@Lyn, No, I couldn't be bothered to get a licence. I bought 1 kg from Pest Expert direct which arrived yesterday (10 pkts) and 5 sachets from Ebay which haven't arrived yet.
@Lyn, sorry, another query please. Would you know if rats can chew through steel mesh fencing or something like chicken wire? We need to fix a panel over a small wooden door in our undercroft in case they're nesting in there.
To step in here ... please excuse ... I’m from a family of farmers and smallholders etc ... rats can certainly chew through chicken wire ... they can gnaw through cement if there’s something tasty on the other side.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have removed my feeders - mostly because the birds drop a lot of it on the floor. I'm in London and the rats don't live in my garden (I have seen no evidence of it) but I back on to five small terraced gardens. Rats will happily gorge on animal faeces and, boy, do we have a lot of cats pooing everywhere on the street, so yes, we have rats. It's a real shame to support less birds and see many fewer species.
Rats will chew through concrete if they have enough incentive.
FIRE, I have the same problem in that my house backs onto a row of terraced houses. The whole estate has been built on farmland and my garden has a small steep slope at the back of it where it is fenced from those houses.It is like a gully running along between all the houses. I have cleared away any possible hiding places but the rats will be coming from everywhere else no matter what I do.
We lived here for more than 30 years never seeing a rat. Old farmer neighbour used to put down poison in a drainpipe at the back of his barns.
He died, new neighbours, climate change or whatever and they are now a real nuisance here. We can't use use poison as 2 of our cats will catch them and sometimes eat them. My daughter says that Ambrose waits by the hole in the wall as if he's sitting by a vending machine, looking for a rat to pop out!
The cats and the uncovered water butt under the ivy have helped reduce numbers somewhat and we try to do what we can to disrupt their lives as they hate disturbance. All the sheep feed is in barrels or beyond their reach. We feed the cats on top of the chest freezer in the pantry as the rats kept getting in to their old place in the boilerhouse at the back.
The birdfeeder is not really a problem though, as it is in the middle of a paved area and there is always a squad of ducks patrolling underneath it ready to shovel up any fallen morsel - if they can beat the little birds to it!
Buttercupdays, that is what we do as advised by rat man. Cut bits of drainpipes to around18" and seal one end with ducktape or something. Lay several around their running tracks and put poison blocks inside. Check every couple of days and replace when required. We seem to replace them every few days so there must be loads of them. We need a few Jack russells. When we lived in the country we always had at least 4 and vermin never had a chance.
I know I can keep the poison from the cats, but if it is not instantaneous like ricin then there are poisoned rats around, that might be easy prey for them. Maybe bait the traps with castor oil seeds in peanut butter?
I do have a Jack Russell and I am confident that any rat that made it into the house proper would be very quickly dealt with. I don't want him learning to kill things though. As it is he can't be let loose in the garden because he chases the ducks and can't be trusted with them.
I've had to take away the rat trap as I've had a new puppy.couldnt take the risk .I still have bird feeders but the hanging variety.if I see a rat again I'm not sure what to do.pups too small yet but she is a terrier.but she won't be outside on her own at all.next door are filthy and have chickens.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.