If you put hot chilli powder in bird food it puts squirrels off it& the birds actually like it. This might discourage the rats too. I have a powerful trap that I hide under a broken flower pot. The rats can get in but nothing else I have not had one for some time thankfully.
The upturned-bowl-shaped baffle you can buy to thread onto your metal bird feeder pole really works to stop squirrels climbing up. I'm sure it would work for rats too... but you'd need to ensure no food was dropped on the ground for them.
Here we're surrounded by farmland, and have an ancient dry stone wall as one boundary to our garden. There are definitely rats in the wall, but as long as they don't come in the house or shed (not storing anything remotely food-like in the shed) I think I'm going to have to let them get on with it... there are undoubtedly lots more in the neighbouring farmers' barns etc. We saw a couple of baby rats next to the wall in the summer but the neighbour's semi-feral cats had them for lunch.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Thank you @Allotment Boy I have read about the chilli before on this forum although I have not tried it. I put up with the lone squirrel, annoying though his antics can be, as he occasionally provides amusement but rats are a whole different problem and I can find no indication that the chilli would deter them.
As for the trap, I will look into it but I might struggle if it needs muscle to set it and then to release the late rodent.
It was that type of thing I was considering @Liriodendron but with an opposing dish above it to catch spilt seed. Also it needs to be tight around the pole I think, so I am going to channel Heath-Robinson and see what I can come up with. Watch this space!
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
I've also been thinking along those lines @herbaceous, tried an upturned umbrella once and also large plant saucers but found they didn't work well if it rained. They got horribly messy as well and you would need to keep going out and emptying them. I have given up. I would also advise against getting one of the 'killer' rat traps as yesterday while I was trying to refill it with bait, I nearly lost my finger! It wasn't broken fortunately but was very sore. The spring does need a lot of strength to pull it back and the trigger plate is very sensitive.
The commercial baffle (mine might have been a Gardman one) tightens against the pole with a screw, @herbaceous. It has 2 sizes of collar to fit snugly (round the 2 most common diameters of pole, I imagine).
A timely warning @Lizzie27 for which I thank you! I am not feeble but I do find that once you turn 27 your brain doesn't always give you accurate information about your motor skills.
I can see the problem with the upturned umbrella (in fact any impermeable material) so I was thinking about some close mesh for the top and something solid underneath. Problem is how to fix it securely to the pole with no gaps - still working on that one.
Something like this -
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
A timely warning @Lizzie27 for which I thank you! I am not feeble but I do find that once you turn 27 your brain doesn't always give you accurate information about your motor skills.
I can see the problem with the upturned umbrella (in fact any impermeable material) so I was thinking about some close mesh for the top and something solid underneath. Problem is how to fix it securely to the pole with no gaps - still working on that one.
Something like this -
I’ve been following this thread as I have a couple of feeders.
Would a large plastic bottle with the bottom cut off work just as well for the bottom part? Then use gorilla tape to attach to the pole.
For the shaping of the top mesh part, could you use some sort of wire to create a cup shape and put the mesh inside? Then use string to the and attach to the pole.
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Here we're surrounded by farmland, and have an ancient dry stone wall as one boundary to our garden. There are definitely rats in the wall, but as long as they don't come in the house or shed (not storing anything remotely food-like in the shed) I think I'm going to have to let them get on with it... there are undoubtedly lots more in the neighbouring farmers' barns etc. We saw a couple of baby rats next to the wall in the summer but the neighbour's semi-feral cats had them for lunch.
As for the trap, I will look into it but I might struggle if it needs muscle to set it and then to release the late rodent.
It was that type of thing I was considering @Liriodendron but with an opposing dish above it to catch spilt seed. Also it needs to be tight around the pole I think, so I am going to channel Heath-Robinson and see what I can come up with. Watch this space!
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/254692868218
I can see the problem with the upturned umbrella (in fact any impermeable material) so I was thinking about some close mesh for the top and something solid underneath. Problem is how to fix it securely to the pole with no gaps - still working on that one.
Something like this -
Edited to add: Just found this and answered my own question!
https://www.woodsideproducts.co.uk/99996-woodside-universal-squirrel-baffle.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2af-BRDzARIsAIVQUOcuxbKkcFZW0UfYKexKbKutoeMSS37qyS-TQUH_nxBumb2m_33AUtEaAg46EALw_wcB#174=&175=&178=&182=
Just need to add a fine mesh seed catcher to the top and I might have cracked it.
I'll let you know how I get on @Fallon
https://www.jorvikhemp.co.uk/our-products/hemp-wild-birds/hemp-bird-feed-seed-catchers-30-hoop.html