Getting rid of rats from your chicken coop: 8 methods compared.

Finding rats around the chicken coop is something we all need to take seriously.

They can contaminate feed, spread disease and quickly become an established problem.

Backyard chickens and rodents do not automatically go together. Rats and grain, however, do.

Prevention is important, but if rats have already moved in you firstly need to bring the problem under control.

The 10 most common ways to get rid of rats - Pin for later.

This article looks at eight commonly used methods, including those I've used myself, together with evidence about how effective they are, and the pros and cons of each.

My aim is to help you decide which approach is most appropriate for your individual circumstances.

Having rats in the chicken house is something no-one wants to see. And telling the difference between rats and mice is not always easy.

It's tempting to see evidence and think "it's only a little field mouse, what harm can he do?"

That is exactly what I did.

I was so sure I could never have a rodent problem, and so convinced it was just one little mouse who wanted a bit of warmth in the winter.

By the time I accepted I had rats in my coop, there was an infestation of three separate nests with dozens of rats.

And rats breed quickly. The infestation proved incredibly difficult to deal with.

Please, learn from my mistake.

If you see evidence of rats, don't ignore it and hope they'll disappear. The sooner you deal with the problem the easier it will be.

The question then is: how?

🪶 Featherlight Takeaways.

Quick insights from this article: especially helpful if you've found signs of rats around your chicken coop and need to decide how best to deal with them.

Act early. A small rat problem can become a large infestation very quickly.

Remove things that attract them. Controlling access to feed, water and shelter is essential if you don't want more moving in.

No single method suits everyone. The eight options below have very different advantages, disadvantages and welfare implications.

Be cautious about products offering an easy solution.

Think about more than the rats themselves. Chickens, pets, wildlife and children can all be put at risk by poorly chosen or incorrectly used control methods.

Options for getting rid of rats.

I'm not advocating any particular method here, with one exception.

My aim is to look at the options objectively, including their effectiveness, advantages and disadvantages.

Some I have used personally, others I've discussed with rodent control officers in the UK, and all of them I have carefully researched using reliable evidence.

Different procedures will suit different situations and different people. Not everyone will be comfortable using the same methods.

Use the information about each method to decide which would best suit you, your family, your circumstances and your chickens.

Looking for a particular method?

This is a long article covering eight different ways of dealing with rats. Use the links below to jump straight to the method you're interested in.

1. Poison.

Poison can control an infestation, but it won't prevent rats returning.

By the time I realised how serious my own rat infestation had become, there were three separate nests and dozens of rats around the coop and run. I decided to use poison because I felt the infestation had become too large to deal with quickly enough by other methods.

But I regard poison as a last resort, particularly around chickens and other animals.

Rodenticides are designed to kill, so they can also pose risks to pets, livestock and wildlife, either from the bait itself or from eating poisoned rodents.

They must always be used strictly according to the product label, and kept inaccessible to children and animals.

And poison does not solve the reason rats arrive in the first place. Unless food, shelter and access are dealt with, other rats will simply move in.

I've covered rodenticides, their risks and precautions in much more detail in a separate article.

Read my guide to using rat poison around chickens.

Pros: Can be effective when dealing with a serious infestation; may reach rats that are difficult to catch individually.

Cons: Risks to pets, livestock and wildlife; poisoned rodents may die in inaccessible places; does nothing to prevent new rats moving in; must be used and stored with great care.

2. Electric traps.

My experience: effective for ongoing rat and mouse control.

After I'd brought my own infestation under control, electric traps became my preferred method for dealing with any rats or mice that subsequently appeared.

I've used them successfully in the house and garage as well as around my chicken coop.

These battery powered traps work by enticing the rat or mouse into an enclose chamber. When the animal makes contact with the metal plate, the trap delivers a high-voltage electric shock designed to kill quickly.

For me, one advantage over poison is that I know when an animal has been caught and can remove it immediately.

And there's no poisoned rodent disappearing somewhere else, where it could be eaten by another animal – or a chicken – providing it is used exactly as the manufacturer directs, and positioned where animals cannot access it.

No lethal method is pleasant, but of those I've used, this is the one I've found both most practical and most humane for ongoing control.

I have written a detailed review of the electronic rat trap I use to help you decide whether it would be a good method for you.

Read my electronic trap review.

Pros: Effective for ongoing control; no rodenticide; enclosed trap makes disposal straightforward.

Cons: Initial cost; batteries need replacing; still a lethal method; must be positioned to avoid non-target animals.

