Rat infestation
trevor87
Posts: 5
We live in a row of four bungalows, nearby is a long row of victorian terraces with an unkempt back alley.We are on the edge of a rural village.
We have had an occasional rat running through our back garden and rats have been seen by our neighbours.
Recently we have seen three or four rats in daylight hours.they have been quite brazen and not really phased by where they were. We took action in that we established where their rat runs were and blocked as much access as we could.
One morning a rat was seen happily eating slug pellets, which I now know are made from a food type product that is attractive to rats ,but not slugs. At this point we purchased three boxes of rat killer( rentakill). We laid the poison in four prominent areas that we knew were used by the rats.
Also we loaded two rat traps.
as a result of this action we have killed eight rats of various ages.these we have either trapped or have been found after poisoning.There will probably be others that we haven,t seen that have been poisoned.
We have baited them until they stopped feeding, we have read this id the right action to take.
all the traps and bait trays have been out of reach of garden birds.
We are monitoring the gardens for two weeks to see if we get any more returning
perseverance is the name of the game. The largest was approximately 12 -13 inches long from nose to tail so had probably been around for a long time
Posts
When dealing with rats outside of a property it can be a bit difficult but not impossible.
I suggest you don't stop with the baits as those adults have probably given birth to other rats that'll soon grow enough to venture outside for food. Consistency is the key to sorting out this problem.
Also, bear in mind that the rats will probably look for other sources of food, so it'll be good of you to notify your neighbours. I know it's not exactly the best topic to discuss but it's the proper thing to do in this situation.
If you don't manage to deal with the problem, you can always go for professional rat control service.
Best of luck with your efforts!
Last edited: 19 July 2017 14:05:35
Well done. Unfortunately, rats are always closer than you'd like to think and they are opportunists so talk to the local council about getting that back alley cleared of rubbish where they may be nesting/feeding/breeding.
Make sure your own garden space and any sheds are kept clear of food sources so no loose bird food, no cooked foods in compost heaps, bins well closed against unwanted visitors.
Don't assume you've got them all. Keep some poison or traps going in quiet corners away for children or pets or birds and check regularly.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Thanks all, awareness is the key, We continue to set poison for the rats in safe children and dog friendly spots. The bait is being taken although not so much.
We had the local authority pest control officer out for consultation and of course a fee. he was impressed by our efforts and the number accounted for, Ten actually seen and trapped or poisoned.
The back street/alley is unadopted and so the local authority don,t want to know,The properties are a mix of rental and owner occupied, Difficult to get some responsibility .Some have even said they don,t really care !!
I have approached all my immediate neighbours and three out of four are very positive in our quest to cut down or rid us of said rats.
One however, a lifelong bird feeder, who went into mourning when asked if they would consider stopping feeding the birds managed one day. They are back to their previous feeding routine. They don,t like the rats but cannot seem to link the two.
I have been advised by Mr Pest control that if the problem persists to contact Environmental health.I have informed all neighbours of our next move with great diplomacy.
As my dear mother used to say, You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink
Does sound like the bird food is likely to be the source of the problem. If they don't want to stop feeding the birds they might consider ways to stop spilt food falling to the ground (or the rats accessing the feeders), or just to cut back on the amount they put out. After all, I doubt they really want to be spending money on rat food.
A bit of an expense but a trail camera placed facing the bird feeding area might help to convince the neighbours (if they agreed to it). If the rats are mainly feeding there at night they might not appreciate the connection and video footage might be more persuasive. You can get cheaper ones for about £50 to £70.
It isn,t that they don,t believe there are rats about, they are in their seventies and set in their ways. The situation is much better than it was . Yet I believe without any known food source then we wouldn't have had the problem as bad as it has been
The neighbours have had a daily two feeder of seed plus ground feeding and meal worm. Definatly an invitation for rodents. I have seen them also put out daily bread .
They may as well have a sign up
It doesn't help that a lot of mixed bird seed is bulked out with wheat which the smaller birds don't much like, so they flick it out of the feeders so they can get to the nicer seeds like sunflowers.Obviously then the rats, mice & pigeons come to clean up underneath.
It sounds like the best you can hope for would be for them to put out less messy food, although even that might be difficult.
Post containing advertising will be deleted virtually as fast as you can post them.
There's also not a lot of point in advertising a Californian pest control service on a mainly UK website ... you're wasting your time
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.