Field Rats...Help

[mp27006]

I need to start off with a little background before I go into my main question. I currently have 48 bins of breeders in a building behind my house that will hold anywhere from 200-400 rats at a given time. About 2 months ago I began noticing that alot of my bins had started to go through a huge amount of food in a short amount of time.

Then it happened as I went one night to check in their for something I turned on the light and happend to find a huge field rat on top of my racks devouring lab block. It darted behind the rack and was never found. I immediatley went through the entire building and found a 3/4 gap on the back edge to the flooring that had been chewed through. I repaired that but have since found four more entries that have either been chewed or pryed open large enough for them to get in.

I have since stopped storing bags of food in with my rats and have created plywood doors that are fastned to the top of each feeding trough thinking they are after the food. THEY KEEP COMMING BACK!

So to my main question is it possible for a wild field rat to be attracted to domesticated rats that are in eustrus? If so what can I do?

[JohnNJ]

Have you tried rat traps?

[wolfy-hound]

Block any openings with metal. Steel wool sometimes works well in small crevices.

Rats are ingenius at getting into places and getting to food. I would definitely set traps and try to eradicate any wild rats. They can carry desease to your domestic rats as well as parasites.

[Driver]

If you have the option get a cat or two to keep outside. Some farmers do this cause the eat the mice and rats which also keep the snakes away cause there's no food for them.

[Rhasputin]

Field rats?

You probably mean norway rats, which are the same species as the rats you breed. So naturally they will be attracted to your food, and cages of rats as well.

[mp27006]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I have been using traps and have had some success as I have caught 4 with them. I also found about 20lbs of lab block under my building which I cleaned out and discarded. Part of my problem I believe is that the I insulated the floor on my building and covered it with moisture barrier to help with heating and cooling bills. The wild rats have basically destroyed this by pulling it down and created a huge nest under the building. This weekend I plan to remove all of the insulation and install some 2" angle iron along the interior walls that I already had. I just never realized that rats could be so determined to get what they want.