Links on the rest of this page are "affiliate links". If you click on them and buy, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. I only recommend products I know and love and which I think will be genuinely useful to you. See my disclosure policy for more information.

3. Getting rid of rats with snap traps.

My view: effective and inexpensive, but not my preferred method.

I used traditional wooden snap traps initially, but later switched to a modern washable version using the same basic mechanism. I found it much easier to clean and reuse. Once I found electric traps, they became my preferred method.

How to use them.

Choose a trap specifically designed for rats: mouse traps are too small. Set in places where you've seen signs of rat activity, particularly beside walls or edges.

Place them well out of the reach of your children, chickens or other animals.

Leave them there for several days until the rodents get used to them: rats are naturally suspicious of anything new and unknown. It can help to bait but not set the traps at first; once the bait is being taken, set the trap.

Cheese is the accepted bait, but try baiting them with peanut butter. Rats are very attracted by the smell and in my experience you only need a tiny smear.
Check traps at least once a day, and deal with any trapped rodents straight away.

The tried and tested snap trap. Quick for the rodent; messy for the human.

If you prefer a traditional snap-trap mechanism which is washable and reusable, this is the type I used before switching to electric traps.

Pros: Inexpensive and widely available; effective when correctly sized and positioned; no poison involved; you know immediately when a rat has been caught.

Cons: Must be kept completely inaccessible to chickens, pets and children; rats may initially avoid unfamiliar traps; traps need checking at least daily; removing and disposing of dead rodents can be unpleasant.

4. Live-capture traps.

My view: they avoid deliberately killing the rat, but may not be as simple or humane as they sound.

Our neighbour uses this kind of trap. The rodent reaches the bait by going into an enclosed cage or box, triggering the door to close.

That leaves you with a live rat, and the more difficult question of what to do next.

Live capture traps are often sold as "humane" because they don't deliberately kill the animal. But capture can cause stress, and relocating a rat into unfamiliar territory doesn't guarantee that it will stay there, or survive.

And handling a live wild rodent brings its own risks. For that reason, guidance in the USA recommends against using live traps for household rodent control.

If you choose a live-capture trap, use one designed specifically for rats and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

And if you've seen information online about making your own from a plastic bottle, don't assume that it will safely contain a rodent.

If you're considering a live-capture trap, you can see the type discussed here and check the current price on Amazon.

Pros: Doesn't deliberately kill the captured rat; enclosed traps can reduce the risk of injury to other animals if used correctly.

Cons: The animal may experience considerable stress; traps must be checked frequently; handling and releasing a live wild rat carries risks; relocation may compromise the animal's survival and may simply move the problem elsewhere; doesn't prevent other rats moving in.

5. Can cats help control rats?

My experience: helpful, but not reliable rat control.

When I lived in rural Italy, feral and semi-feral cats were common. With wheat and sunflower fields all around our home, there were plenty of mice, too.

So when a mother cat had kittens in our shed, I was more than happy to invite the family to stay. She hunted rodents while she was there, and from my point of view she was very good at it!

Cats are a good way of keeping the rat population down.

We called her Milly, and she was a good ratter!

But my personal experience doesn't mean that getting a cat is a reliable answer to a rat infestation.

Cats are natural hunters and some certainly do kill rats. But research suggests that they may have much less impact on rat populations than we might expect.

In one study of an urban rat colony in New York, cats changed the rats' behaviour more often than they actually caught them: the rats tended to hide while the cats were around! So they seemed to have disappeared when they were actually still present⁽¹⁾.

Individual cats vary enormously, so choosing a cat because it's large or feral or even has a reputation as a killer does not necessarily mean it will tackle an adult rat. And a cat itself is a long-term care commitment, not a pest-control machine!

There's also another consideration here: cats can prey on chicks and other birds, so any cat with access to your flock needs to be treated as a potential predator.

Pros: Some cats do catch rats and mice; their presence may make rodents more cautious about moving in exposed areas; no poison or traps involved.

Cons: Not a reliable way to control an established rat population; individual cats may have little interest in rats; cats may prey on chicks and wildlife; keeping a cat brings its own long-term care responsibilities.

6. Using working terriers for rat control.

My experience: effective at catching exposed rats, but not a complete solution.

I used to work in an old, overcrowded Victorian prison in northern England. There was a serious problem with rodent infestation because the drainage system was old and over-used.

At the time, the prison authorities dealt with it by paying the local Border Terrier and Jack Russell Terrier clubs to come into the prison once a month, after dark. Their dogs were let loose in the yards where the rats were running.

I watched the dogs at work, and they certainly caught the exposed rats very quickly and killed them efficiently.

