you are so right ,irene,im very dissapointed with the 1 i brought,what a waste of money,the rats were/are still running right up to it ..... however i did buy some nasty food [and my god do i feel bad about doing it] and ive only now have maybe 2 or 3 rats in the garden,so the food has worked but i feel the guilt really bad. im guessing the other rats havent found the food yet,but i guess they will,on the instructions its says re-aply 7/10 days..... its very difficult where to put it as i have a dog,hedgehogs and loads of other wildlife coming into the garden im scared they will get the poison.....
Poppy - stop feeding the birds for a few weeks and make sure all food is cleared away. Is the rat poison in special containers, so the hedgehogs and other wildlife can't access it?
they were...but this afternoon i noticed that half the bloody bait out of the box so now im really upset and i will never do this again,im so worried for my dog hedgehogs and my birds etc...at mo my little dog is NOT allowed in the garden at all until i get this sorted,i wish i had left well alone.. ive still got some poison in shed wrapped in 5 plastic bags and taped up but how do i dispose of that.. god god god im worried.
Poppy. does your council not have a vermin control officer who can help you? The officer from Bristol City council who saw to my rat invasion was very efficient and kind and visited every month till he was sure I was safe from rats. He even warned me that I would have an infestation of bluebottles the following spring which indeed I did have.
morning happymarion,last night i said to my neighbour that on tuesday im gonna ring the council,'so great minds think alike', just found 1 more dying slowly [awful and it was 1 of the babys] i really want to cry,but i guess its part my own fault [as people keep telling me] as i put food out for my birds.
not looking forward to the bluebottles happymarion....this situation justs gets worse.
it doesnt bother me having them but they just breed so quick and i have to say im worried about the electric situation as i hadnt thought of that. but i must chill out about it as i know people have much worse to deal with,im only upset as i know they have to die. i just wish they would run of and find somewhere else to live,i do keep telling them that ive put nasty food down and dont eat it ...if you were to find another place perhaps far into the woods it would be better for you or go back to the farm... anyway will keep you posted and thanks for your advice garden friends.x
Hi green fingers. My bird nestbox - current home of field mouse - is about 8 feet above the ground but the climbing hydrangea makes a wonderful staircase! Regarding your lawn, I agree with Kate. I have a very small front lawn and I have filled it up with native wild flowers. In the spring it is full of snakes head fritillaries, snowdrops and the native small wild daffodils. I have sown yellow rattle to control the remaining grass and I have wild carrot, poppies, clover, selfheal, knapweed, cats ear, meadow sweet, birds foot trefoil, and buttercups with primroses, ragged robin and cyclamen around the edges. This is an ongoing project and each year it looks better. The bees, butterflies,ladybirds and hoverflies seem to enjoy it almost as much as enjoy watching them.
Poppy, sorry you are being so stressed out by the rats but, believe me, you're better off without them. I ignored them for a while in the hope they'd just move on, but when they started climbing trees in broad daylight to get into my bird feeders I knew I was onto a loser.... And then they got into my house, living behind and under my kitchen units, using them as toilets... Urrrgh. It was horrendous, took weeks to get rid of them, and cost money for poisons and a rat man as our council no longer pays. Bait in plastic bags pushed into their holes and in closed tunnels along their runs ensured that pets and birds were safe. Be brutal, get rid, make sure they're all dead and remove all food sources. I was so sorry to have to give up feeding the birds - I'd used every method I could think of to prevent waste and keep the rats out, but in the end I had no choice, sadly. I hope you find something that works for you, and good luck.
I'm neither a birdwatcher nor gardner, I'm just an aminal lover. I work outside across from the Sears/Willis Tower in Chicago where theres the 311 Buidling Park (Jackson side).
Chicago has a extremely large pigeon population. In the 311 park you'll find a mix of both pigeons and house sparrows. I'm actually a "sparrows person" but I love and feed the pigeons also.
In the past year I've befreinded a number of these birds. There's one non-breeding male LBJ, "little brown job", with one leg. He waits for me every morning until I arrive to the Sears Tower. He comes up to me on the sidewalk, looks up at me and melts my heart as I dig into salflower hearts, bread and popcorn. He sits there patiently until I feed him. I know house sparrows are social and aggresive birds but I don't care about what they say that sparrows as being mean. I feed him and his flock every day at Sears Tower and I feel I've done a great deed.
I feed the pigeons also and there's one particular pigeon, "Ozzy", that actually rests upon my kiosk asking to be fed. This is great fun and attracts many future customters....
Posts
however i did buy some nasty food [and my god do i feel bad about doing it] and ive only now have maybe 2 or 3 rats in the garden,so the food has worked but i feel the guilt really bad.
im guessing the other rats havent found the food yet,but i guess they will,on the instructions its says re-aply 7/10 days.....
its very difficult where to put it as i have a dog,hedgehogs and loads of other wildlife coming into the garden im scared they will get the poison.....
Kate
ive still got some poison in shed wrapped in 5 plastic bags and taped up but how do i dispose of that..
god god god im worried.
just found 1 more dying slowly [awful and it was 1 of the babys] i really want to cry,but i guess its part my own fault [as people keep telling me] as i put food out for my birds.
not looking forward to the bluebottles happymarion....this situation justs gets worse.
it doesnt bother me having them but they just breed so quick and i have to say im worried about the electric situation as i hadnt thought of that.
but i must chill out about it as i know people have much worse to deal with,im only upset as i know they have to die.
i just wish they would run of and find somewhere else to live,i do keep telling them that ive put nasty food down and dont eat it ...if you were to find another place perhaps far into the woods it would be better for you or go back to the farm...
anyway will keep you posted and thanks for your advice garden friends.x
Chicago has a extremely large pigeon population. In the 311 park you'll find a mix of both pigeons and house sparrows. I'm actually a "sparrows person" but I love and feed the pigeons also.
In the past year I've befreinded a number of these birds. There's one non-breeding male LBJ, "little brown job", with one leg. He waits for me every morning until I arrive to the Sears Tower. He comes up to me on the sidewalk, looks up at me and melts my heart as I dig into salflower hearts, bread and popcorn. He sits there patiently until I feed him. I know house sparrows are social and aggresive birds but I don't care about what they say that sparrows as being mean. I feed him and his flock every day at Sears Tower and I feel I've done a great deed.
I feed the pigeons also and there's one particular pigeon, "Ozzy", that actually rests upon my kiosk asking to be fed. This is great fun and attracts many future customters....