Rats! Eww!

[Pixie 162]

Never thought id see the day when i can say, i finally have a nice garden! Dug over the soil i mentioned a while ago and used a few packs of grass seed from the pound shop, its come up brill! & i have some lovely flower beds taking shape.

untill i a few days ago when my cat bought 4 rats to the back door in two days, big rats! Then i was in my dinning room and thought i saw one on the path, i did! It was cheeky enough to sit washing its tail. I shoo'd it down the path and out the gate at the bottom... then after putting my daughter to bed, i looked out her window and saw another just by the gate having a sniff around.

I went into the alleyway behind the house, my cat ran infront and started scratching at the gap between my shed and fence, so im assuming their either in there, or the courtyard behind my house that belongs to the factory although its abit over grown.

Does anyone have any tips to keep them out the garden? i love rats, but worry about what diseases my cats could get from killing them and what my daughter could catch from them peeing on the grass. Im ringing my housing association on tuesday to see if i can get someone out to investigate where exactly their coming from and to get rid. but anything i could try to doto keep them away before someone comes out would be good.

[LizzieM 9,507]

They're probably nesting underneath your shed. BUT how can you LIKE rats?!!!! You've got to get the pest man out as soon as possible Pixie, he'll find somewhere to put poison down so your cat doesn't get to it. We used to keep sheep years ago and we had evidence of rats but never saw them. The council rat-catcher came and did a good job for us.

[banjo48 928]

My son lives in Nottm and works as an environmental health officer/manager, he was telling me several months ago that rats are becoming a big problem in most places in the uk.

He had a statistic which I cannot really remember fully, but was something like, no matter where you are, day or night you are never further than 5 meters from a rat !

They are also becoming immune to some poisons now ! Safest way to get rid of them is a trap,but not a pleasant experience.

They carry lots of nasty diseases from TB, to Leptospirosis (spelling) which can be in their urine.

Get some professional help to rid them from your yard.

Bit like ants though, you will never really get rid of them all.

[fch782c 144]

AAArgh reminds me of the James Herbert books.

[Trevor S 2,003]

The rats down in bay side St Kilda are the size of cats!!!

They feed on the Fairy Penguins that have their nests in the rock jetties and similar along the beaches.

The discarded food and rubbish discarded and lying in the streets each night also supplements their diet.

I did not believe what I was told about the size of them until I saw two foraging in a McDonalds car park in the early hours of the morning.

They are also a common problem in the suburbs. There was a dead one in my driveway the other morning and probably the victim of poison bait I had laid under the house after SWMBO heard scratching in the walls. Not heard scratching since finding the dead one.

The dog caught one a few weeks ago and I sent that to rat heaven with the heel of my boot - the dog looked most put out about it.

Only one place for rats.........................................

[plantfit 7,575]

Might cost money to get the rat man out so worth checking how much before you book him,stop feeding the birds in the garden as that is a food supply for the rats,if there is any room under the shed for them to get under they will, if the cats can't get under there but there is a hole big enough for the rats you could put some motor vehicle anti freeze with sugar mixed in it in a pot and place it in there, as soon as the rats drink it .....instant death, try not to put poison down in case the cats get some plus if the rats do die of poisoning owls and other raptors could eat the dead rats and suffer the same fate. You must get rid of them though as Banjo say's they carry diseases that are fatal to humans and don't let your daughter play on the grass

Rog

[Trevor S 2,003]

Sound advice, plantfit.

Have lost dogs and cats to poison baits and it is not a very pleasant way to go.

[piggy and babs 544]

talk to your nighbours too to see if they have a problem too if there comming from the factory they proberbly do if so get together and talk to the factory manager/owner.

and dont forget that for every one you see theres at least 6 you carnt see and they breed so very quickly if they showing in the dat light know they will soon become a big problem if its not sorted soon.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

The two common ones around where I live are pack rats and black rats, pack rats are easy to find, they build the huge stick nests and load them with shiny objects, like small chrome plated tools, hence packrats.

