I know that rats and mice can not burb... that being said if you dont want to get a cat you can set out bowls of pop or bread dough balls. This isnt the nicest way to deal with them but they will stop running around. Only problems with granualar repellents are you other animals or children. Everything must be out of reach for any animal. Cats and dogs. You dogs and cats will be gasey if they drink the pop or eat the bread dough they wont die liekt eh mice.

Snakes work. So do raptors and owls.

If you can find some "rat snakes" to live in the barn, the populaiton will drop. And perhaps a barn owl nesting box could be added?

Also, keep things CLEAN, and make sure they can't get into the feed bins.

Years ago when I worked in a cafe the old fella that owned it used wall paper paste...just sat bags in various places. The rodents are crazy for the sweet taste, it swells and they can't pass it. I would think it would work great in a barn. In my opinion, it didn't do well in the cafe store room. Critters smell awful when they don't leave to die...
arkeima

My jack russell would get them.Great little dogs.I let chickens out to free range she rounds them up they go right back in the house.Rats under chicken house,mice ,she gets them they dont get by her.

More cats may do the trick- not all of them are hunters. Relocating a cat & getting it to want to live in your barn is kind of a pain, but our rodent problems have dropped to nil with a good group of cats.

Here is a link that might be useful: Relocating feral cats

Well, you have my sympathy because I've fought the same battle. The electronic zapper got one rat, so that was a $30 rat as it has not worked again. I find these creatures very suspicious and once one of their numbers dies in a trap, the others won't go near it. I've had luck with D-con (those blue pellets) in the past, but lately they won't eat it. At the grocery store yesterday I saw another product from D-con, it was a brownish block about 1" square which looked interesting.

When I put out poison, I put it in an upside down shoebox with an opening or something like that to try to keep out cats and other animals. Good luck.

Truly, the best trick is to keep the seed or whatever attracts them cleaned up and sealed up, but I know that is not always easy. I like most animals, but not rats/mice!

Good luck.

Susan

P.S. They get out of sticky traps.

I've heard that peppermint oil and moth balls will drive them away too. THe Shake away stuff is supposedly coyote & fox urine. (I wonder how they get them yp pee in the bottle?) All organic or so they claim.

P-nut butter is what mice love! I don't know about rats.
We have set traps with p-nut butter for years. But then you have to clean the traps. I used some d-con but it got so they wouldn't eat it anymore, so I mixed it with p-nut butter and I've been mouse free for most of the summer. Thing is I make sure the cats and dogs can't get into it. I put it in an area where mice were coming through the wall anyway and then put a big old heavy stove we had up against the wall (with help) with a space too small for cats or dogs. It worked great.
I've heard that cats will catch the mice and be poisoned too. I'm awfully glad that hasn't happened here. But I always worry about it a little anyway.

chickenmama1

Fill a five gallon bucket half full with water, put the pop corn shipping styroform on top of water, in the center anchor one peanut coated with peanut butter. rat jumps in and drowns,