Rat seen in the garden!

Problem for me phloembundle, is all the cats congregate in back garden, so ive never seen any there- but none ever are in front (even mine) where the rats were seen!

I called out pest control for a rat once. All they did was look over my neighbours fences and said "That's your problem - bird feeders". I asked what they could do and all they said was they could put rat killer down but the problem will return until the neighbours stop putting food/bird seed out. I tried speaking to the neighbours but they were adamant it wasn't due to the bird feeders. Couple of days later I found 2 enormous dead rats.
Everything went quiet. Then, at the top of my garden I was planting a shrub and noticed the spade went in easily. The rats had created a series of tunnels from one neighbours garden to the other. I was also horrified when I saw a rat climb the fence. I went into my shed and found a hole in the corner leading deep down. In it 2 dead rats and tons of bird seed which they had collected from next door. I went to considerable expense to fill in all the tunnels and block their paths. I removed the shed. Had a new concrete base put down and a new shed. Now I keep rat poison down constantly. We also get mice. It should be against the law to feed birds, squirrels etc. Rats are vermin and in my opinion over rides the need to feed birds.

If you call the 'rat man' in (i called him that too) then he could go tell the neighbours as well, about not leaving food around etc, and just say its a 'local problem' so you wouldnt have to deal with the anti-social neighbours?

I've seen a rat at Sandringham. It shot across a path in front of me. My thinking is, if it's not a problem for HM then why should we worry?

We did have a rat who visited. OH disposed of it and we haven't seen any since. They're pretty intelligent, aren't they?

Moggie57, i bet you'd not just say that if they came in your house/garden.

I have so many cats that use my garden as their own that I have never seen a rat. Seen some cute little garden mice though.

I feel so mean though to the poor birds, and i used to put out food my cat had left (hes very fussy!) for the couple of stray cats and also hedgehogs used to come around.(we're a bit semi-rural) But now i darent do it.I think the blooming housing associations or council should take responsibility now things have opened up again as some areas havent had full bin emptying have they in lockdown?

We to have a stream in our garden and sheds.The rats have dug under the shed and we often see rats strolling around.We have three terriers and they have each caught one.The problem is that they bring the trophies to us.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

My daughter had a rat problem. She lives by a river. Her cat was wonderful at catching and killing them. She was keen on feeding birds and had to stop doing that. Since she stopped she's seen no more rats but her cat continues to patrol, just in case!

When I had a guinea pig hutch outside I suspected rats. Their droppings are similar to guinea pig droppings but darker. They managed to get into the hutch and kill my guinea pig they chewed a hole in the corner of the hutch.
When we took the hutch down there was the remains of a rats nest under neath and two rat carcasses. I won’t be having any animals in an outside hutch again you can be sure of that!

rats have to eat too . and live their life just like you do....i would fence off the rat run so the rat knows you dont like him...maybe tidy up the garden...dont poison them .that cruel...seen plenty of rats about and they are human ones ..(not you)

We’ve had rats in the garden for years and never had any bother with them. I’m quite ‘live and let live’. They never came near the house. Recently, they’ve gone, and we think someone poisoned them as we saw one or two dying in obvious pain. Nasty.

Yes i saw one had shinned up my tree to feast on the bird food! I went out& it scuttled away under the hedges- so maybe your hubby's right! I reported it to pest control (that was last summer) who said to stop feeding the birds.i asked him NOT to put down bait because of my GC and my cat and local cats.so he didnt.(you can just get them in for advice, he wouldnt place rat bait if you dont want to!) So i got rid of all my hanging bird feeders.then in winter(jan) i had seen no rat so got a couple of new bird feeders..but by spring it happened again.But was told they werent sending pest control in lockdown!(seems daft when it would be ideal time as no one outside-& how do they know rats arent spreading covid19 like they did the plaugue?)Anyway, once again i threw away the new feeders! I feel quite mean on the birds though. A couple more neighbours cats have been popping in to our garden to visit our cat(they all just sit there, socially distanced for a bit)or maybe hes called them in to help with 'Rat Watch' i dont know, but i think marauding cats will help deter the rats.

