trinabean Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Thanks Iggy mum, but a cat isn't an option here. Bruno is not cat-friendly, and OH and one of my kids are allergic kind of people (asthma, hayfever etc). Plus, I tend to agree with Persephone about the cat being at risk of snakebite. The snakes we have around here are mostly tiger snakes and dugites. Someone i know lost her beautiful Siamese cat to snakebite recently. Yonjuro, your Pop's technique. After seeing how quickly this snake moved, I'm standing well away, donning gumboots to my armpits and calling a snake catcher every time. :laugh: Tdierikx, I've tried chocolate in the traps, without success. I did catch a couple of mice using chocolate and peanut butter, but the rats seem too damn smart! Will try some other types, maybe they don't like dark choc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 2 weekends ago I had been out for a couple of hours, had come home and I was sitting on the lounge which I never do, watching TV and I looked up and there in the back room was a snake. I called all the dogs and was madly counting them, closed the door, turned around and the snake was gone. It took me 30 minutes to find a snake catcher that would come out and then a further 30 minutes for him to turn up. Meanwhile I was watching the dogs not knowing if they had been bitten or not I was told to sprinkle flour around the door so we could tell if the snake left the room. When the catcher turned up I explained where I thought the snake was hiding and of course it wasn't there. He hunted for 5 minutes and I thought he was starting to think I was nuts, and then he found it. It had climbed up the wall and was sitting in the window track - 1m dugite. Wow, so glad you spotted it and the snake catcher got it, before any of the dogs got bitten! That's about the same size as this one was. Not knowing much about them, I thought maybe it was a juvenile, but no. Snake catcher quickly clarified that it was an adult, and how venomous they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Yep sprinkle flour around, any snake tracks show up in it. Good to see it has finally gone. You can get lockable bait stations to put rat bait in. I got some from my pestie. They can't drag it around and it's easy to check when it's empty. I haven't had one in my house but had a few in my garage and on that got up into the wall when we were sheeting what eventually became a passage. The biggest dugite we have had around the house was around 6 foot long, the biggest one I have ever seen whilst out walking through the farm was a good 7 feet long and as robs as my forearm. The muscle definition was incredible. I have never seen one that big since. OsoSwift, a 7 foot dugite sounds like the sort of snake you never want to meet again. Ever. Wasn't there a huge one down your way that was photographed gorging itself on a tiger snake? And thanks, I will look into the lockable bait stations. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 I've been so paranoid about the tiger snakes since moving here, I'm always looking around but I keep the lawn mowed and there's no rubbish laying around. I thought of this thread this morning when I was walking out to the clothesline and Stan was outside near the backdoor eyes wide open and staring at something, he was backing away and had a look of fear. I dropped the laundry basket, ran out and grabbed his collar but he pulled back and his collar came off and he took off down the yard. I turned around to see what he was looking at and saw a big mound of soap suds from the washing machine coming out of the drain outside.....veeeeewy scarwy soap suds Bloody dog gave me a heart attack. :laugh: I just love Stan HazyWal. I found Bruno looking intently at something behind the shed the other day. His hackles were up and he was very still, just watching. I called him away as I immediately assumed he might have spotted the big stumpy tailed lizard that sometimes visits our yard. And I didn't want him to hurt it. I put Bruno inside and of course when I looked behind the shed, there was nothing there. Bruno has been behaving oddly, sniffing very intently parts of the yard and shed. I thought he was following rat trails, but it may have been the snake scent? OH STAN! We wuv you Stan - you never fail to entertain! Sorry he stressed you out HW! We mostly get copperheads here, so I sympathise with the terror that dogs could get bitten. I have lost two cats to snakebite here and now have strictly indoor only cats... I have never yet lost a dog to snakebite, although some came really close following a large mulga when we were stationed in Woomera in the 1990s. Those mulgas were unlike any other snakes I have ever encountered as in breeding season they would range really widely and become quite bold and sometimes ludicrously aggressive. I'll add the mulga to my list of 'never want to meet' snakes RuralPug. Sorry about your cats, it's an awful way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowstarin Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Use racumin rat baits. No secondary