INSTEAD OF POISON WHICH WILL KILL ANY CAT OR DOG THAT CATCHES AND EATS THAT RAT, why not go to the animal shelter and get a cat or a medium to large dog, they will keep them in check. I have 3 cats and anything that moves is prey. and contrary to what everyone says, my guys do not catch birds, they are too fast. the only presents i find at the door are mice, shrews, moles and voles and a few copperheads and even one rattlesnake. plus they are a lot of company and when i came home from the hospital after heart surgery, even alerted me to problems at night so i could wake up and take action. they saved my life.
I can't agree more about not using rat poison... from experience. (Fortunately, I also keep a supply of vitamin K for the times I suspect my dogs may have caught a poisoned rat that ran away from a petless neighbor's home. So far, I've only lost one dog to such poisoning ... mainly because I was foolish enough to go to a vet rather than trust my gut instinct. By the time the vet ran all the tests and got all the results, my dog had already passed... and I was out thousands of dollars.)
But I also must say you've got some very slow cats if they never catch birds. My very large dogs catch birds on occasion. Sparrows, doves, pigeons, even a cardinal and a woodpecker have shown up on my porch.
You will also need to seal up any holes in the shed that allow the rats access. If you can't put wood or sheet metal over the holes, stuff the holes with steel wool, they don't like it.
This summer has been crazy with houseflies... what is the best way to get rid of them? I've been chasing them around with a swatter, but there has to be a better way....
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https://www.hunker.com/13406693/how-to-get-rid-of-rats-in-the-shed
onioms or peppermint oil are things that detour and send them away.
Rat poison.
You will also need to seal up any holes in the shed that allow the rats access. If you can't put wood or sheet metal over the holes, stuff the holes with steel wool, they don't like it.
Rat traps.
Remove any food source such as bird seed and set traps. Amazon sells enclosed traps by Protecta that keeps an errant cat from getting snapped.
Put a bowl of Antifreeze in it.