Need help with pack rat

[jnyork]

We keep our 34' 5th wheel at our mountain property all summer. Recently we have been fighting with a dang packrat that somehow gets into the trailer. He craps all over, pisses all over, takes us an hour or so to clean up the trailer every time we go up there. I know it is a pack rat, I set up my trailcam in the living room and there he was. So far, absolutely no success
with any sort of trap, this is a very clever animal. He wont eat cheese or peanut butter, he will spring the traps I have set with it and not eat the bait after. I set up a couple of those pans with the sticky stuff in them, all we got was a little fur and part of a tail. Tried Decon but he wont touch that either. Tried the fragrance packs that are supposed to keep out rodents, he crapped all around one. I cant use a conibear trap because of our two little dogs. I have foamed and steel wooled every place on the underside of the trailer that even vaguely resembles a hole.

Anyone have any words of wisdom for me? All help will be very much appreciated.

[J Miller]

Put pictures of Hillary all over the place. That should scare him away!


Joe

[jnyork]

Put pictures of Hillary all over the place. That should scare him away!


Joe

[gamekeeper]

We don't have pack rats over here but I spent over 30 years killing brown rats, as I do not know what poisons or traps you can get in the US, I can not recommend any of the poison products I have used, so I can only suggest talcum powder on any non carpeted floor to use as tracking dust to see where the critter comes in. I would also set traps outside in tunnel as well as inside. If pack rats behave like brown rats there should be clear runs in the grass or soil where traps will be more efficient. Fenn Traps mk4 are what I preferred, set in purpose built tunnels, I have caught everything from mice to mink in them. When I was a gamekeeper, I had a trap line of Fenns set all around the estate.
I think Joe may have a better answer....

[Griff]

Put pictures of Hillary all over the place. That should scare him away!
Joe

And if he pisses & shits on her picture, contact Trump. He could use a better campaign manager!

[gcs]

You can make/build/buy, a "box" that a conibear will fit in, that the dogs can't get into.
You will need to cut slots for the springs, and set the trap inside the box.
scatter some peanuts inside, everything likes peanuts,lol

Check the vent in the bathroom, and the heater.

I have a camper trailer that sits at my camp year round, it's not remotely tight, I've found snake skins, dead mice, wasps, and zillions of flies, I think theres a skunk that lives under it, but no pack rats.
Gotta get rid of that thing!

[3leggedturtle]

A piece of bread on a plate with enough anti-freeze to soak bread halfway thru..

[cas]

I was trying to get rid of rats at home and didn't have any luck with traps. Using "jaws" type traps, face in along the exterior wall, apparently they were too fast for them, occasionally I would get a tail and nothing more. It wasn't until I started setting three traps side by side that I started to kill any. I'd figure a pack rat would be even faster.

[Batman1939]

I've trapped rodents for well over 50 yrs as a mammalogist. I know what you mean about how "tricky" some packrats can be to trap. I've had some luck on elusive ones by using the big Victor snap traps if you can find some where you live. Aside from peanut butter (the universal rodent bait), you might try tying a wad of uncooked bacon to the trigger of the trip; this makes it particularly tough for the rat to remove the bait without setting off the trap. Be sure that you set a "hair" trigger on the trap so the rat will set it off if he messes with your bait; these things can be very wary about strange new objects in their home range sometimes. The trap should also be tied, using twine, to something nearby as packrats (or woodrats as they are known in the scientific community) may haul your traps off to pile atop their midden heap (where the nest is located). Have you looked around the area where your RV is parked to see if you can locate the rat's midden? If you find a pile of sticks, cactus pads, cow flaps, etc. somewhere nearby (these rats won't travel very far (depending upon terrain) that would also be a good place to set traps. I don't recall that you mentioned the sort of habitat (e.g. desert, grassland, woods) where the vehicle was kept, but some rats like to place their nests in rocky crevices and under prickly pear or cholla cactus plants, so these would also be good places to look. Be persistent--you will catch him eventually using these methods. Of course, one of his close relatives will likely show up in the future so you're doing the right thing by closing off entryways into the RV. Hopefully, you will get him before he damages wiring insulation/or thermal insulation within the walls of your RV.

Good Luck!

[Batman1939]

cas (the poster above) makes a good point about setting the trap so that the trigger mechanism is next to a wall as rats tend to travel along walls (or other linear objects) rather than going out into "open" terrain--unless they need to cross such open areas. So, a rat trap should be placed perpendicular to a wall with the trigger end nearer the wall.

I've also sometimes had better luck using live traps--but the sorts of live traps I've used are not generally available at stores, but rather come from special manufacturers directly.

[Malamute]

My dogs have killed a couple, and ive managed to catch a couple in regular victor leg hold traps, but mostly ive shot them with 22 CB caps.

Finding how they get in is the biggest thing that will help.]

I hate pack rats.

[Batman1939]

Ah, I've re-read your original post and note that you have this problem in the mountains (Maybe in Wy?). If so, you may be plagued by the bushy-tailed woodrat , a large and somewhat tree-dwelling species). We have these at my place here in MT and they sometimes bring crabapples into the garage where I park my truck where they store the fruits under the hood. Some can be very tough to catch under such situations--I have sometimes lifted the hood only to find a bright-eyed woodrat staring at me from atop the engine. Since I didn't want to use .22 ratshot under the hood of the truck-I persisted in my use of the Victor traps within the engine compartment and eventually removed the rat(s). My dogs have also caught a few when I moved the truck out onto the driveway and the rat eventually "flushed" from beneath the truck. Good pointing dogs with let you know wherein lies the rat !!! Likely, most any dog will do as well--unless it has absolutely no interest in the hunt. We've got a huge crabapple crop this year--I need to be sure to keep my eyes on my new truck for evidence of rodent inhabitants.

[.45colt]

When the neighbor on one side had a knee high pile of corn, and the one on the other side had a well stocked bird feeder My property suddenly became over run with chipmunks.... .it wasn't bad until one got in the house. our 11lb house cat was no match for it.
I got some Victor large Rat traps and set them at every corner on the outside of the house with the trigger pointing "in". NO BAIT.....they got used to running back and forth along the foundation and soon didn't pay any mind to the traps. in less than one month I caught 13, I hate mice, rats, chipmunks....they all remind me of a certain.................. politician.

[octagon]

Have had the same problem with a fifth wheel in the country. When I leave I set a dozen traps thusly. Take piece of white bread about as big as a quarter and.compress it tight as you can Into a ball. Press the ball tightly onto trigger mechanism and put a dollop of peanut butter or not. Works like a charm, and will catch even the sly ones eventually. If 12 traps don't work set 24 etc.

[hayabusa]

Have had the same problem with a fifth wheel in the country. When I leave I set a dozen traps thusly. Take piece of white bread about as big as a quarter and.compress it tight as you can Into a ball. Press the ball tightly onto trigger mechanism and put a dollop of peanut butter or not. Works like a charm, and will catch even the sly ones eventually. If 12 traps don't work set 24 etc.

that is the way I catch the varmints at my place. They avoid anything with peanut butter on them, but white light bread, any brand seems to work equally well. When I catch one it goes to my oldest son's Boa snake.

I wish you the best of luck.

hayabusa

[M. M. Wright]

hayabusa almost has the answer, a big rat eating snake! I keep an almost 7' black snake, (also called a milk snake or rat snake) in my shop. Occasionally I see her but more often find several of her offspring or a shed skin. I'll bet just the smell of her keeps most of them out.
One draw-back is I had to build my wife a new house after she stepped on a couple of little ones on consecutive days. I had lots of family help so it only cost me about 55K.

[Les Staley]

Jerry, my experience this last week mirrors yours, had a pack rat that evaded my best efforts. Big Victor rat trap, set with peanut butter and tethered with a piece of twine. Would find the trap sprung and the peanut butter licked clean each morning for four mornings. Finally one afternoon saw my cat (Siamese) eating something on the lawn, here was the positively identifiable rear half of the pack rat..the cat was STUFFED..I was glad!

[AJMD429]

I bought an ultrasonic 'mouse repeller' for my truck that I drive a couple times a month. Regular traps on the floor got a couple mice a week and a BIG stench of I didn't find them by checking the truck every day or two (especially in hot weather ).

For the past four weeks NO mice....!!!

I have bought another for my car...

http://Www.mouseblocker.com

[earlmck]

We had a big population of pack rats (bush-tailed wood rats in this part of the world) this Spring. Friend Larry caught over 50 at his place using the smallest live-trap he could find at the local store, baited with apple. Friend Butch caught over 20 or so at his place with the same live trap baited with bread/peanut butter.