poisoning for dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) the ingredient DIFENACOUM has a much lower toxicity rate than many others, thankfully. Grams of bait required to be fatal Bait Ingredient in commonly sold baits Mouse / Rat Dog Difenacoum 0.4 / 9.0 ```````````````````` ``````` 1000 Bromadiolone 0.9 / 5.6 `````````````````````` ``````` 200 Brodifacoum 0.2 / 1.3 `````````````````````````` `` 5 Warfarin 37.4 / 58 `````````````````````````` ``` 400 The ingredient coumatetralyl - there is this excerpt from a study done HERE Results and discussion: The animals receiving one poisoned rat displayed a moderate increase of PTtime (<20 sec) after 48 hours, which declined rapidly. The animals receiving 3 poisoned rats displayed a marked increase in PT time (max 79 sec), after 4-5 days, but there was no need for treatment with vitamin K1. The PT value declined rapidly after its maximum (within 2 hours, PT was halved) and the dogs were healthy, without any clinical evidence of hemorrhages. These results indicate that, under our experimental conditions, there is no risk of poisoning after ingestion of one poisoned rat by a healthy dog. After three daily ingestions, a very unusual situation, hemorrhagic disorders may occur. Although no such disorders were experienced, dogs which may have ingested poisoned rats should always be monitored. do lots of label reading etc before placing any mouse/rat poisons around where pets/native raptors/lizards live . Edited January 17, 2015 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Use racumin rat baits. No secondary poisoning for dogs Thanks Nowstarin, that's better than the traditional baits. :) I'm more concerned about first-hand poisoning (if the rats scatter the bait like last time). But the lockable bait stations might be the solution there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 the ingredient DIFENACOUM has a much lower toxicity rate than many others, thankfully. Grams of bait required to be fatal Bait Ingredient in commonly sold baits Mouse / Rat Dog Difenacoum 0.4 / 9.0 ```````````````````` ``````` 1000 Bromadiolone 0.9 / 5.6 `````````````````````` ``````` 200 Brodifacoum 0.2 / 1.3 `````````````````````````` `` 5 Warfarin 37.4 / 58 `````````````````````````` ``` 400 The ingredient coumatetralyl - there is this excerpt from a study done HERE Results and discussion: The animals receiving one poisoned rat displayed a moderate increase of PTtime (<20 sec) after 48 hours, which declined rapidly. The animals receiving 3 poisoned rats displayed a marked increase in PT time (max 79 sec), after 4-5 days, but there was no need for treatment with vitamin K1. The PT value declined rapidly after its maximum (within 2 hours, PT was halved) and the dogs were healthy, without any clinical evidence of hemorrhages. These results indicate that, under our experimental conditions, there is no risk of poisoning after ingestion of one poisoned rat by a healthy dog. After three daily ingestions, a very unusual situation, hemorrhagic disorders may occur. Although no such disorders were experienced, dogs which may have ingested poisoned rats should always be monitored. do lots of label reading etc before placing any mouse/rat poisons around where pets/native raptors/lizards live . Thanks Perse, great info. I will need to be careful with any baiting as apart from my dog, we have a resident stumpy-tailed lizard here too. I'd hate to harm him. Just before we went away on holidays (and Bruno was away too) I nailed Ratsack wax blocks to several trees in our yard that the rats run through each night. There were a few dead rats in our yard when we got home (not nice after a 44 degree day!) and all of the wax blocks were completely gone. It was more effective than all of the traps I have tried so far. The rats just seem too savvy to touch most traps. I will try a lockable bait station. Hopefully they will actually go to it. Clever little buggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I am very grateful we don't have rats - just mice , in great number Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumCorner Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Poison baits are never totally safe: (hate to think of the laboratory animals killed in testing dead-rat-eating to safe levels, horrible). Previous owners here poisoned liberally and we still find blocks or pellets in odd spots three years later, quite scary. I threw out the live-traps when I had a couple of mis-trips and poor mice were mutilated. So now it's back to snap-traps with great success. Perseph I think the Big Cheese rat-traps are the best - like their mouse-traps (snap-traps, not live) they are very easy to set and clear, and reliable again and again. Bunnings have them people, they are red and white hard plastic: mice/rates don't seem to have the same suspicion of them as they do of the wood and wire or metal traps. The brown snake that was resident near my chook pens seems to have moved on, haven't seen him/her since before Christmas but still keep aware. The mouse population there has much decreased so the snake did some good