# Rats in tack room



## luke4275 (Aug 3, 2013)

Where I board, the rats are so gross that every day there are droppings all over the floor.. on top of the microwave, where the clean towels are kept. today. I went out and put down traps because noone else did.. MY question.. are rats part of life in a stable's tack rooms? we are in so cal and no barn cats..etc.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Sure if there are no pest controls in place. I have barn cats so no rats although a mouse will sneak by the old girls at their barn on occasion. They only like each other or I'd have gotten a couple of kittens by now but I figure they ought to get to live their last few years in peace even if they miss a mouse now and then. Would never hurt to ask the barn owner if he/she would allow you to furnish a couple of barn cats. I don't know about your local animal control but you can adopt from ours for next to nothing and it includes rabies & spay/neutering.


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## luke4275 (Aug 3, 2013)

I forgot to ask this. who is responsible for rats and keeping a tack room clean? the trainer or the barn manager?


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I would think the barn manager but I've never been in a boarding situation so I'm giving you the answer that seems logical to me.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

rats and mice love tack sheds, hay barns, pallets. 
the trap with the bait in them are easy to use, and if you are not afraid of getting your fingers snapped .. those old wooden type of ones.. 
i think the rats and mice are worse this year because of being so dry .
The manager would be responsible for cleaning, but each boarder should clean up after themselves, the manager is not the maid. 
If I was managing a place, and had to constantly clean the microwave and that sort of area, I would not have any of those conveniences . 
If you make a mess, clean it yourselves.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

The bottom line to all this rat manure, is that means there is rat urine all over the place and that is how leptospirosis is transmitted.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease.

Rats carry other diseases.

It takes a special cat to go rat hunting, so having cats isn't the answer either.

Were it me, I would turn them in because the acutual owner of the property is allowing a real health hazard to continue to grow. They are lazy and non-caring, until someone gets sick or bit and a lawsuit ensues.

If you don't want your name attached to turning them in, bring a friend along to visit your horse and let them make the phone call.

Rats and an overpopulation of barn mice is something I won't put up with. once they get a foothold somewhere, it can be really tough to get rid of them without taking serious measures.

In 12 years of being on this farm, I saw one rat in the barn and he was dead in my alpha horse's water bucket ----- where I'm sure he got thrown by my alpha horse. I had never seen a rat until a rental neighbor moved in and started burning smelly food on their burn pile. I turned them into the landlord for burning food garbage on their burn pile. 

If no attempts are made to reduce the rat population, start looking for another place to keep your horse. Staying there is not worth the serious health risks to you or your horse.


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## Tihannah (Apr 7, 2015)

We have barn cats at my place, but they mostly hang out around the feed storage room. I've never seen mice in there. Recently someone noticed mouse droppings in the tack room. The board owner sent out an email - No treats kept in the tack room! Everyone cleared out their tack lockers. It was the culprit for sure, but I have yet to see a mouse.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

Tomcat Rat Bait Station - For Life Out Here

If you have someplace to secure it. Where kids, cats, dogs and horses won't get to it. The cover helps keep non target animals away from the bait. I actually put one under the floor of a building because I was afraid other critters might get to it.

Tractor Supply Co. - Enjoy searching: rats

Rats tend to run along walls so placement is everything.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

There's been 2 cases of plague out west this year. I'd be killing the rats.

The days of teenage boys and a .22 are probably gone in southern CA.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Jack Russell Terrier. Our mutt has some in him and we are rat, mouse and squirrel free.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> Jack Russell Terrier. Our mutt has some in him and we are rat, mouse and squirrel free.


This. Nothing beats a good terrier on rats, and frankly, I don't think anything kills them more humanely or surely. They break the neck with one good shake. No slow poisoning, no torment by cats, no limbs caught in a trap with hours of suffering. 

However, you do need to have a 'rat day' where you carefully stop up all the holes they can get away in, and then turn the dogs loose. I know a guy up in Northern CA who will come in with his ratter team and clean your whole property up. Doubt he travels south much though, it's more of a hobby for him. He posts pics of his dogs and the results of a workday -- like eighty dead rats! And happy dogs. 

They also kill chickens and cats and well, anything much smaller than them. They are cheerful little murderers, is what they are. 

I hate rats. I have native woodrats (aka packrats) here, not as vile but just as messy and destructive.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

double post.


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