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Rat spotted
Yviestevie
Posts: 7,066
Let me start off by saying that I really do try and garden for wildlife. Frogs, bees, birds, insects, even mice are welcome in my garden. However, I cant stand rats. This morning I spotted one eating the seed that the birds had dropped from the feeder. Now I had to work long and hard to get a feeding station in my garden as hubby declared 'if you're not careful you'll attract rats". I simply cant bear to tell him he's right so if someone has an idea of how I can rid myself of roddy please let me know.
Hi from Kingswinford in the West Midlands
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When I had a similar problem I got a rat bait station and the appropriate bait and placed it in undergrowth along the bottom of the boundary fence (rats like to travel alongside walls/fences - they don't like crossing open ground).
The problem was solved in a few days and we've not been troubled since.
Until you've got the problem sorted, restrict the bird food to fat blocks, peanuts and coconut halves on a shepherd's crook pole that the rats can't climb.
Good luck.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
What a pain Yvie. I find at this time of year the birds aren't as interested in food because there's still plenty around naturally, so I start off slowly and only put small amounts out and that ensures it's all cleared by nightfall. It's usually when there's excess food lying on the ground during the night that the problem's most likely to occur - easy pickings. Perhaps you could try clearing the ground each day before it's dark - and even bring hanging feeders in as well for a while - and hope he goes off to find another hotel.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks for the advice I'd already planned to stop feeding the seed for a while but I like the idea of fixing pot saucers under the feeders. That would also help with the seeds dropping and taking root. Ill try these measures first before resulting to any other measures.
Hope you can sort it Yvie. They're opportunists so if you remove the banquet it may be enough to send him off somewhere else. It would be a shame if you had to remove your bird feeding areas altogether after working so hard to get them.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm in the corner for putting down a rat station. If there is one in evidence they'll be more and probably lots. Mice at the top of the garden fine, live & let live, but not if they are in shed or seen near the garage, don't want freezer wiring nibbled etc. I'll get my tin hat ready
We use plastic picnic plates under out feeders to catch the seed spills - they're either drilled and zip strapped on or just glued on with my hot glue gun (I got lazy). They don't catch all the seeds but certainly slow the rate that hit the floor.
I hope you manage to persuade ratty that your feeders aren't worth the effort!
hi my husband shoots them them!
I agree they are rather horrid things trouble is he shot the mother and all the youngsters died
really horrid pong from under the shed for days
the joys of feeding birds.
We have them come under the fence from te overgrown land at the back of us. They are after all the bits of sunflower hearts that the birds drop. I tend to think that as long as there is food over by the fence they won't be coming over to the house. Hopefully!
We once had a tall pole for the feeders and they managed to scale that. I wondered where all the muddy streaks were coming from.
Yvie, I don't know if this will work for you if you should ever need it but pansie's idea is part of it ,we hang the bird feeder from a unused washing line.we get plagued by squirrel s too .they get the food from the bird feeders, leave droppings but mainly they are greedy ,turns out we are feeding squirrels more than birds!
By hanging a tray from the bird feeder,this catches a lot but it has to be fairly deep with straight sides. It all so needs emptying quite often.but it does stop it going on the ground.
The idea of hanging it on a washing line it's brilliant for birds but nothing else that you don't want As it jiggles about. We got the idea from a nt woodland.
Glad I'm not the only one who has recently had a rat visitor. I left a Tupperware container, remember them, filled with sunflower hearts by the back door as I intended to fill the feeders to start feeding the birds again. The next day I realised it was on its side. Ratty had chewed the corner off! can't decide what to do, just ignoring things for now.