This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Hedgehog or Rat Hole??
Jase73
Posts: 12
Over the weekend I noticed something had borrowed under my shed. Last year there was a similar yet smaller hole (same time of year).
We have regularly had hedgehogs in the garden for the past 2 years & have certain areas of the garden borders worn by hedgehog path routes.
Around 3 years ago a brown rat was spotted around the shed area (I lay poison & they were never seen again).
No sign of any rat droppings in the garden at all &, the past week, no sign of hedgehog poo either (normally I known when the hogs have been around as they poo all over the garden!!).
What I am asking is.... has the borrow/dray been dug by hedgehgs or rats??
Thanks, Jason.
0
Posts
I'm afraid that's definitely a rat. Please don't kill it. I know there's always the scare stories and someone will inevitably quote Weills disease but I don't believe anyone has contracted anything from a Brown Rat in the UK since 1972. If you are anti-rat then try a humane trap and relocate it but try to see if it has prominent nipples as a female could well have young at this time of year.
Anyway it's your Rat and your problem so good luck with whatever you decide. We live in the country and have one in the attic at the moment which is a right pain. It completely avoids the humane traps.
I hope your rat in the loft doesn’t chew through any wiring, they do, I can vouch for that, and it’s an expensive business.
When I was a schoolgirl a friend's young brother died of Weil's disease.
I've seen the damage to stored crops, buildings, fires caused by electrical shorts due to rat damage ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That looks definately rat like.
But it won't just be one rat. There will be a family and the damage they can cause is immense.
Apart from anything else, hedgehogs don't dig tunnels or burrow. It's a rat ... where there is one rat there are many more ... get rid of them.
https://www.ufaw.org.uk/downloads/welfare-downloads/guidance-on-humane-control-of-rodents-feb2509v19.pdf
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Rat droppings in our garage last week made it obvious that we had a rat problem.... as did the considerable damage done to large amounts of fleece, bags of straw, wiring and pots of bulbs. We put down sachets of poison, which were taken each night for four nights - then no more. So we stripped the garage, including unscrewing cupboards from the wall. There were obvious signs of a nest (and one sachet) behind them - but no rat!! Where can he/ she be? I know it's silly - but I would feel much happier if I knew. The garage doors were kept shut at all times because we have dogs.
Just one last thought: a significant amount of compost was removed from one large pot of fuchsias. Probably looking for water? So now there's a big hole ... please tell me he isn't in there ...
When we were grave digging a boy local to us died of the same, no undertaker wanted to touch the body. Very nasty disease spread by rats,
to say don’t kill them is very irresponsible.
Sadly I looked after a few cases of Weils disease, as an ICU doctor.
It can be a very serious disease and does kill people.
We have always had rats in this garden, probably due to the stream. I leave them alone and there is not a problem. Indoors would be a different matter.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Da Daaaaaaaaa!
They are not scare stories.
As I said I have seen and treated several cases and it can cause a horrible death.
I actually quite like rats, but it is stupid to take unnecessary risks.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border