Plenty in Youtube to see how it works...:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tube+trap+squirrel+trap

I haven't tried that model; but I already have their "Koro" trap, and has been successfully whacking rats and squirrels with it. And like Mark said: I could place this Koro trap inside a home made box too...

[spaugh]

Get a rodent box where only rodents can enter, you can fit a trap inside.

Something like this? It's a tube, with built in trap mechanism inside:
https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/WCSTUBE.html

Plenty in Youtube to see how it works...:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tube+trap+squirrel+trap

I haven't tried that model; but I already have their "Koro" trap, and has been successfully whacking rats and squirrels with it. And like Mark said: I could place this Koro trap inside a home made box too...

Samu, with these traps is the squirrel killed pretty quickly?  I need something for squirrels.  Preferrably something that kills them, the quicker the better.

[Samu]

Every time it catches a rodent (squirrel or rat) they were already dead! The spring is very strong, (I need to use an adjustable plier to help me open the "kill bar" up, then make sure you latch up the safety pin on it) so yes I would say it kills squirrels/rats very quickly.

This is the model I use:
https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/NWSKT01.html

Here is one helpful video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuDh3hRanzc

I modified the bait plate a bit: I made it little heavier by adding a couple of large washers then screwed them together, this help make it more sensitive. Keep in mind, I don't use any box enclosure for it ...yet; so yes, I supposed birds can get trap in here too...; unless you go with the tube enclosure model above. I may get this tube model myself, if more ammos are needed... .

I placed mine at end of 2 feet 4" ABS pipe (I read that rodents can't resist going into a tunnel) and hang it just below the top of my 6ft wood fence, since I see the squirrels use the top fence as one of it's entry pathways and my dog can't get to it:

[JeffDM]

Samu,
Thanks for the tip and links to the tube trap.  I just ordered one through Amazon.

[spaugh]

Every time it catches a rodent (squirrel or rat) they were already dead! The spring is very strong, (I need to use an adjustable plier to help me open the "kill bar" up, then make sure you latch up the safety pin on it) so yes I would say it kills squirrels/rats very quickly.

This is the model I use:
https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/NWSKT01.html

Here is one helpful video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuDh3hRanzc

I modified the bait plate a bit: I made it little heavier by adding a couple of large washers then screwed them together, this help make it more sensitive. Keep in mind, I don't use any box enclosure for it ...yet; so yes, I supposed birds can get trap in here too...; unless you go with the tube enclosure model above. I may get this tube model myself, if more ammos are needed... .

I placed mine at end of 2 feet 4" ABS pipe (I read that rodents can't resist going into a tunnel) and hang it just below the top of my 6ft wood fence, since I see the squirrels use the top fence as one of it's entry pathways and my dog can't get to it:

Cool thanks.  I just asked about if they were dead because I dont want to deal with live squirrels.  I caught a few of them with modified rat traps with nails around the trigger.  They get chopped up and still usually alive and flailing then I have to get a gun and finish them off.  A real squirrel trap is missing from my box of traps.



I usually just let the critters be until they piss me off then I go all out and put out 20+ traps for a few nights in a row.  That usually puts a dent in them.

Been keeping guns handy in the garage for squirrels the last few weeks (usually stay in the safe).  Those squirrels are not easy to shoot either.  They are super smart and spooky.

[Samu]

Jeff, good luck with that "tube trap", please keep us updated with the result.
Seems like you and I has gone thru the same route: from RatZapper, Victor traps
then this...

Spaugh,
I see you have gopher traps in your trap box, too huh...? You got my sympathy!
We used to have hills on 2 sides, never ending battle with those gophers...
Whichever one you choose, I would recommend getting the non corrosive model,
it cost extra but might be worth it. (Mine still functional but already started to corrode...).

Good hunting! 

[pineislander]

If anyone is after squirrels and probably rats you can use one of their natural instincts to trap them and keep the trap away from dogs.
Set the trap up on something high but give access to it by a ramp at a 45 degree angle. Rodents love taking the ramp upwards and can hardly resist it.

A little off topic but I had a terrible problem with Armadillos. I once had several make homes nearby and nightly they would root and dig in anything mulched. They had a dozen burrows around a 4 acre area, dug under several trees and were becoming a big nuisance.
I finally got one of these armadillo traps and keep it set in a shady area and it gets any one which comes into the area, about every week or so. It is a live trap and poses no danger to other animals, requires no bait and works perfectly once you catch the first one and the armadillo scent is embedded into the wood it uses their natural curiosity to lure them inside. When it eventually breaks down I will build my own. I suggest buying the pre-scented model but if you are able you will eventually catch one using a funneling fence or setting the trap inside a cage over an inhabited burrow like I did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTfT8ya4FAU