Rats!

[Bluebell_uk]

Hello everyone,

We have recently noticed two brown rats in our garden helping themselves to the food on our bird table food.

We have now taken the table away but the rats are still around and the birds are missing out.

We are not sure but think they may be nesting in the ivy covering our neighbours fence - which I have been told, as it is not our ivy we are not allowed to take down even if it is covering the fence/our back wall.

Any advice would be great - preferably without posion/killing them.

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Bluebell_uk

We are not sure but think they may be nesting in the ivy covering our neighbours fence - which I have been told, as it is not our ivy we are not allowed to take down even if it is covering the fence/our back wall.

What makes you think you're not allowed to remove your neighbour's ivy from _your_ side of the fence/wall?

As I understand it, you're perfectly entitled to completely strip it. If there's a history of problems with issues of this sort with your neighbour, you probably should offer the removed ivy to them, as it's their property!

Jim


Jim

[Bluebell_uk]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

What makes you think you're not allowed to remove your neighbour's ivy from _your_ side of the fence/wall?

As I understand it, you're perfectly entitled to completely strip it.
Jim

Thanks for your reply Jim,

When we have asked our landlord about having the ivy removed his response was that we can't do anything about it as it is the neighbours property.

Bluebell_uk

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Bluebell_uk

We have recently noticed two brown rats in our garden helping themselves to the food on our bird table food. We have now taken the table away but the rats are still around and the birds are missing out. We are not sure but think they may be nesting in the ivy covering our neighbours fence - which I have been told, as it is not our ivy we are not allowed to take down even if it is covering the fence/our back wall.Any advice would be great - preferably without posion/killing them.

As Jim says, if the Ivy is on your side of the property line you are entitled to remove it. However, why do you think the rats are nesting within it ? If you have no other reason to strip the Ivy, and are sure that there are no birds using it as a nest site, then I would suggest simply running a broom handle back and forth along the fence to see if that actually raises any rats out of the Ivy's shelter. If you do disturb any rats then you have some indication that there's a problem, otherwise the chances are that any nest/rat hole is elsewhere.

CM

[Bluebell_uk]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

, why do you think the rats are nesting within it ?
CM

Hi Cotham,

My sister saw the rat dart into the ivy the other day and when we were out there last night heard rustling and chattering/squeaks.

I am reluctant to tear down all the ivy as we have pairs of robins and dunnocks in the garden each year and their young.

Blubell_uk

[Kayleigh]

Ivy is good for wildlife as you have seen it offers shelter and protection and birds nest in it..
As the property is rented its up to landlord to control it as he owns the property..

You would be better off getting him to sort out the rats or you get a snapper type trap and kill them cleanly, the humane type traps are useless the rats wont used them then there is the problem of relocating and rats can be very vicious when captured and scared if you did manage to catch one..

[shei111]

Ivy is excellent for nesting birds and it would be a shame to take it all down, try and look for a rat run , I expect the rat went in the ivy for immediate cover when it saw your sister .

As you have seen rats about I would ask your landlord to get the council out to investigate where they are coming from, if the rats are in your garden he will sort it and find where they are living ,but if the rats are from next door your neighbours will have to telephone the council to eradicate them in other words he can only come out to the house that reports the problem. But dont hang about as rats breed very quickly and you will soon be over run with them. shei

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Bluebell_uk

My sister saw the rat dart into the ivy the other day and when we were out there last night heard rustling and chattering/squeaks.Blubell_uk

Chances are that these rats are not actually nesting in the Ivy, far more likely is that they have burrows under a nearby shed or greenhouse.

To discourage them, trim off the very bottom of the ivy along fence line, 10cm above the ground should be enough. If you have lawn or soil abutting the fence, dig this over to a distance of at least 20 cm from the fence. This disturbance will put the rats of for a time, and if they do start coming back into your garden via the fence, you'll be able to see the 'runs'. If you have concrete or gravel abutting the fence, make sure this is kept clean - reguarly swept or raked.

Reinstate your bird table but have it at least a metre away from the fence or any overhanging branches and try to fix a downward facing vertical barrier around the table and/or smear any part of the table that rats could use to climb, with petroleum jelly.

Unless the rats are actually nesting in your garden, all of this activity will probably be enough to have them move on. Only if they are still in evidence after you've tried the above, or if your neighbours are failing to maintain their gardens, would I bring in pest control.

CM