Rats in garden and feeding birds

[brinnee]

This is the 1st time we have been troubled by rats since we moved here 4 yrs ago.Our neighbour has rats nesting/living in her compost bin and are seen during the day in both our gardens. A council 'rat catcher' has been visiting every 10 days to put bait in the runs and inside the compost bin. This has been going on for 2 months.I now only use 2 sml.bird feeders which I remove at night.We have many birds visiting and nesting in our garden including robins,greenfinch,sparrows and blackbirds.I am reluctant to remove these 2 feeders as we feed the birds all year ( up until now). The council rep.said my neighbour cannot remove her bin as the rats will scatter everywhere, but it is unpleasant seeing rats still running around. 2 last night in my garden. Will my removing the last 2 feeders help? How long does it take to eliminate them? We have 3 small children and my husband had to kill an obviously ill rat during the week whilst the children played near by.I am now extremly reluctant to let the children play outside and am becoming anxious as to how many rats are out there.Sorry re length of letter but will appreciate any help/advice.Sincerely, Brinnie

[vole-woman]

Are you putting food on the ground? Or is a lot spilling out of the feeders? I ask because we had a rat over winter, and it appeared shortly after I started putting stuff out on the ground.

[JP]

Hi there, unfortunatly Rats being rats will be where ever there is food and shelter for them, the rat your husband killed was probably on its last legs from the poison Im not a fan of poison as it gets into the food chain and its not a good way to die for any animal.
You are always probably 20 foot away from a rat where ever you are they are a very adaptable and hardy animal and are also very entertaining and interesting to watch, why not just see them for what they are and not for the stigma attatched? You may begin to enjoy watching them and over come your fear Id Say if you are that worried place a tray under your feeder to catch any spilt food or feed Fat balls etc something that seed will not drop out of may be?

[witham]

if you have small children rats can be a particular problem as they can carry weils diesase which gets passed in their urine which they leave a trail of almost everywhere they go,this can be very nasty if caught by us, especially children and as they've also got poison in their system this will be being left around as well by the same method so be carefull if toys etc are left outside that they could crawl over, they can also climb so they will take stuff off bird tables and hanging feeders so not putting feed on the ground doesn't necessarily cure the problem

[vole-woman]

Would they be able to get up a 5ft smooth slender metal pole, witham?

[JP]

Not unless they was Spider Rat!

[shei111]

Hello As I always say shoot the dam things I hate them , Yes I love wildlife No I hate rats , Yes rats are part of wildlife but thats the one rodent I cant put up with, disease carrying dirty animals sheila

[muldonach]

Originally Posted by brinnee

This is the 1st time we have been troubled by rats since we moved here 4 yrs ago.Our neighbour has rats nesting/living in her compost bin and are seen during the day in both our gardens. A council 'rat catcher' has been visiting every 10 days to put bait in the runs and inside the compost bin. This has been going on for 2 months.I now only use 2 sml.bird feeders which I remove at night.We have many birds visiting and nesting in our garden including robins,greenfinch,sparrows and blackbirds.I am reluctant to remove these 2 feeders as we feed the birds all year ( up until now). The council rep.said my neighbour cannot remove her bin as the rats will scatter everywhere, but it is unpleasant seeing rats still running around. 2 last night in my garden. Will my removing the last 2 feeders help? How long does it take to eliminate them? We have 3 small children and my husband had to kill an obviously ill rat during the week whilst the children played near by.I am now extremly reluctant to let the children play outside and am becoming anxious as to how many rats are out there.Sorry re length of letter but will appreciate any help/advice.Sincerely, Brinnie

One really has to question what is going on here, the normal robust answer to a known living/nesting site is to put a temporary fence around it (chicken wire) and then to dismantle/remove the material in which the rats are hiding. A pair of terriers inside the chicken wire will, I assure you, prevent any dispersal whatever! It should take 1 day not two months!

As regards your garden and your childrens safety I would suggest that you obtain some deadcatch traps (Fenn MkIV) and site them inside wooden tunnels positioned alongside natural boundaries, tunnels should be long enough and well enough secured down to prevent children gaining access, and a couple of sticks used at each end to prevent anything larger than rat getting in. There is no need to bait the tunnels since rats naturally run round walls etc and investigate tunnels.

Alternatively, if as appears likely, the rats are using your feeders, or cleaning up spilled food, you have an ideal opportunity for a targetted poison campaign. Remove the normal feeders at night and substitute similar feeders containing the same feed treated with a suitable poison. With small children on site you obviously need to be very careful not to allow any access to spilled bait or stored chemicals.

If none of the above appeals then buy your husband a decent air rifle and scope or invest in a terrier.

HTH

cheers
mac

[witham]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

Would they be able to get up a 5ft smooth slender metal pole, witham?

not sure about 'ground' rats but their close relatives the tree rats (grey squirrels) certainly can, we have tried greasing our two feeding stations that have smooth metal poles to stop them but they still try and it can be quite amusing to see them climb up and then slide down again, I've also seen the crafty things climb up something nearby and take a huge leap to land on one of the feeders
but maybe rats arn't quite so agile

[Smth]

I have exactly the same problem in my own garden. I love feeding the birds (and squirrels) but I now have rats that have taken up residence under my shed since a neighbour's house was sold and her outdoor property cleared out. I know there are rats under sheds but I see them in my garden and it is quite a worry not knowing what to do about it. The little buggers are like spider rats because I bought a feeding pole and they managed to get up it!! I have considered putting poison in one of the feeders because they go to them but with the light mornings and the birds being up early I would have to get up every morning before the crack of dawn to move in case the birds used it. I am loathed to stop feeding the birds because I love to see them in my garden but it comes at a price unfortunately. I have a terrier who chases them but sadly never catches one (I think he's too well fed !!!), as soon as his back is turned they come back.
There must be a solution to this problem without stopping the feeding of birds.

SueT