I had a rat (I only ever saw one at a time) feeding on bird feed during last winter's snow but Rentokill sorted it out for me.
I saw a mouse in my mum's garden during the summer so the council put down some poison. The poison disappeared so we assumed all was well. However a few weeks later we opened a bag of compost and emptied it out only to find that the mice (mouse) had taken all the bait into the middle of the compost! It looked a little like a nest but it couldn't have been very warm. Has anyone seen anything like this before?
I have an allotment shed and i think (rats) have burrowed tunnels underneath to make nests.. so i took to leaving rentokil poison down.. but i was horrified to see a dead one with an enormous hunch on it back, where i can only think the poison must of done this.. it was still alive, just slightly moving... i don't think that i can do this again to any living creature again...!! i will just have to board up all the gaps and holes so they have to find somewhere else.. as for the living in my compost heaps, well they are not causing any harm to me there at the moment..
Rats may be everywhere, but NOT in my garden (or house) thank you! My neighbours started keeping chickens a few years ago, and very soon they had a family of rats breeding under their decking, and popping out to feed from the chicken feeders.
Their own measures to catch them failed, so they had to call in the professionals, who soon killed them with poison.
I have seen mice climbing my bird feeders, but if I saw rats then I'm afraid the birds would have to do without until the rats were destroyed.
They are vermin, carry disease, and have no place in my garden.
Rats eat natural food too, not just bird food. We found a cache of about 40 alpine strawberries under a ridge tile in one our beds. Apparently they like hoarding food. This was about 100 feet from our bird feeders.
we have a few rats around the garden an in the compost bins althou we put alot of bird food out on the floors in hangers and tables but lucky for us we have two patterdale terriers witch keep them out lol and have savaged most of them when giving the chasnce do they lukely dont get into the house we have the odd mouse but there small n sweet
Ours is a country garden with a apond ans surrounded by arable fields and pasture so rats a plenty but they're clean and rather attractive. I do take exception and put poison down when they scoff seeds and seedlings and other goodies in the greenhouse or invade the stores of bird food in the garage but otherwise leave them alone in the garden.
Our dog finds rats very entertaining so we get the occasional excavation in the borders but she's only caught and killed two. We get smaller rodents which are far peskier in terms of scoffing seeds and seedlings in the garden and are more likely to find toads than rats in our compost heaps.
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions, and especially for sharing your gruesome stories! patientgardener I think rats can tell the time, but it's the same as Mister wolf - i.e. it's always 'Dinner Time!'
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I saw a mouse in my mum's garden during the summer so the council put down some poison. The poison disappeared so we assumed all was well. However a few weeks later we opened a bag of compost and emptied it out only to find that the mice (mouse) had taken all the bait into the middle of the compost! It looked a little like a nest but it couldn't have been very warm. Has anyone seen anything like this before?
Look forward to seeing you in the New year
Their own measures to catch them failed, so they had to call in the professionals, who soon killed them with poison.
I have seen mice climbing my bird feeders, but if I saw rats then I'm afraid the birds would have to do without until the rats were destroyed.
They are vermin, carry disease, and have no place in my garden.
Our dog finds rats very entertaining so we get the occasional excavation in the borders but she's only caught and killed two. We get smaller rodents which are far peskier in terms of scoffing seeds and seedlings in the garden and are more likely to find toads than rats in our compost heaps.
Sorry.
Kate