When we lived in Australia, we couldn't work out what was stealing our hot peppers in the garden, jalopeno peppers at that!!! These were so hot they'd strip paint off old oak boards!!

I was at the kitchen sink one afternoon and spotted the culprit, a bloody big rat, it was gorging on them!!

[LizzieM 9,507]

We had SOMETHING under our house when we lived in the countryside a few years ago. I was the only person at home, sitting quietly writing Christmas cards one evening when I heard pipes under the floor rattling. The next day I noticed that my Dyson vacuum cleaner had been chewed around the yellow plastic around the bottom. The vacuum cleaner was kept in the boiler room. Our farmer neighbour gave me some rat poison in plastic sachets, 5 in total, and said I should put a new sachet down when the first had been eaten. Every morning I checked in the boiler room and the whole packet had been taken away! This went on for 5 days so I went to an agricultural merchant and bought more!!! The sachet I put down on the sixth day was still there months later so I assumed whatever it was was now dead.

We also had a squirrel under the upstairs floor boards on another occasion. My husband had seen a squirrel going through a tiny hole in the eaves so he blocked it up when he knew the creature was not in there. Well it went mad! So he then took the floorboards up in the bedroom and had baby squirrels running up the wall, nightmare! He put the squirrels in a box and took them into the woods at the bottom of the garden but sadly next morning they were dead.

And finally, we had a glis glis electrocute itself. Only found it when the power went off in an outbuilding. It was there clinging by its teeth to a cable! They are a protected species and really quite sweet but they can cause a lot of expensive damage.

[Pixie 162]

our shed is more like a concrete out house at the bottom of the garden. so doubt their under that but there's a gap between it and the fence, about 3/4inch. and there's nothing between the fence and shed at the back so they can wander in strait from the alley behind us that no one uses so its got weeds growing and is looking abit unsightly. might be a good neighbor and sort that out. my housing association pay for the cost of someone to come out as they have a contract with a company that deals with it. I'm yet to talk to my neighbor at one side of me who owns a cat too, but the other side have said they'v never seen a rat. they have a wooden shed just next to the shed that separates our garden beside of my shed.

[MELTONSTILTON 452]

If you kill a rat another 4 will come to it's funeral, in other words they are hard to get rid of.

Living in a forest like I do, we do not seem to get a lot of rats, the best way I have found to get rid of one when we have one, is to make it's life unsure, by going around the places where a rat is liable to be and just making my presence known to the rat, by shaking a wood pile, filling in holes, moving things around in sheds, ect, ect, and the cats around the yard help also by catching them............

[Pixie 162]

well, I rang the council today, they won't deal with the problem. nore will environmental health as I don't live in their catchment area, so rang gedling borough as they told me to do and they won't deal with it either. all 3 made it out not to be such a big deal, I told them I found one in my kitchen and was told unless they nest within the house they won't sort it.

so now I have to pay for pest controll especially when I don't know if their not coming from the court yard behind me. I spoke to the boss of the factory who said he's never seen any rats and if they had them theyv never caused the business a problem so won't chip in to the costs. brilliant. and apparently pest controll can be costly.

makes me laugh, Nottingham environmental health would of came out for free if I lived near the city centre. they told me gedlinf borough deal with all the same issues in my area yet they won't sort it. hmm.

[plantfit 7,575]

Can you buy some steel traps? they look like the "little nipper" mouse traps but obviously bigger, you must secure them to the ground though because if you catch one in the trap and it's not a clean kill it could run off with it still attached to it's neck or whatever, have also heard they don't like to walk over broken glass so maybe worth trying that, smash a few bottles and put it in their run so long as nobody can get to it and cut themselves, try the anti freeze and sugar trick but make sure the cats can't get to drink it, if you are really desperate I have some poison corn and poison blocks you can have if you want to PM me with contact details

Rog

[piggy and babs 544]

have you tried your housing association if you getting them in your kitchen they might help as you are gedling bourough city council wont help as they say out there catchment area

know any one with a jack russell you can borrow for a couple of days they good little ratters and can offen sniff out were the nest is and then you can put poison into the nest. we had a bit of a problem with mice not rats a few years ago our dog sniff out the nest under concrete steps put poison in the hole and then cemented it up with loads of cent never saw another one after that.

