Anyone use a cat or dog for pest control

[Porter Rockwell]

I need some serious advice. Our miniature schnauzer passed away a while back. Since then, we seem to be over run with chipmunks and other vermin. I did not know our little dog kept the vermin at bay but she must have.

I’ve been trapping to remove the chimpunks but they keep coming and I’ve also caught 2 rats and a mouse recently. These little var- mints have to go!

Do any of use a small dog or a cat for rodent control? Any recommendations? I know zero about cats ( they need to have claws and be outdoor cats right?)

What’s the best kind of dog for catching small rodents? Can I keep an inside dog and only let him hunt during the day and at dusk?

 

[Dieselt]

Cats

 

[Ga Short Mag]

I had a min schnauzer that kept every rodent and mole wiped out in our backyard. I now have a Shiba Inu that is a killing machine. She will stalk out everyplace that a rat has been seen and killed every day is case another one shows up. She also is deadly on lizards and the occassional bird. Acts more like a cat than a dog.

 

[superprime]

Our local animal control usually gives out barn cats for free. You just have to agree they have a warm place to sleep outside. They are semi feral and not to be considered pets. We thought about getting one a few years ago then we got a 100 pound shepherd. I don't know if she kills anything but I never see any snakes, mice, or other vermin and we live behind a cow pasture.

 

[41mag]

We have a couple of killers here. Our schnauzer mix and our cat keeps everything in check.…except when they want to play with something ! My cat thinks he can bring in chipmunks or lizards and play with them….it takes my wife and my fat/slow/useless ass to catch them. It has got to be comical to watch as we use clothes baskets, trash can, anything we can to corner it and trap it so we can put it back outside.
Of course, all this is going on while our dog and cat think its a game !!

 

[Boogar Presley]

Yes. My dogs keep the squirrels and anything else with a brain out of our yard. What does manage to find it's way in is quickly dispatched by either of my 2 cats

 

[outlaw1961]

Yorkies were originally bred for killing rats. Have a six month old one. She attacks her toys, growling and flings them across the room. I can visualize these dogs biting the neck and slinging them

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

Check on craigslist for barn cat, you'll find some. House cats will work usually but better if the kittens were raised from a young age how to hunt. Just keep some food and water out for it in a sheltered place and it'll hang around. We had one feral cat show up on our porch about 6 months ago, starving to death so I gave her some food. I guess she is permanent now and is actually pretty friendly with the family. She keeps the squirrels and chipmunks at bay pretty well when she isn't napping on the porch swing.

 

[Bushwick100]

I have a long retaining Wall in my yard, the Outside Cats lay up on the wall to Sun and relax, but anything that moves is killed, except for a hugh Black Snake that travels through my yard. Never seen a rat in my yard. My yard with my little dog looking for trouble.

 

[MuleShoe]

Outdoor cats will take car of the mice, squirrels, chip monks and even snakes in and around yard! We’ve got several in yard and they roam around the outside taking care of rodents in about 2 acre square!. We still see squirrels at a farther distance but nothing venturing closer.