work between scaring me and making the area off limits to the dogs for their safety. We'll never totally eradicate little rodents because of the wheat storage silos next door, it is a massive safe home base for them to constantly spread out from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 An update on my original post: Yesterday as I was leaving in the afternoon to do the school run, Bruno was behaving strangely in the lounge room. He wasn't barking or making a huge fuss, but his hackles were up and he was intent on something that was under our big corner sofa. I had a quick look and couldn't see anything (sofa is huge and low-set, too big for me to move though). I assumed he had cornered a mouse or a bug. Something harmless. Anyway, thinking nothing more of it, I locked up and went out for an hour, leaving Bruno inside as it was hot outside. Shortly after we arrived home, a Dugite slithered out and straight past my youngest son. He yelled 'snake!' and I saw it disappear into the laundry. The house is open plan, so there's no door to contain the snake to the laundry. Barefoot and having a bit of a panic, I made a temporary barricade to keep the snake in one area, while telling the kids to grab Bruno and go to the neighbours. It seemed like the longest wait for the snake catcher. Every now and then the snake popped it's head out from under the washing machine, so I stomped my feet in the hope of keeping it cornered under there. I was standing behind my half-arsed barricade and really didn't want the snake to come towards me to check it's options! The snake catcher got me to help move the washing machine while he tried to pin the snake. A hairy moment. At least I had gumboots on by then. Once the snake was caught, bagged and taken away, I needed a stiff drink. Things could have been so much worse. I'm so lucky that Bruno wasn't bitten while we were out. As to how the snake got in, we're pretty sure that it came in via the dog door during the night. I heard the dog door magnetic flap re-seat, and got up to grab a drink the other night, but Bruno was curled up snoring on the couch. He hadn't just gone in/out. Figured it was the wind. The only other way in is via the gap between the glass sliding doors, but we made efforts to block the gaps last time there was a snake here. I'm about ready to move house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Glad the snake catcher was able to do their thing! That's scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Geez Louise! Thank goodness nothing happened to Bruno and your son. I bet you needed a stiff drink. To think it may have been the one that made the noise in the doggy door gives me chills. Brrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I am hoping evolution makes it so snakes are born with bells on ..so we can hear them! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Yikes :eek: So very, very glad you're all OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal House Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Scary moment, so glad the snake was able to be relocated and all ended well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mim Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Omg so scary! What area of WA is this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 OMG! My worst nightmare. Glad everyones OK at your house TB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Geez Louise! Thank goodness nothing happened to Bruno and your son. I bet you needed a stiff drink. To think it may have been the one that made the noise in the doggy door gives me chills. Brrr. I'm still a bit freaked out that it got in and we were barefoot and oblivious, living with it! My eldest son is pretty pleased that he has a nice high loft bed. :laugh: I am hoping evolution makes it so snakes are born with bells on ..so we can hear them! ;) Oh, I wish! A noisy, obvious snake would be my preference. Not keen on these 'silent but deadly' ones. Yikes :eek: So very, very glad you're all OK. Thanks Tassie. Scary moment, so glad the snake was able to be relocated and all ended well. Thanks Dust Bunny. Still feel a bit sick when my mind wanders to all of the 'what ifs.' Omg so scary! What area of WA is this? Good old suburban Perth Mim. We are 10 minutes south of Fremantle. We've lived in this house for 12 years, and had never seen a snake in our house/yard until the last few months. Have now had 2 snakes removed, found one squished on the road in front of our house, and there was the one that got away in October. All adult dugites. I can only assume that our neighbours' rat problem has attracted a plague of snakes. I've had limited success in trapping the rats that venture into our yard. Bruno has killed a few. I'm at my wits end. OMG! My worst nightmare. Glad everyones OK at your house TB. Thanks Westiemum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 OMG , SO very Glad no one was bitten , thats a bloody living nightmare for sure a snake in the house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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