Rat in the garden

The rat ( which I hoped had gone away while I was away for a month and hence no bird food was out) is back and looking fat and heathy .
He lives near my compost bins so is probaby warm and cosy .
I don't want to kill him everything has to live but I hope he doesn't intend starting a family

Re: Rat in the garden

I'm sure you'll change your mind when you have a rat infestation.

Re: Rat in the garden

where there is one rat,others will follow,as winter comes they will move nearer to people.

Re: Rat in the garden

Muddy please get rid of him, we had them last year in our garden, I thought there was only one, but no there was a family of them, we did put Rat poison down and they have gone now.

Re: Rat in the garden

I hate the things, they give me the willies.
I had a family of them a few weeks ago scratching round one of my bird tables. I thought it was one at first, then later I saw a couple of young half grown ones, then another big one - shudder.

I daren't bait because of my dogs, and other things would eat the bait too, which I wouldn't want to kill.
I have now stopped feeding all my lovely wild birds which I have fed for years. Such a shame. It quite upset me the first few days when they kept coming looking for their breakfast and there was nothing there for them.
I had a lovely little family of Dunnocks coming daily, and I do miss them and feel really mean. I just can't abide rats though.

Re: Rat in the garden

For all we try to get rid of them, there is a theory that you are never more than a few feet from a rat.

Re: Rat in the garden

I quite like rats, they are very clean little creatures. I would not want to live with them though, fortunately having three cats it's not likely they would want to live with me either.

Maybe that's the answer get a cat

Re: Rat in the garden

I like birds getting a car would defeat the purpose .
I will have to get one of those humane traps and move him if he becomes a nuisance .

Re: Rat in the garden

I had rats under the compost bin when living with my son. The exterminator came and told me that the bin should be on slabs or solid base, so that the rats could not get underneath. We did that and it solved the problem (after those there had been killed).

Since moving here, I have had rats once and they were living under the decking, so again called the exterminator who dealt with them. He put the poison under the decking out if the reach of my dog. That was three years ago, no sign since and I do have bird feeders around the garden, including a feeding station.

At my son's home the poison was put in a special container which only the rats could reach, not our Labrador dog.

Re: Rat in the garden

As l keep hens, l do get rats now and again.
I usually ring the Enviromental Health Dept and they send the rat catcher out.

He tells me wonderful stories about how they breed and how many you could end up with in a short time, especially when the ratkids, and grandrats start breeding!

He said, something about them having ? ‘sonic’ hearing and can hear things from a long way away.

He said, if there’s no food they will go elsewhere to find it.

I told him, l was worried about Weil’s Disease but he said it was rare?