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CoolRev

revdjwakelingrevdjwakeling Posts: 1
in Problem solving
I enjoy watching the birds feeding above the patio outside my bedroom each morning. I enjoyed a cute little rat also, but then there were 2 and now 4 ... They are fun to watch, interesting, intelligent and clean animals - but I am afraid if I leave them they will eventually infest the roof or come in through the door. They live beyond my reach, beyond the fence. I so enjoy watching the wildlife and I dislike the effect of poison is there any substance I can spread that will put them off coming in? I invited the neighbour's Jack Russel in but she was afraid of the rats! any suggestions?

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You need to contact pest control - at your local council is the first place to try.

    Rats aren't 'cute' by any stretch of the imagination.. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    They are anything but clean, they also have no bladder control so they dribble urine as they move around and can cause Weil's disease
    They can also chew through concrete, as I found out many years ago in my garage.
    My neighbour feeds the birds vast amounts throughout the year - it's her passion, but it does come with a downside - a constant presence of rats and/or mice

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    A rat trap (cage) would be my first choice - you can borrow or hire these quite easily.  As a last resort I would contact pest control.  We had rats here a few years ago, they were attracted to the food we gave our duck, we then controlled duck feeding time from all day to just an hour or two, no more rats.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I don’t like rat traps, and if you catch just one in a cage you have to dispose of it, not easy eye to eye.  Then if you’ve only got one trap, they’ll be breeding before you’ve caught them.
    I would rather put poison down their breeding holes with a slate on the top.
    A good rat bait will kill them quickly. 
    The stuff the council worker brought us once, looks like green jelly cubes was useless. 
    I don’t know what they use now. I think our council charge, used to be free. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    pansyface said:
    1. Stop feeding the birds and by extension the rats.

    In a similar vein to this you can also find ways to prevent excess food being spilled onto the ground and to prevent rats accessing the feeders which will reduce their food supply and hopefully deter them.

    I like to shoot them personally. Quick and less painful than alternative control methods. Use lead free ammo if you can.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    @wild edges. I never suggest that to people,  as some are not such good shots, I don’t like them suffering, my OH ‘s a farmer so is easy for him, not everybody though. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    philippa smith2 said:
    On reflection, I'm wondering whether this is yet another wind up and a waste of people's time offering advice - first post on a garden forum and it is about rats - not even on a wildlife thread.
    My local vicar is a J Wakeling so I'm playing it cautious :#
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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