Your problem stems from your neighbours on both sides. I have one neighbour whose garden is like a forest - she can’t even open her back door because of the overgrown trees - and neighbours the other side with decking wher they sit and eat their bbq food - crumbs, etc drop through and that is food for the rats. My garden is a thoroughfare for the rats and I hate them. Sadly a ‘rat man’ said that unless everybody makes an effort to eradicate them they will just multiply.

Last July it was pouring down outside but I had back door which looks out on the garden open fir a shirt while then closed it. A few minutes later the dog went crazy and a rat came out from under the sofa... I was so shocked and upset but opened the door again and called my husband at work ... then I called my neighbours and they came in to help me look fir it. Didn’t find it and can only assume it wanted to get out if the rain and realised it’s mistake when if heard the dog. I was really upset and took me ages to be able to relax in my kitchen after that ... it’s disturbing to know that they are so near and able to come in garden. I would NEVER out meat out in the garden.

As you’re on Gransnet you may well be a pensioner, and if so your local council will get rid of the rats for you in a humane way. (Mine do, at least). The traps will only get rats and not other creatures (Erm, I think they may get mice as well). My ex’s reaction would’ve been exactly the same as your DH. Even when we heard noises and something knocked over downstairs it was me who had to go down and investigate!

I posted a similar thread on the garden forum about 3weeks ago I am like you I was afraid to go in the garden to hang washing or open a window it was making my life a misery and I wasn't sleeping my neighbour put down poison and I rang pest control at my council they charge for the service but since they have been touch wood nothing other than a couple of dead ones on the path next door included in the service is a second call out to check boxes they left and areas where poison was I'm gradually becoming more confident about going into garden I hung out washing yesterday but I'm still wary my advice would be call in the professionals I was told by the man who came out lockdown has made the situation worse as they are more daring and hungry it is much quieter in areas and less people about my second call out is tomorrow so I will see what that brings

Your local Council will sort. It cost us £75 for 3 visits. They put down a box which no other creature (e.g. Hedgehog) can enter. Inside the box is poison. We have had this problem in this garden and in our last garden and both times it was sorted by the Council. They also dealt with an infestation of flies in our external cladding. The service was excellent.

We had mice last year after I began feeding birds, figured out they were using the air bricks to gain entry so we covered them with mesh. They seemed immune to the blue blocks we bought (indoors) so I think maybe professionals have a stronger compound.

You can purchase small bags of rat & mice bait they will take bait to their nest, so no nasty bodies to deal with or harmful to other creatures. Also when bait stops being taken your know problem has resolved. Sadly feeding birds means feeding rodents also simply by the amount that falls to the ground, fat balls being the biggest rat treat ! Good luck ?

Rats are much misunderstood. They are actually very clean creatures & eat up a lot of stuff that would otherwise go mouldy in your garden.
He will be more frightened of you than you are of him.
Everyone is always closer to a rat than they would imagine.
Don't encourage him but do please let him be.

Rats and mice have been a bigger problem since covid19 started as no one has been able to have takeaways therefore no leftovers being dumped for them to feast on so they are looking anywhere they may find food.
We see rats/mice constantly as we have a canal at the bottom of the garden.
And in the papers it seems it`s a massive problem all over the country.

I know you said you do not speak to your neighbours that are putting meat for red kites and bird food out but you should at least put notes through all nearby neighbour's doors to inform them of the recent sightings. You could suggest in the note that abstinence of putting food out for a period of time would be advisable. There is a danger to health and a particular worry if there are young children playing in gardens. Informing a neighbourhood watch would also facilitate this.

I have a constant problem with rats locally and I do try and persuade people that I see putting food out for the pigeons not to do it; I try and explain that it attracts the rats and it also attracts bird to perch on my roof and wait to be fed, thus blocking up the gutters with bird poo and weeds when the seeds in the poo germinate. Town centre has got signs up asking people not to feed the pigeons and although I only live 3 minutes from the centre they won't put signs up round here. I have to keep my front and back doors closed now because of the fear that the rats will come in. We used to just have a few pigeons around but now we have seagulls and rooks, crows, etc, etc to deal with. I will probably have around 50-100 birds on my roof at any one time.
I've put poison down for the rats and just try to get on top of the problem; but the problem isn't caused by us, it's caused by the people who put the food down in the first place and it's us that bear the brunt, the expense and the worry about it all. There is no need for rats to be around in the numbers that they are and I don't believe a defeatist attitude is helping the matter at all.