Rodents/Rats/mice

[ChilliMayne]

Ive noticed an uninvited guest in my shed/brew house yesterday. Only for a split second and fear its a young rat as opposed to a wee mouse! Any clever ideas out there as to how to get rid?
I did by mistake order a 25kG bag of Marris Otter at the start of the year for my brew projects and always swore i would never keep grain stock in the shed for such a reason. Only buy when ready to brew. But alas here I am!
With young kids around too its not idea.
Ready online about natural repellants like cloves and cayenne pepper etcc...
Any thoughts??

 

[Head First]

Victorpest.com has a variety of traps live or dead. Get em.

 

[LarryBrewer]

To protect the grain, a plastic tub or small metal trash can with lid would work. Put the grain sack in there and they won't be able to get into it.

 

[JAMC]

I did by mistake order a 25kG bag of Marris Otter at the start of the year for my brew projects and always swore i would never keep grain stock in the shed for such a reason.

Take your original advice to yourself - don't keep the sack in the shed. I keep my 25kg sack of pale in the house for exactly this reason. Ordering "as and when" means you can't take advantage of the economies of scale. Are there tell-tale holes in the sack which would suggest nibbling?

If you have got a rodent problem then I'm not really able to give useful advice - other than suggesting that you don't sit up there all night waiting for them with a BB gun like some people I know!

 

[Foster82]

A small piece of Slimjim on the classic snap trap works wonders. Just make sure to secure really well to the bait trigger. Downside is that after a few home brews, you might be tempted to retrieve the Slimjim . But seriously I bagged over 40 mice in Afghanistan with Slimjims and snap traps (camp was built in the middle of an old wheat field :| ). I would assume a rat would also be tempted.

 

[UB2]

Nothing works better than a cat!
Next best thing is peanut butter in a Have-a-heart trap. These traps come in all sizes but then you have a live rodent and need to figure out what to do with it. Really, get a cat.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I double the Peanut Butter and a snap trap.
Works like a charm, and it doesn't spoil on the trap if you leave 1 or 2 set.
Also, an old fermenting bucket with a lid snapped on will be a great place to store the grain. Homer Buckets work as well. They hold about 25# each and cost +/- $4
Way cheaper than the grain!
Brian