The joys of country living.....EEEEEEEEK !

Small rats used to live in our roofs in Kenya. They rarely came down into the house but one holiday I had sent the cats to the cattery and when I returned, the whole house was infested. I opened a drawer and a rat leapt out. Everything had to be disinfected or disposed of. I decamped for the night to my fiancé's house and, the next day, fetched the cats from the cattery. On one occasion, a colleague had put down rat poison which was the kind that makes the creatures thirsty. She didn't realise how successful this had been until bits of rat started to come out of her cold taps. It had gone into the tank in her roof to drink.

OH!!! Annodomini..bits of rat from the tap is worse than finding one in the shower drain UGH

Years ago, our cat caught a rat and dumped it alive and kicking on the kitchen floor where it shot off and disappeared somewhere. We slammed all the doors shut and started hunting --and hunting----and hunting. We'd just about given up hope of finding it when OH had an idea, and upended the spin dryer. There it was. clinging to the motor. I honestly can't remember what happened next, but I think the fire irons were probably involved.

Oh my goodness hats off to you I honestly think I'd be traumatised and in need of counselling I can't think of anything more terrifying

Don't they say that you are never more than a metre from a rat wherever you are? - whoever 'they' are! Highly intelligent and adaptable animals, we all create so much waste they thrive alongside humans, we would probably have a far greater problem if they weren't cleaning up after us! Having said that I would NOT want to stick my hand down a drain and pull one out or anything else dead for that matter

Ugh can't think of anything worse than finding that in the drain. I periodically have to lift the trap on our shower and clean it out - I will never look at it in the same way again!! Over the years I've had dozens of mice brought in by my cats - mostly they're dead but occasionally one's got away and we've only realised because said cat is sitting patiently waiting for it to reappear - thankfully he's always finally caught them. I do know my sister in law had problems with rats in their previous house - they were living under the toilet and also in the loft - she was a nervous wreck by the time they'd finally got rid of them!

entertaining rats, well, my o my....... just wanted to put my pennyworth in, obviously I am NOT serious, entertaining Rats indeed !!!!

yukkkk!!! Annodomini, I couldn't think of anything worse. We had mice in our loft once, they sounded like they had hobnail boots on and were doing an irish jig. Thank goodness we never had a cold water tank up there too as they could have quite easily fell in and drowned especially as we too used poison to get rid of them!

no one - town country or city is more than 30 feet from a rat.
Whole counties infested with the little beggars
Go round the back of any fast food outlet at night and watch them in their droves
Mind you they do say that if it want for the creatures we call vermin we'd be up to our pretty little eyeballs in shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... you know who!
and then we have politicianas but don't get me started on that one

Mice are my problem I have a cat but I think it's him bringing them in alive to play with !!!!! I have had a few live mice but if I see them I get my little dustpan & brush, corner them & put them out. My fault for leaving door open for fresh air & so I don't have to keep getting up to let cat in & out!!! Thank goodness I haven't got a cat flap. I haven't seen any rats but neighbours have.

Good job I don't mind mice as I'm on my own - corpses found on my path outdoors are bagged & binned - no funerals for them!!

oh & birds with hobnail boots doing an irish jig - yes we get that, I live in a Park Home so not a lot between me & roof except insulation - blackbirds are the worst, most definitely not mice in loft as I don't have one

A couple of years ago I noticed a very big rat in the garden. Whilst watching him he came right up to the patio doors and peered through the window. As I had a cat flap, though no longer any cats, I was terrified I would come down in the morning and see him in the sitting room, complete with the rest of his family. Luckilly my lovely neigbour blocked the flap for that night and nailed it shut the next day.

My eldest son had a worse experience. He and his wife were going to a Western evening at his uncle's school and all the way there they could smell this dreadful smell in the car. They got to his uncle's house and Paul went into the bathroom to change and put his cowboy boots on. His wife heard him scream but at least he'd found the smell - a decomposed frog which the cat had put in the boot!

I was told years ago by someone who worked for a vermin control company that the rise in popularity of bird feeders has helped to increase the number of rats in our urban gardens-ugh!

I found a mouse had been eating some seed remains in an old bird feeder in my greenhouse. I caught 2 mice in 2 days and put them on the bird table - still soft! Local jackdaws had a super surprise breakfast for a couple of days. I think that's called ultimate recycling! Mice ate bird seed. Birds ate mice!!!!

We had far more visits from wildlife - rats, bats, sp....s (can't even write the word down) and very bold foxes in London than we have here in Devon.

The eight legged things hate anything citrus, especially lemons, so I liberally spray anywhere I think they might to break in, window and door frames. I keep a small lemon in each corner of the living room. And if I ever see one, rare, I'm glad to say, it gets killed, no messing about putting it outside from where it comes straight back in. If it's not helping with the mortgage it doesn't belong in my house.

DH was recounting my tale to a pal of his who said his wife had found a dead bird in their shower trap.

Eh?

Apparently the guard at the top of the stench pipe had blown off in a gale and a fledgling blackbird had fallen down into the drain.

I'm going to be armed with a cricket bat every time I clean the shower now