[Pixie 162]

my housing association won't fund or send anyone out as their not nesting inside of the house so basically it's not their problem. iv explained that I have a toddler and cats and still they don't care. my partners mum has a jack Russell, might ask to 'borrow' her for the day. I was going to do the antifreeze thing but I fear that neighbors cats might try attack or eat the dead or dying bodies and I'd feel so bad if it was to kill someone else's cat that way. broken glass is a no no, again, neighbors cats and also a few neighbors use the alley, one for their wheely bin and the other for his motorbike. I can't believe the council, housing association or environmental health won't provide or fund for pest control

[darkazana 1,736]

If you can find someone who has ferrets this is a very effective way of getting rid of rats as they are a natural predator. Once a ferret has left its smell in the area rats will steer clear.

[Pixie 162]

oooh! its a pet iv allways wanted but never been aloud. i have a hutch in the garden I put my guineapigs in when its nice out. if I was to keep one or two in the hutch (borrowed off someone, not for good) would that work?

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Pixie, I would suggest you contact your local M.P. and see what advice he/she offers. You don't want to be spending money if you don't have to.

[plantfit 7,575]

Check out the websites for ferret clubs in your area, it might be an idea to ask a ferret keeper if you can have the material they clean from the ferret cages to put down at the back of your shed, that will have the scent of the ferrets on and might do the trick, won't cost owt and the toilet cleanings from the ferret cage won't harm any other animals but might detere the rats

Rog

[Pixie 162]

there's an idea! I'll ask about. and never thought about contacting the MP. but everywhere I spoke to that refused to help made the issue out to be not all that bad and rats don't cause any problems if their outside, would an MP think the same?

[piggy and babs 544]

you can find out who your local mp is if you dont already know by contacting the council or pop in st georges centre they will no and tell yo

[plantfit 7,575]

www,ashfieldferretclub.co.uk

not that far from you, there is some contact numbers on there and they will be more than happy to help you, let me know how you go on

Rog

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

If you have cats, then you are over feeding them, give them half rations, they will kill the rats and eat them to supplement what you give them...

I'm not a cat person, but living in the country keep one to keep the local rodent population in check. We don't over feed her, so she has to earn her keep by killing some rodents or she gets hungry.

Remember cats are carnivores, mine kills and eats rabbits, rats, mice, chipmunks and the odd bird, although birds are not a large part of her diet..

Just make sure the cats are worked regularly as rodents probably are loaded with roundworm and tapeworms..

Best mousers are chickens!! But rats are too large for them.

[susyshoes 69]

My daughter saw a rat a couple of weeks ago. We live in Hucknall and therefore part of Ashfield district council (who are normally not one of the best councils). However their pest control dept is second to none. I messaged them online on a wednesday evening. got an automated email response straight away. they rang me the next day, visited her house later that day. Put a rat trap with bait under the hedge where she had seen it and lifted the man hole cover nearby and put bait in there. they also contacted Severn Trent regarding the drain (as they had broked down a bit of the drain with their burrowing), who came within about 10 days (although they said it was her drain and not shared so couldnt do anything) but there was a dead rat in it. the council rang me the next day to see how we had got on with Severn trent. i told them and they came back and removed the rat.

I cant praise them highly enough, but i do notice on their website they have won awards for their pest control.

As an aside, when i had the misfortune of living in Ilkeston a couple of years ago, we too had a rat and i rang Erewash council who said 'sorry we dont have a pest control dept' End of!!!