Rats...Help

bluebird

Yesterday we saw Rats in our back garden they ran under the fence into a neighbouring garden,what's the best way to deal with a rat problem? i was thinking poison but i have dogs coming to stay and don't want to risk their health.

Have you had rats and if so how did you deal with them,?

I want them DEAD!

poppysarah

How do you know it was a rat?

You want to worry if they can get in your house. They can squeeze through little holes so it's worth checking your property closely.

There are rat poisons available or you can pay the council rat man to visit.

Is there something in the area encouraging them? Has a neighbour recently started leaving food waste in bags outside?

Gloomendoom

We have a rat in our garden. As long as he stays there, I'm not worried.

Advice from the RSPCA...

Rats in the garden

WestonDave

I think you already have your solution - at least for the time being. Let the dogs out into the garden for a while each day whilst they are with you, and the rats will quickly decide to frequent safer haunts!

I saw one around our compost bins a few years back but since next door got a dog which spends a lot of time the other side of the fence to the compost bins, we've not had any more sightings of live ones.

I suspect they are still around as we found one dead on the front path complete with the rat trap that killed it. Probably a fox picked it up once it was dead and was disturbed as it walked off with it!

floss2

Ring your Council's Environmental Health team and ask for a visit.

wellused

Advice from a pest controller he warned me to never ignore a rodent problem you will make a rod for your own back if you do. Rats breed like rabbits and once they are ensconced they will be hell.

gibson123

Work out if you have a problem, put flour or talcum powder down where you saw the rat and follow the prints to find out where they are going to . Bait it with hazelnuts, rats will go anywhere for a hazelnut.

Eliminate food sources - bins, birdfood etc.

Let the dogs roam around the garden.

If you have a nest put down rat poison at the entrance or get in pest control.

ukjoel

wellused wrote: »

Advice from a pest controller he warned me to never ignore a rodent problem you will make a rod for your own back if you do. Rats breed like rabbits and once they are ensconced they will be hell.

Lol - that made me chuckle.

Advice from a pest controller - never ignore a rodent problem.

He would say that wouldnt he

Spirit_2

We have a recurring rat problem. This is what we do - we do get a rat catcher in (ours is very helpful)

Keep all food sources in rodent proof containers.
never leave any food source out at night where they can get it (e.g.rabbit food, chicken feed)
Clean up and move things about - they do not like their environment disturbed.
Put poison in containers where birds and pets cannot get it - bait boxes or a piece of drain pipe - place it in the area they run in.
Block any rat holes that they create and check for new ones.
Look for droppings, and keep an eye on this are for signs of the droppings going blue/green which shows they have taken the poison.
Check every week
Ours get into our stables and are attracted by our chickens. they move in through an old ditch, most recently they have been living in an old tree stump's roots in a neighbours gardens, but I have spotted holes under our shed and by a pergola pole. At times they have lived in straw/hay bales we have had.

I suggest you do not ignore them. It may just be us but traps do not work for us and we have never had success using them - I am told rats love peanut butter but it has never attracted them enough to venture onto or into any traps we have set.

blossomhill_2

poppysarah wrote: »

How do you know it was a rat?

...errr, OP saw it

gibson123 wrote: »

Let the dogs roam around the garden.

If you have a nest put down rat poison at the entrance or get in pest control.

and what would happen if the rat eats the poison then the dog eats the rat? Would it be ok?

wellused

ukjoel wrote: »

Lol - that made me chuckle.

Advice from a pest controller - never ignore a rodent problem.

He would say that wouldnt he

Well yes he would as it's true I suppose you would wait until they were sitting at the dining room table before you do anything?:rotfl: