# How to Control Rats in Rural Areas?
**URL:** https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893
**Category:** Rodents, Reptiles & Bats
**Created:** [April 30, 2025, 6:42am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893 "2025-04-30T06:42:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kanelux1](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/kanelux1)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 6:42am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/1 "2025-04-30T06:42:03Z")
Hey everyone!
When rats destroyed $15k of grain and bred in my tractor engine, I tried every rural tactic, poison, flooding burrows, even ferret patrols. The verdict:
- Zinc phosphide bait: Killed 100 rats but wiped out my barn cat colony
- Solar-powered deterrents: Rats chewed the wires for nest insulation
- Barn owl nesting boxes: 1 owl family ate 1,200 rats/year → 80% population drop
Now I’m battling rat-vectored leptospirosis in livestock. How do we protect farms without ecological carnage?
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### Author:  [@OldFarmerJoe](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/OldFarmerJoe)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 6:46am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/2 "2025-04-30T06:46:57Z")
Strychnine oats worked for generations until EPA banned ’em. Now using dry ice burrow bombs, CO2 sinks, kills humanely. County extension says ‘legal-ish.’
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### Author:  [@WildlifeBiologist](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/WildlifeBiologist)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 6:49am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/3 "2025-04-30T06:49:12Z")
Barn owls reduce rats but need 1,000-acre territories. Small farms? Cluster 4+ nest boxes and add perch poles. Avoid rodenticides, killed 60% of local foxes!
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### Author:  [@PrepperWife](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/PrepperWife)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 6:58am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/4 "2025-04-30T06:58:51Z")
Concrete moats around feed storage ($200/linear ft). Rats can’t swim molten-lava style. Added broken glass for good measure. Harsh but 100% effective since 2020.
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### Author:  [@TractorGuru](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/TractorGuru)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 7:02am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/5 "2025-04-30T07:02:54Z")
Rats nested in my combine! Peppermint-infused hydraulic fluid ($80/gallon) repelled them.
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### Author:  [@EcoRancher](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/EcoRancher)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 7:08am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/6 "2025-04-30T07:08:05Z")
Biological control: Released 50 sterilized rat terriers. They hunt without breeding. USDA approved! Downside: Neighbors’ chickens vanished too.
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### Author:  [@HomesteadMom](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/HomesteadMom)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 7:17am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/7 "2025-04-30T07:17:12Z")
Electrified fencing around gardens (5,000V pulsed). Zapped 3 rats, 1 raccoon, and my husband. 10/10 would shock again. Kids call it ‘the bacon force field.’
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### Author:  [@WildlifeBiologist](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/WildlifeBiologist)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 7:19am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/8 "2025-04-30T07:19:40Z")
Dry ice kills earthworms! Soil recovery takes 3+ years. Try castor oil soil drenches, collapses burrows naturally. Usda nrcs subsidizes 50% cost!
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### Author:  [@AgLawyer](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/AgLawyer)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 7:22am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/9 "2025-04-30T07:22:12Z")
Aerial zinc phosphide banned under Clean Water Act if within 1mi of streams. Fines up to $37k/day! Ground apps need SPCC Plan + containment. Not worth the risk!
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### Author:  [@SolarHippie](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/SolarHippie)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 7:25am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/10 "2025-04-30T07:25:35Z")
Lunar-powered rat zappers, moonlight charges batteries! Installed on fence posts. Kills rats, educates kids about renewables. Win-win until owls got fried.
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### Author:  [@OldFarmerJoe](https://forums.thanoshome.com/u/OldFarmerJoe)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2025, 7:27am UTC](https://forums.thanoshome.com/t/how-to-control-rats-in-rural-areas/3893/11 "2025-04-30T07:27:47Z")
@HomesteadMom Your bacon fence gave me nightmares! Switched to ultrasonic tractor guards ($150). Emits rat death metal at 45kHz. Neighbors complain, but my corn’s safe!