There's a rat in me compost, what am I gonna do?

[wafflycat]

Cats - get yourself a cat or three. My three delight in hunting rodents - including rats (there's a lot of rats in the countryside).

If you contact the council - they should do the laying of poison thing. Problem with poison traps is that the stuff used can then go on to cause illness/death in other species, such as any cat or dog that happens along to eat the dying/dead rat, and will also affect other species that eat the bait that you don't want to get rid of.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

Bait and air-rifle. Nothing poisonous, in case Kitty eats it.

Thats why I mentioned waste pipe, keeps the poison out of "arms" reach.
Should also have said block one end off and pin it to the ground though !

 

[Elmer Fudd]

Bonfire. Burn the fecking lot, bin and all.

Job done.

There is something in that as ash is a very good soil conditioner.

 

[frog]

Try this. http://www.euroguns.co.uk/acatalog/Fenn_traps.html Had a couple of these when we had squirrels in the roof. They don't take prisoners

 

[llllllll]

Get a Jack Russell

On the other hand, what's the big deal? I never understand why people get so wound up about animal life in their gardens. Fair enough if you're infested, but one or two isn't really an issue. Rats are everywhere, someone once came up with the statistic that you're never more than 2 foot from a rat. Not sure that's true, but killing a couple is pointless, they'll just be more along sooner or later. What harm are they doing to your compost? You'll only be digging it into the ground, presumably you'll be washing your hands after that rats or not.

 

[Pete]

...someone once came up with the statistic that you're never more than 2 foot from a rat. Not sure that's true...

Snopes appears to disagree, surprisingly.

 

[Danny]

I have an ultrasonic rodent scarer in the house, which successfully go rid of the mice we had. But not sure if it would work outside or not.

 

[Pete]

I have an ultrasonic rodent scarer in the house, which successfully go rid of the mice we had. But not sure if it would work outside or not.

Does it purr?

 

[Dave Davenport]

I had a rat in me kithchen a while ago, I bludgeoned it to death with a broom handle.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Combination of you, air rifle and cat. You sit there with a pair of binos and the air rifle during the day and you hand the rifle over to the cat for the night shift, cats being nocturnal hunters and all.

 

[Fnaar]

Get a Jack Russell

On the other hand, what's the big deal? I never understand why people get so wound up about animal life in their gardens. Fair enough if you're infested, but one or two isn't really an issue. Rats are everywhere, someone once came up with the statistic that you're never more than 2 foot from a rat. Not sure that's true, but killing a couple is pointless, they'll just be more along sooner or later. What harm are they doing to your compost? You'll only be digging it into the ground, presumably you'll be washing your hands after that rats or not.

TBH, it doesn't bother me that much, it's the missus.... she saw one on the bird table snaffling the nuts (oo'er) and is worried they'll find their way to the house etc. Like I said before, we're next to a river, so pretty much bound to have the occasional incursion. Various neighbours cats use our garden as a toilet, thoroughfare, and my yappy dog prob'ly scares them off too....
was just wondering how to discourage them, really, make it less attractive to them....

 

[Danny]

Does it purr?

Actually, it makes no noise at all that I can hear - but the mice clearly don't like it.

I assume they have moved into the student house next door

 

[PrettyboyTim]

We had a rat get into our house. It decided to eat through the rubber piping connecting the Saniflo unit to the loft toilet. The resulting mess dripped through to our bedroom underneath down a light fitting.

Needless to say, I poisoned that bastard to kingdom come.

 

[ChrisKH]

I think Weils disease is sufficient reason to want rid. Especially if you have children who aren't inclined to wash their hands as often as they should.

 

[Arch]

Agreed, rat-shite and urine is nasty stuff. You don't want it in your compost.

Right. And then you're going to put the compost on/in the soil and stop rats peeing on it how exactly?

As long as you're not inhaling or eating your compost, and you wash your hands after handling it, I think worrying about rat pee in your compost is a bit precious...