bird tables attract rats

[chris59]

I have 5 seed feeders in my garden, and a bird table. I wash the feeders and scrub the table every two weeks in the winter.( more often in the summer ) But I dont have the tree space to move the seed feeders around. So I am left with the mess that the seeds leave on the grass when the birds have eaten. My garden is not a garden for people to sit in. Apart from kicking a ball around for my dog, and putting the washing out , I rarley go out there. But i keep the grass cut and bushes tidy, so that the wildlife will visit. But what I am worried about is that rats will come to the mess underneath the feeders. . Can anyone tell me if rats are attracted to the empty husks ? or am I getting worried over nothing.

[naturelover]

Hi chris59,welcome to the site,yes you will attract rats if you donot keep the ground clear of husks,there is always a certain amount of seed that the birds miss amongst the husks,hope you enjoy your stay.

[hobble]

Probably will if you have any close by, the only way to find out is too keep watch................
I was watching one today pinching seeds and going back to it's run.
I tend to leave them alone as long as they don't try to move in with me, as I have said before I have a house sat smack in the middle of their natural habitat and they were here before me.
I have children who play outside and I always make sure they wash their hands when they come in and they know about rats.
My cat catches them sometimes, two found dead this year.

[ron1863]

If you leave seed etc. out overnight you will always get some form of rodent eating it. I like to watch the field mice at dusk, running onto our lawn, grabbing a few seeds and running back into the undergrowth.

We had rats a few years ago but got rid of them.

[jamie1976]

sorry to say and admit but rats need there numbers down quick ,i love wildlife of all kinds but i got no hart for the rat kill the lot dirty filthy horrible things

[cathyh]

............and whilst you are keeping your bird tables clean, please spare a thought for the stench pipe at the back of your home and check that there is a cage on it. Necessary to stop rats poppping up from the sewers (like a rat up a drainpipe) and scampering into your loft or down the wall to visit your garden.

...or into your neighbours loft or garden

Only the other day, in a busy shopping street, in broad daylight, a cheeky rat came out of a drain in the gutter, ran under a row of trolleys outside a supermarket, was harrassed by shoppers, so shot back into drain and this is freezing March, what hope for flaming June

[Sparrowlegs]

Originally Posted by jamie1976

sorry to say and admit but rats need there numbers down quick ,i love wildlife of all kinds but i got no hart for the rat kill the lot dirty filthy horrible things

Please explain why you think rats are ''filthy horrible things'', and that you think they should be 'reduced'. Maybe you could also add why you have written that you 'love' wildlife?

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by chris59

I have 5 seed feeders in my garden, and a bird table. I wash the feeders and scrub the table every two weeks in the winter.( more often in the summer ) But I dont have the tree space to move the seed feeders around. So I am left with the mess that the seeds leave on the grass when the birds have eaten. My garden is not a garden for people to sit in. Apart from kicking a ball around for my dog, and putting the washing out , I rarley go out there. But i keep the grass cut and bushes tidy, so that the wildlife will visit. But what I am worried about is that rats will come to the mess underneath the feeders. . Can anyone tell me if rats are attracted to the empty husks ? or am I getting worried over nothing.

They certainly will come to any food on the ground, particularly if you scatter it there too. Some rats will even climb up onto the table. If you do get rats the simple thing to do is to stop putting food out and they will look elsewhere for food, then you can resume making sure to leave as little on the ground as you can.

Cheers,

Adam

[jamie1976]

why are they filthy ,well living in raw sewage pure oeoeoeoe ,i may have gone over board with what i said but to tell the truth there numbers have to be cut down like it or leave it, but it is the truth ,and i wrote i love wildlife because i love wildlife simple as

sorry for speaking my mind

[tigger]

I stopped a lot of the mess under the feeder by swoping to sunflower hearts. The birds eat practically all of it. If they drop any the other birds tend to hoover it up. I've got 6 birdfeeders lots of birds, a friendly wood mouse but no rats (amazingly!). The other thing that keeps the rats away are foxes! (or neighbours cat).