Rats

I think there are always rats close to us - it's just that we don't always notice them.

Since your neighbour has had her garden paved, they'll probably head off somewhere else to find a place to live.

I always feel a bit sorry for rats and mice - like the rest of us, they're just trying to survive.

Out of curiosity - if you catch some in the human trap, what do you do with them then?

Make sure there are no food scraps or bird food dropped in your garden. If there is nothing to eat, the rats will move on.

I screamed!!
Some gardeners and people who adore animals always say that rats are all around us and if in the garden they won't necessarily come indoors but I don't believe them.
I would contact environmental health.
Another thing you could do is remove anything attractive in your own garden such as piles of logs or rough areas where they may be nesting. Rats don't like to be disturbed. Never put cooked food on your compost heap.

Contact your local council, the environmental department. If they're anything like our council, they will come out to deal with rats.

I moved some flower pots today and I think I disturbed them. They're living under our shed and we've got a compost bin and a water butt either side so they've got everything they need! If we caught them in a humane trap we planned to release them somewhere out in the countryside.

Our council don't do pest control anymore.

I agree with others who have posted. Try to keep your garden as tidy as possible, with no nesting sites or food available ( including bird food) and they will soon head off to another garden with plenty of both. We used to have two water rats that visited our garden occasionally when we kept chickens (there is a river running not far from the end of our garden.) We blocked off the chicken run with sunken wire and concrete blocks and kept the rest of the garden very open and tidy but with secure boundaries and the problem didn't get any worse. We haven't seen them so far this year. Actually, we quite liked to watch them and they were very clean and healthy, not like sewer rats.

grannyrebel7sorry but I think you have to kill them. If you saw 4 or 5 even if you trap a couple that will still leave 2 or 3to breed. A female rat typically births six litters a year consisting of up to12 rat pups, although 5-10 pups are more common. Rats reach sexual maturity after nine weeks, meaning that a population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year, with the potential to grow exponentially.
You either need a qualified pest control person or a poison trap to kill them. Then you will need to clear under your shed , fill holes and any access points and rat proof it. Good Luck!!!

Rats breed at an alarming rate. A pregnant female can give birth to 8-10 after just 21 days. I couldn’t rest easy after seeing them in the garden. I’d seek professional help with the local council being the first contact in the hope they’d intervene.

Let them go in the garden of someone you don't like supernanaunal

It's true they breed at an alarming rate best to kill them. Borrow a Jack Russell that will sort them out.

We live across the road from wood land which was a railway line. We do see wood rats but usually only this time of year. I don't like them but could not kill them. I love birds but refrain from feeding them if I see a rat. Our council does not do pest control. I did try using safe traps a few years ago without success. Rats are scared if they see you and run off. There is good advice here about filling holes in fences and rat runs under sheds too. Keep your doors closed if you sit in the garden and keep it closed even if you are cooking.

We had them nesting under our shed, blocked all the holes up and trapped their runs.

Dont make a compost heap ' they love the food and the warmth.
Our neighbour's garden is a wilderness but they tunnelled through and nested in our compost heap!
Councils and Environmental Health say it is not in their remit now so private rodent inspectors have to be employed.
£100 for doing very little!

Animal lover or not, rats carry disease.

We used to have a Jack Russell. She died a few years ago unfortunately, but she would've sorted them out.

This ...

Live traps are popular amongst those, who don’t like the idea of killing an animal. They are seen as a catch and release solution usually using a mechanism in which to trap them securely until you are in a position to relocate them.

With a live trap you need to be able to check these traps regularly and I mean at least every 12-24 hours, otherwise you will cause distress to the rodent.

Once you know an animal is confined in a trap their welfare is governed by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The person setting the trap has responsibility for their welfare and it is an offence to cause, or fail to prevent, unnecessary suffering to the animal.

One side effect of being left too long in the trap is that they can start to develop hypothermia, due to the breath of the rodent creating moisture in the trap, which wets the fur and makes them extremely cold.

Releasing them can also become an issue because:

It is illegal to release them onto a neighbours property.

Releasing them less than 100metres away will provide short-lived respite as they will likely find their way back.

Rodents are neophobic, which means that they have a deep fear of new things. Therefore, those who are released back into the wilderness have a very low chance of survival as they are likely to starve, become dehydrated or be eaten by predators due to the unfamiliarity.

Source: www.dalgettypestcontrol.co.uk/blog/are-humane-traps-really-humane

Thanks for all your advice. This is a real problem. I'll keep you all updated on Project Rattus

I saw one (big one) last year in my garden near a woodpile and when improvement works began on the public building next door. and there were overflowing bins
I tried the council but nobody replied and I haven't seen one since.(that's council workers or rats)

If I thought they were in the house I wouldn't hesitate to get pest control.

I am an animal lover - however these rats are far too close for comfort!! It has already been mentioned how often and quickly they breed. You will be surrounded very quickly. I would speak to your neighbours and get your heads together and agree to find a pest control expert. Releasing the odd few will not eradicate your problem.

We had rats in our garden. DH bought rat boxes and poisoned bait. They ignored them.
They disappeared when we had a man in the garden to trim some branches from the trees, and prune the overgrown shrubs.
Rats don't like disturbance and will move on to somewhere quiet.

As others have said and from my own experience, the rat relocation will be shortlived. Traps and killing don't work if the environment has food and shelter because new rats will move in. If you keep overgrown areas, which I do for hedgehogs and other wildlife, then disturb them regularly. Poking around with a garden can works well. Compost heaps and bins do provide warm shelter. I had to get rid of mine even though I only used it for non edible garden waste because they became rat and mouse HMO's Be obsessionally careful about feeding birds and where you leave your food waste. Get your neighbours to do the same if you can.

Have to say I hate rats and wouldn’t hesitate to put down poison, then once I’d stopped seeing them get DH to rat proof where they had been living.

We also had rats in our garden. We spotted 3 or 4 several weeks back. Tried to contact env health. They couldn't come out for at least 2 weeks. We went privately. It cost us £150.00 but worth it as they were nesting under the shed. We had to put wire around the shed and they now seem to be gone. I am now using peppermint essential oil around the shed as they hate the smell, just in case.
We had to stop feeding the birds though which has upset us.
There is a major problem with them as at least 5 other houses have had problems in our cul de sac.

Isnt it illogical to balk against killing rats (or anything I suppose), if your prepared to use bleach to kill bacteria?
It's all life after all.

Rodents are neophobic, which means that they have a deep fear of new things. Therefore, those who are released back into the wilderness have a very low chance of survival as they are likely to starve, become dehydrated or be eaten by predators due to the unfamiliarity.

I heard this too StatenIsland

We bought a humane trap because we had a mouse in the garage, released it in the countryside and were told it would probably die or be killed anyway.

I would not use a humane trap for rats. They carry disease.