Cheapest way to acquire a whole load of CO2? (not for welding)

[captain-destructo]

find out where they are getting into the buildings yours next door etc get hold of a cage trapand set it near the entrance/exit then you can get rid of them by dunking them in a drum of water or catch and release possibly through the letterbox of the last customer that didnt pay his bill

 

[GKQ]

Buy one of these, https://www.goodnature.co.nz/ rat trap they are brilliant. We use them around the farm, no poison, no traps to reset and the rats clear ( eat the other dead rats ) up before they kill themselves. Not cheap to buy, well worth it in my opinion. We got over 20 rats the first night with 3 of them. And for the smarty pants rats who won't go near them good old wooden victor trap with peanut butter, crunchy or smooth they don't mind either as a last meal.
Graham

 

[Shox Dr]

find out where they are getting into the buildings yours next door etc get hold of a cage trapand set it near the entrance/exit then you can get rid of them by dunking them in a drum of water or catch and release possibly through the letterbox of the last customer that didnt pay his bill

It's illegal to release rats.

(ii) Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) (available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/about_legislation.htm) prohibits the release into the wild any animal which is 1) of a kind that is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to GB in a wild state or 2) is included in Part 1 of Schedule 9. Currently (June 2008), the black rat (Rattus rattus), the fat/edible dormouse (Glis glis), the grey squirrel (Sciureus carolinensis) and the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) are listed on Part 1 of Schedule 9 and therefore cannot be released, except under licence.

 

[outofthefire]

Also, if you're an animal lover you would not want to asphyxiate them with an inert gas it's a god-awful way to kill any animal. Not at all painless and full of suffering certainly no better than poison.

Actually that isn't true, if you use something like nitrogen or co (not co2) your body doesn't realise its not getting oxygen and you basically go to sleep and don't wake up.

 

[brightspark]

that's not nice drowning them and its illegal just shoot caught ones with air rifle its fast

 

[outofthefire]

It's illegal to release rats.

(ii) Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) (available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/about_legislation.htm) prohibits the release into the wild any animal which is 1) of a kind that is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to GB in a wild state or 2) is included in Part 1 of Schedule 9. Currently (June 2008), the black rat (Rattus rattus), the fat/edible dormouse (Glis glis), the grey squirrel (Sciureus carolinensis) and the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) are listed on Part 1 of Schedule 9 and therefore cannot be released, except under licence.

The black rat isn't our rat we have brown rats (Rattus norvegicus)

 

[rtbcomp]

At one time we used CO on a mink farm to kill the mink. We later went over to lethal injections.

 

[normspanners]

I had a problem with mice in one place, I went round and sealed it as best I could and left my lawn mower running in there, with a full tank, until it stopped, I presume from lack of oxy coz there was still fuel in it and it started again when taken out.
That cured the mice problem .
but make sure you put engine on a piece of cardboard to soak any leakage.
I got the idea from the history channel and a certain German.

 

[Joe_echo]

Why not use poison? I know you said you don't want to use it add it might kill something else but the newer generation poisons are designed to only kill the rat and not the thing that eats the rat.

 

[dannyp]

id say the locial thing to do is block said air brick with something rat proof

 

[angellonewolf]

i was advised to use mars bars when i had a problem years ago and it works fast i only put the trap down for 45 mins before one went snap got one replaced it went again in 25 mins and replaced went again in an hour think i could of kept going but had to go to work but got 7 of them over a 2 day period once i got them all i just filled the hole they where geting in in the floor boards

 

[Gareth J]

You don't want to poison but do want to use CO2 to asphyxiate?? CO2 is not inert and in the levels you'll be wanting to achieve, it actively attacks exposed moist surfaces. The CO2 dissolves in water to produce (carbolic?) Acid. If you try sniffing the gas from a welding torch hooked up to CO2, you will notice it has a bit of a "bite" to it. An inert gas like nitrogen or argon, fine but CO2 is not without suffering. I doubt its as bad as chlorine gas (easily generated by the way...) Which attacks the lung lining so much that you effectively drown in your own seepages but not quite gently falling to sleep either.

If that's ok with you (I imagine it might be - after all, you are planning to kill the little critters) the cheapest option is likely to be anywhere you can get some CO2 that isn't quite legit. Out of date fire extinguishers, pub gas, or anyone you can find with a bottle on contract that will let you empty and refill it for the cost of doing so plus whatever extra for the privilege.

Cheaper still will be any of the other methods suggested above with a similar level of suffering. If coaxing them out into traps really isn't an option, anything carbon monoxide generating would be my choice, CO is much more effective at lower concentrations due to how it sneaks in an block O2 in the body. You're more likely to kill everything in one go more quickly.

Best of luck

 

[rtbcomp]

.... The CO2 dissolves in water to produce (carbolic?) Acid....

Carbonic, it's a constituent of acid rain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acid

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Moth Balls.

Get a few packets, throw them down the holes they are using.
Humans will smell them for a few days, rodents foe a lot longer.
It will drive them away.

Cheep, painless and humane.

Ten block the holes.

 

[outofthefire]

i was advised to use mars bars when i had a problem years ago and it works fast i only put the trap down for 45 mins before one went snap got one replaced it went again in 25 mins and replaced went again in an hour think i could of kept going but had to go to work but got 7 of them over a 2 day period once i got them all i just filled the hole they where geting in in the floor boards

The only trouble with mars bars is occasionally really crafty ******s are clever enough to somehow get the bait without triggering the trap, I use a mixture of nutella and peanut butter on traps and as bait if i'm shooting them, it works well for squirrels and mice too.

 

[brightspark]

mk4 fen traps never fail

 

[outofthefire]

mk4 fen traps never fail

That's what I use

 

[the artfull-codger]

As brightapark says mk4 fenn trap, a piece of hard chocolate on the platform bound tight with electrical tape [they love chewing plastic] & you catch 'em every time, & a heavy piece of metal chained to it in case they just catch their tail & try to run off with the trap.