This is a fascinating video by the BBC, showing terriers at work killing rats on a farm in the UK.

Warning: The video shows working terriers catching and killing rats. Please don't watch it if you think you may find that distressing.

Terriers have a long history of being bred and used for rat-catching, and working dogs are still used for this purpose in some agricultural settings. But I haven't found good research showing that terriers alone provide effective long-term control of an established rat population.

Dogs can catch rats that are exposed and running, but that doesn't remove the conditions that attracted the rats in the first place. Nor can we assume that every rat, or every nest, will be found.

Pros: Can remove exposed rats without using poison; working terriers have a long history of being used for rat control; I personally saw terriers catch rats very quickly.

Cons: Doesn't address food, shelter or access that attracted the rats; may not reach rats or nests hidden underground or within buildings; requires experienced handlers and suitably trained dogs; involves direct killing and won't be acceptable to everyone.

7. Ultrasonic repellers.

My experience: they didn't work, and the evidence is unconvincing.

These sound like the perfect solution: plug one in and drive rats away without using either poison or traps.

Unfortunately, there is no good evidence that these devices provide reliable, long-term control of rats or mice.

The US Federal Trade Commission has taken action over unsupported claims made for ultrasonic pest control devices, challenging claims that they can repel or eliminate rodents.

Manufacturers are now expected to be able to show reliable scientific evidence to support their claims(2).

My own experience wasn't encouraging either. I tried these in my house to deter field mice. They simply did not work.

How do they work?

These devices plug in and emit high-frequency sound, much of it above the range of human hearing. This sound is intended to make an area uncomfortable for rodents.

It's right to say that rats can respond behaviourally to ultrasound under experimental conditions.

But that's very different from showing that a plug-in device will make an established population abandon somewhere offering food and shelter!

Please note: I don't link to ultrasonic repellers as an affiliate product because I haven't found convincing evidence that they're worth your money.

Pros: Non-lethal; easy to use; doesn't involve poison or traps.
Cons: No convincing evidence that consumer devices provide reliable long-term rodent control; any initial response may not persist; doesn't remove food, shelter or access; my own devices failed to deter even small mice.

8. Glue traps.

My view: Don't use them.

I've seen glue traps used first-hand, when a private pest-control company used them in my UK workplace which had become overrun with mice.

They're one method I would never choose to use myself.

Why?

Glue traps are boards or trays covered with a strong adhesive. When a rat or mouse (or a pet, or wild bird if outside) walks onto it, the animal (or bird) becomes stuck.

What happens next is a serious welfare problem. Trapped rodents can suffer injuries trying to escape, and may remain trapped for a long time.

Those welfare concerns have led to increasing restrictions on their use, but the law varies by location. For example, their use is banned altogether in Wales and heavily restricted in England, where only licensed professional pest controllers may use them in exceptional circumstances^{(3, 4)}.

In America, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is very explicit: "Do not use glue traps and live traps. These traps can scare the rodents, causing them to urinate, which can increase your chance of getting sick"⁽⁵⁾.

Pros: Inexpensive and capable of catching rodents where they pass.

Cons: Serious animal-welfare concerns; can catch non-target wildlife and pets; trapped animals may suffer injury and prolonged distress; ordinary use to catch rodents is illegal in England and may also be restricted or prohibited elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions about rats and chickens.

What is the best way of getting rid of rats around a chicken coop?

There's no single method that's best in every situation. The size of the infestation, where the rats are nesting, and the presence of chickens, pets, children and wildlife all matter.

Whichever control method you use, remove access to chicken feed and shelter at the same time or other rats may simply take their place.

Will rats go by themselves if I stop leaving chicken feed out?

Removing accessible food makes your chicken coop much less attractive to rats, but don't assume an established infestation will simply disappear. Rats may have other food sources nearby and may already be nesting on or close to your property.

Food control is an important part of dealing with the problem, but not necessarily a complete solution by itself.

Do ultrasonic rat repellers really work?

There is no convincing evidence that ultrasonic devices provide reliable, long-term control of rats.

I tried them myself for field mice without success, and I certainly wouldn't rely on them to deal with an established infestation.

How do I get rid of rats without harming my chickens?

Whichever method you choose, chickens must not be able to reach traps, bait or poisoned rodents.

Secure chicken feed, remove spillages promptly and place any control devices where your flock and other non-target animals cannot access them.

What to read next.

If you're dealing with rats around your chickens, these three articles will help you prevent them returning, choose an electric trap, and keep chicken feed securely out of their reach.