I need some advice so I am going to turn to the professionals. I am having some bait issues. Friskies in the can loses its effectiveness in about a day and a half. It rains too much here for dry bait. I tried sardines and tuna with some trophies but not like what a good can of wet crat bait will do. Aside from the baits I mentioned have any of you had luck with any particular bait? I have a serious overpopulation going on. I got another problem... Smokie just moved in across the street. He is one of them on the crat side. I began putting the feral crat saver in the back but they make so much noise once they get saved before I can medicate them (with a healthy dose of Vitamin L). My other problem is getting them to a location to "check on their welfare and determine medication.

I think you boys are straying a little here in the small game site. We need to maintain focus here. Our job has just begun. I witnessed a scarce woodpecker meet its fate the other day by a black and grey one. I was hoping to catch that one to make sure he had enough vitamin l in his system but he managed to elude my efforts.

Put your crat saver device on a board, across a tub/vat/etc. When a saved crat in safely in the device, it should fall in to the tub/vat/etc., when ever the crat gets excited. Crat will come down once under water and be quite.(forever)

Hog Killer

PS: This is an old ninja practice, known to Dragon Lady of the "Golden Chopstix". Do not ask how I know about it

Would be willing to offer advice,,need to get more info on your situation,,population,,people and crats,,seems like you enjoy watching birds. Hell lets play a game of hang man,,sn_ _ _. 1 ply baler twine does well. Clay

Thanks for the tip hog killer. Once I read it I had to look. I knew it had to be... That guy is from the south. He has a tub in his yard that he can use to help save the feral crats... That is a great idea. I just don't have an extra tub in the back yard. Maybe I will try to make one out of a garbage can. My crat saver is rather large. About 3ft long.

I can understand the problem of keeping their,uh, food dry in Oregon as I am in BC. Try putting out a half sheet of plywod as a sort of roof so that the little darlings don't get wet whilst eating! derf

I would heartily reccommend the "Old Time Trapper's Supply Company's" favorite Cat Attractor bait as first class. But it is pretty hard to get because of the demand nationwide. I analyzed some I had and found that it closely resembled ground fried chicken scraps. So now for regular use I just use nice fresh " _ojangles" mild spicy N.C. fried chicken scraps, whole, in an old tuna can. I always put a patio paving block on top of the HAVASMART catcher so it is well stabilized in the flowerbed or elsewhere. Works for me. Once I was transporting a cat to the release area in my F-150 and it was such a nice happy day, perhaps I was speeding, a little. The beast managed to get out of the transport container, an old cooler, as I went around a long sweeping curve and it jumped in front of an 18-wheeler that was doing 85 mph just as I passed it. I don't know what happened to it. Cat just disappeared in the rear view mirror.

jamon,

For your next "landscaping project", put in a Koi pond, with a nice little pier. Follow the above advice and sometimes you will have some "catfish" in your pond. At least for a little while. Just remember to tie your crat saver to the pier, with an extra 5-6 feet of slack in the rope.

Hog Killer

If a cat "accidentally" got put into the Smokie's car over night and the Smokie found
his car full of cat hair and waste products, then the Smokie may have a change of heart about
crats. Do a lot of shooting around your house and the Smokie will eventually ignore it. Then when you must crat-whack, he may ignore that too.

quote:

Originally posted by Old Elk Hunter:
If a cat "accidentally" got put into the Smokie's car over night and the Smokie found
his car full of cat hair and waste products, then the Smokie may have a change of heart about
crats. Do a lot of shooting around your house and the Smokie will eventually ignore it. Then when you must crat-whack, he may ignore that too.

Or..., you could bait across the road, and send all of the crats over there. He might get so tired of crats cr@pping and spraying his place he would change sides and whack a few himself. This would be reaally good if you happened to be a witness to his deeds. Then he would not say anything about you joinning in with him. This does assume that he can acually hit anything he shoots at. As most cops I've seen are very marginal shooters.

So, help "Bless" him with all of the crats you can.

Hog Killer

Live English Sparrows (they're unprotected in most states, check local laws) in a 5 X 5 X 5 inch wire enclosure are very good bait. Small enclosure required or they beat themselves to death.

quote:

Originally posted by claybuster:
Would be willing to offer advice,,need to get more info on your situation,,population,,people and crats... Clay

Don't tell him, Jamon - he's just trying to horn in your hunting lease!!

Naw,,I have enough as it is,,But want to make sure we have all the details to assure he has a good outing. We do'nt want to recomend a red ryder to him when he could be using a 30mm vulcan Kill'em all! Clay

This is some great stuff. I live within the city limits so I can't be administering any vitamins in town. I have to take them out for that. That is one of my problems. Getting them in the truck without all the neighbors seeing. Occasionally I let some see just as a warning. Of course if I did that with smokie I might get put in a cage myself. I would love to have a gun with a silencer. If there are 30 houses on my street I would bet that there are over 100 crats. I gotta move soon if I can't beat them. I need reinforcements.

Get some 22 CB Longs, out of a rifle they will sound like a pelletgun. The barrel in essents, acts as a supresser. Very quite.

Good hunting,

Hog Killer

And shoot from well within the house. The house itself acts as a suppressor. derf