Rats climbing ivy

[bigdave60dog]

If you live in the Country you will have rats. No question.
If you cut down your Ivy Ratty will find another way in.
I don`t like to use poison for the reasons stated. Also rats are intelligent animals who I do not wish to inflict with an unreasonable amount of pain and suffering which is the case with rat poison.
I live on the seashore which means that I have rats by the dozen. I usually just leave them and my cats and dogs keep them to a reasonable number so I never get and damage done by rats.
You could try traps and as some have suggested there are electronic devices that are said to deter rats.
Just keep trying till you find the best solution for you. From long experience, I have to say that despite my previous statement to the contrary, you may need to use poison eventually. Nothing else will work if you have loft full of breeding rats.

[Pipa]

Originally Posted by rossy

if you ring the council , they will put down poison in containers that only rats go in, so you wont have to worry about cats, dogs being poisoned, rossy.

i see, that's a solution to stop other animals getting it by mistake

with bigdaves post tho i agree too, they do die a horrible death and i wouldnt put that on any creature, our neighbourhood cats do a swifter job of keeping the population under control

[rossy]

Originally Posted by Pipa

i see, that's a solution to stop other animals getting it by mistake

with bigdaves post tho i agree too, they do die a horrible death and i wouldnt put that on any creature, our neighbourhood cats do a swifter job of keeping the population under control

i can understand that , but have you ever seen a person with weils disease ? its very rare you will see the rats dying, as they tend to come out at dusk, it isnt nice i know but some rats are bigger than cats rossy.

[Pipa]

Originally Posted by rossy

i can understand that , but have you ever seen a person with weils disease ? its very rare you will see the rats dying, as they tend to come out at dusk, it isnt nice i know but some rats are bigger than cats rossy.

yup i know, (that disease can be transferred from cattle aswell not just rats :P ) if there is a rat problem then it needs to be taken care off, but if using poison then it should be done by professional, as alot of people tend to just lay it down in thier garden recklesley and end up killing far more than a rat

(not saying everyone does this, but i have known people to be careless with poisons)

i guess if you do not have cats in the area (like we do) to keep your rodent populations under control then sometimes u have to resort to harsh methods, we had a bunch of rats suddenly turn up and make home a few years ago, woke up one morning to find 3 babys (pretty large babys, but still not full adults) scattered around the garden all dead that the cats had gotten overnight

if i see a rat bigger than cat.. im going to run in the opposite direction very very fast hehe

[theanimallover]

We cut the ivy right back last night - have ordered a repeller and a humane trap. I agree with you big Dave - living in the country means living with rats. I always see the odd one in the garden and I call it our 'water vole' :-)

But a few years ago it got out of hand. I didn't want to poison them, they got in the loft, and I even found one in the food cupboard tucking in to a packet of cheese and onion crisps! We both screamed! Anyway, when they were in the loft we blocked off every possible hole - but realised that as we lived in a terrace they were coming via someone else's house. Eventually a neighbour put poison down - the rat died in our loft and it really stunk it was awful - poor ratty. But we were relieved the 'problem' had gone.

I'm trying to take the bull by the horns and get rid of them before they become a problem.

I have also seen the effect of poisoning, my dog who is now 13 got poisoned twice, and nearly died both times. She must have munched on some bait by some old barns near where we live. She was bleeding from everywhere :-(
But she is still with us the old bag!

[STYRBJORN]

Ask at the local pub if there is anyone near who can use an air rifle. He/she needs to be a good shot, but if they know their gun it is a humane way of dispatch. If the little furry er critters are in your loft you can likely use live traps.

[Pipa]

Originally Posted by theanimallover

I have also seen the effect of poisoning, my dog who is now 13 got poisoned twice, and nearly died both times. She must have munched on some bait by some old barns near where we live. She was bleeding from everywhere :-(
But she is still with us the old bag!

that's why i would never use it, i know if they start getting into your house and what not then you kinda have no choice but i always think it should be a very very last resort,

so glad your doggy survived, poor thing though having to go through that twice i've had a little brown mouse last year and this year run along to my feeding station, hop into the seed dish near the bottom ,steal some seed and run back into his mouse hole LOL

[The Woodman]

Can I make a plea to those considering purchasing an ultrasonic repeller?

If used within roof voids, these devices might have a negative effect on bat roosting and other activities. Please ensure there are no bat roosts in or near the intended location - e.g. Brown long eared bats can use internal roof voids to roost and for pre-flight activity essential to their life style.

The frequency that these repellers use is not usually given and unintentional disturbance may be caused to bats which you all know is not the best scenario.

[theanimallover]

Thanks woodman.
I've put this one outside by the ivy - I am pretty sure we haven't got bats as we live in a modernish house. But there are bats about as i see them when i walk the dog - shall i remove the repeller?