Rats in the garden

[MrGrumpy]

I’m actually thinking of going down this route myself . We have just seen another walk along the garden and under the other deck .

well that one is no more , snap trap got that one .

 

[MrGrumpy]

There are always rodents outside. Just leave them be. In any case their numbers are constrained by available food and space, rather than how many people kill. If you poison them, they'll likely get eaten by cats, dogs, foxes etc and they'll get poisoned too

Fair enough not leaving scraps out, making sure bins are secure, and not having holes into the house

We live in the city so naturally we see rats from time to time. The only ones in the house are those the bloody cat brings in to chase around at night

Much as I like wild life and we have encouraged birds into the garden . I draw the line at the rats. Not sure if we are harbouring them or my next door neighbour is , one passing through no issue but if I’ve seen three in the same afternoon in my garden then that’s too many ! So will take care of potential homes and gaps etc .

 

[Donger]

We had one earlier this year. I had seen a few small holes under the fences and had regularly blocked them up. We also removed all the ground spreading plants and obvious hiding places from the garden. Seeing a big rat running around in broad daylight usually means there is a nest of them nearby, and I suspect they were living under my neighbour's decking. In our case peppermint rat and mouse deterrent spray seems to have worked wonders. Apparently not so effective when it is pouring down, but in drier conditions spray it everywhere you have seen the rat(s) and it seems to work a treat.

 

[MrGrumpy]

We had one earlier this year. I had seen a few small holes under the fences and had regularly blocked them up. We also removed all the ground spreading plants and obvious hiding places from the garden. Seeing a big rat running around in broad daylight usually means there is a nest of them nearby, and I suspect they were living under my neighbour's decking. In our case peppermint rat and mouse deterrent spray seems to have worked wonders. Apparently not so effective when it is pouring down, but in drier conditions spray it everywhere you have seen the rat(s) and it seems to work a treat.

Dismantled the shed and deck we suspected of a nest sight and nothing underneath ! We had caught another two this week . Sealed up our other deck no more gaps etc .
I thinking my neighbour has quite a few but he doesn’t seemed that bothered . We live right beside a sea wall so guessing it will be teaming with them .
I’ll just keep putting bait down and that will hopefully keep them at bay for now .

 

[Gillstay]

Shot another. That seems to be the lot for now. The buzzards take the bodies so it saves something else getting eaten.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Well activity , resided and then took off again . However baiting stations and some loose bait in some gaps at the side of my house appears to be keeping things at bay now ! Nowt been seen on rat cam .

 

[stephec]

The last time we saw a rat in our garden it was dealt with by this clever girl.

They only problem is if the rat's picked up poison from somewhere, a dog died after someone put poison down in our local graveyard.

 

[gbb]

My view on rats in the garden is . and let live, so long as they're not in the house. There are rats pretty much everywhere, but I doubt killing them has any value as there'll be a number of rats the area will support and however many you kill will be replaced, so might as well accept them.

The only rats we get in the house have been brought in by this girl

I wouldn't apply the live and let live motto to mice in the garden apply based on our experience.
We noticed them under our shed my wife complained but I said there's probably mice under everyone's shed. So we left it and the sightings got regular ... and then they got in the house. Took us two weeks of bait trapping and 13 dead mice to get rid of them.

 

[Electric_Andy]

My Tennant has just said there are rat holes appeared in the garden. Spoke to the council and they wanted photo evidence and will inspect the rear neighbours property as they are coming in from that direction. Been advised to stuff steel wool down the holes so I've done that. Might be waiting ages though. Anyone had success with a particular type of trap? Poison is a no go as there are pet dogs next door

 

[Donger]

My Tennant has just said there are rat holes appeared in the garden. Spoke to the council and they wanted photo evidence and will inspect the rear neighbours property as they are coming in from that direction. Been advised to stuff steel wool down the holes so I've done that. Might be waiting ages though. Anyone had success with a particular type of trap? Poison is a no go as there are pet dogs next door

I have found that if you spray that strongly peppermint scented rat repellent everywhere you have seen a rat, and you block up the holes with stones or concrete then they don't come back. The spray is most effective when the weather is dry.

 

[Psamathe]

My Tennant has just said there are rat holes appeared in the garden. Spoke to the council and they wanted photo evidence and will inspect the rear neighbours property as they are coming in from that direction. Been advised to stuff steel wool down the holes so I've done that. Might be waiting ages though. Anyone had success with a particular type of trap? Poison is a no go as there are pet dogs next door

Some (people) can be very naive about wildlife. I live edge of tiny rural village and one of my neighbours just doesn't understand "countryside". They are pyromanicas (wood burners) and their log pile creates mouse infestations every year. Happened to have my trail-cam out for hedgehogs close to house and recorded hundred of them coming under the fence from their side (massive log piles). They just don't seem to (want to) understand wildlife with predictable consequences.

Ian

 

[Drago]

Where is Jowry? Not heard his dulcet typing in a while.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

There are always rodents outside. Just leave them be. In any case their numbers are constrained by available food and space, rather than how many people kill. If you poison them, they'll likely get eaten by cats, dogs, foxes etc and they'll get poisoned too

Fair enough not leaving scraps out, making sure bins are secure, and not having holes into the house

We live in the city so naturally we see rats from time to time. The only ones in the house are those the bloody cat brings in to chase around at night

We live in the countryside and we see rats in the gardens quite often, they come up from the river, or the nearby farm.

As long as they don't come in the house it's live & let live for us.

We have Lakeland stone walls around and on the property and they are home to many a mouse family.

The state some of our visitors get into when they see a mouse, let alone a rat, in the garden is beyond belief - funny and at the same time quite pitiful, tbh.

Mrs SD looks after some of the mice (those nearest to the house) with cheese scraps.

 

[geocycle]

We live in the countryside and we see rats in the gardens quite often, they come up from the river, or the nearby farm.

As long as they don't come in the house it's live & let live for us.

We have Lakeland stone walls around and on the property and they are home to many a mouse family.

The state some of our visitors get into when they see a mouse, let alone a rat, in the garden is beyond belief - funny and at the same time quite pitiful, tbh.

Mrs SD looks after some of the mice (those nearest to the house) with cheese scraps.

Yes much the same here. I did draw the line when a rat broke into the garage and tried to eat its way into freezer. Nora, as we christened her is no more!

 

[bikingdad90]

My Tennant has just said there are rat holes appeared in the garden. Spoke to the council and they wanted photo evidence and will inspect the rear neighbours property as they are coming in from that direction. Been advised to stuff steel wool down the holes so I've done that. Might be waiting ages though. Anyone had success with a particular type of trap? Poison is a no go as there are pet dogs next door

I’ve experienced this. It’s most likely looking for a home/made a home ready for breeding season as they are burrowing. If you put wire wool down they’ll just dig a diversion around it. DAMIKT🤦‍♂️.

Best way to get rid is to use mouse traps (not rat traps) as the spring is more sensitive a few feet away from the holes in a location that cuts across their runs/tracks.
They can smell humans so I’d wear gloves when you load the traps with something sticky (so they need to tug/lick) to keep the scent down. It may take a few days for them to interact with the “new” thing in their habit so don’t be surprised if it isn’t an instant success.