They are capable of populating an untended travel trailer and rendering it uninhabitable (I know from experience), so good luck with your war, Jerry. Sounds like you are fighting an extra smart one. Please remove him from the gene pool!

[Pete44ru]

I cant use a conibear trap because of our two little dogs.

Sure you can, since (presumably) the rat is messing with your trailer when you & the dogs aren't there.............

If I were worried about the dogs, I'd just keep them in the vehicle when I first arrived, until after I checked/removed the trap.


.

[wolfdog]

I have had really good luck using Starburst Fruit chews for bait in rat traps. You get them a little warm and mold them to the trigger, make sure it takes a little effort to spring the trap so it does go off just by them bumping it. They will work hard a getting the candy chewed off of the trigger.

[Malamute]

A friend in Az had pack rats getting on his vehicle motors and making nests and chewing stuff up. He got one of the electronic repellers that included a strobe light. It seemed to work for a while, then suddenly they had more.

Sitting around very quietly outside at dusk may give some info on their movements and give a shot. I saw an army of mice running along a board fence goin g from my shop to my bird feeding area. Traps set out yielded quite a haul the first few nights, I think I caught 6 or so the first night alone, (may have been 12, I dont recall)

[JohndeFresno]

I bought an ultrasonic 'mouse repeller' for my truck that I drive a couple times a month.
http://Www.mouseblocker.com

There are some thoughtful posts here.

I vote for Doc's post. That remedy worked for me!

We had several mice, including what I think was a Norwegian Roof Rat or a similar specie in our garage for months. We live in the Central Valley (per my logo) and my house is directly across from a riverbed and some agricultural fields.

Several times, and mostly at night or early morning, I would hear and then see a huge, tabby cat sized rat scurrying quickly into the rafters when I entered the garage. And there were constant deposits of rat poop. Over the years I trapped literally hundreds of mice using peanut butter and mouse traps - kept a scoreboard!

Finally, I purchased and installed a couple of cheap little ultrasonic mouse repellers. One was installed in our attic area that adjoins the garage, the other was plugged into the garage door opener outlet and aimed across the top of the garage. The menace of both rat(s) and mice vanished shortly after I installed a cheap little ultrasonic mouse repeller. I leave it on year around.

Here is the trick - sound waves, according the the literature that came with my devices - bounce off reflective hard surfaces like light, but otherwise need a straight, unobstructed field to do their work. Aim the device(s) into the largest area where you achieve the best results. Mine are plugged into an outlet, but battery operated devices are also sold at many discount and department stores, or online.

I suspect that even if you run one or two of these for a few weeks, in the case of battery powered ones, your four footed cheese eating visitors will decide that there are better restaurants in the area.

[Ysabel Kid]

Put pictures of Hillary all over the place. That should scare him away!
Joe

And if he pisses & shits on her picture, contact Trump. He could use a better campaign manager!

I should edit that one... but I just can't!

[piller]

If I were closer to you I would send my wife's terrier to help you. PillHer's dog loves to hunt rats and kill them. An abandoned house in our neighborhood is invested with rats. The dog, Sparkle Diamond, loves to get over there and kill rats. She usually gets the ones within reach, and it takes a while for them to become brave enough to become a problem again. If they are less than 3 feet off the ground, they are in trouble when she gets in.

[rock-steady]

https://youtu.be/aCbfMkh940Q

It's the only way to be sure.

P. S. A rat chewed the wires off my '94 4Runner. I never did get it running right after the rat moved in.

[m.wun]

Try the traps but instead of the bait put something sparkly on it like mylar tape. They love to collect stuff
for their nest.

[jnyork]

GOT HIM!!!

Set up the Havahart trap on the porch where he always left plenty of krapp. Baited it with some prunes and a few little chunks of ham slice. Left for about 48 hours, went back up the check and there he was. Never even got in the trailer. Threw him the back of the truck and headed back to town, dropped him off 3-4 miles away in a gully with lots of thick willows and sagebrush along with some beaver dams. Opened up the trap he scurried away into the brush toward the water. Bid him a fond (?) adieu and came on home.

[.45colt]

Great to hear, I sure hope it doesn't make an "incredible journey" and find His way back home. .

[jnyork]

Great to hear, I sure hope it doesn't make an "incredible journey" and find His way back home. .

I still have the trap.

[.45colt]

It is prolly now the smartest pack rat that ever lived. .