Rats Surrounding the Chickens in Bernardsville, NJ
Challenge
We were sent out to the home of a new customer in Bernardsville, NJ, to handle a rodent issue. Once we arrived and began inspecting the property, we found a lot of rat burrows surrounding the chicken coop. What attracted them to the area? The chicken food that was scattered across the area.
Rat burrows can be identified by their fan-shaped openings, smooth walls, and oily residue around the entrance. The openings are usually between two and four inches in diameter, and the walls are smooth and hard-packed soil surrounds the opening. The residue is due to the rodents' fur, and can look like brown marks. Rats create these burrows to travel from their nest to a food source and to escape predators. Rat burrows usually contain a main entrance and 1 or 2 exit holes away from the main entrance.
Solution
We advised the homeowner that she keep all the chickens food in metal container with a tight-fitting light. This will keep the rats from chewing the container to get the feed. We also suggested investing a rodent proof chicken feeder that hangs so that the rats can't get into the chicken feed.
Once we finished speaking with the owner, we installed several Ready-to-Use rodent bait stations near each of the burrows. Next, we installed several snap traps that are inside temper-proof, child resistant boxes near the burrows. Lastly, we scheduled several follow-up visits to monitor the rat infestation and replenish the bait in the rodent bait stations as needed.
