Neighbour excessively feeding birds

bouicca21

My wormery occasionally attracts ants, not rats.

Rosieandjim

scottiescott wrote: »

A cat won't tackle a rat. It's a terrier dog you need for that.

You obviously didn't meet my cat. A local derelict house had the rat catcher turn up to see if there were any rats in the undergrowth. He started disturbing the plant life and within no time my cat had caught and killed the running rats and lined them up one by one. He told me he had never seen anything like it.

Smodlet

Rosieandjim wrote: »

You obviously didn't meet my cat. A local derelict house had the rat catcher turn up to see if there were any rats in the undergrowth. He started disturbing the plant life and within no time my cat had caught and killed the running rats and lined them up one by one. He told me he had never seen anything like it.

I hope he did not take the credit for your cat's hard work.

Callie22

Smodlet wrote: »

Just tell offending neighbour about Weil's disease (aka bubonic plague)

Weil's disease isn't bubonic plague - we don't have anything that carries plague in this country. Weil's disease is another name for leptospirosis, which is a bacterial disease usually caught through contact with infected rat urine. It's usually transmitted through water, but interestingly there have been cases where people have been believed to have caught it by drinking straight from bottles that have been contaminated by rat urine after being stored in cellars - so maybe don't drink beer straight from bottles …

Smodlet

Callie22 wrote: »

Weil's disease isn't bubonic plague - we don't have anything that carries plague in this country. Weil's disease is another name for leptospirosis, which is a bacterial disease usually caught through contact with infected rat urine. It's usually transmitted through water, but interestingly there have been cases where people have been believed to have caught it by drinking straight from bottles that have been contaminated by rat urine after being stored in cellars - so maybe don't drink beer straight from bottles …

Why am I not surprised you are here to correct me again with your knowledge of yucky diseases, Callie22? Thank you very much and you are, of course, correct. The point is, would the neighbour have your comprehensive epidemiological erudition?

So the Great Plague of 1665 never happened?

LadyDee

The neighbour is actually NOT helping the birds by excessive feeding. I was guilty of doing this until I read the RSPB advice on the subject. At this time of the year the birds should be feeding on (amongst other things) the insects which eat your plants, the seeds which turn the garden into a weed bed. Baby birds can choke on regurgitated peanuts fed to them by parent birds. Likewise bread - especially white bread.

By all means supplement their diet in winter with fat balls, suet and other high energy food, but they are wild creatures and should be playing their part in the local ecosystem.

Maybe contact the RSPB and ask for some leaflets on the subject and push them through the neighbour's letterbox.

Smodlet

LadyDee wrote: »

The neighbour is actually NOT helping the birds by excessive feeding. I was guilty of doing this until I read the RSPB advice on the subject. At this time of the year the birds should be feeding on (amongst other things) the insects which eat your plants, the seeds which turn the garden into a weed bed. Baby birds can choke on regurgitated peanuts fed to them by parent birds. Likewise bread - especially white bread.

By all means supplement their diet in winter with fat balls, suet and other high energy food, but they are wild creatures and should be playing their part in the local ecosystem.

Maybe contact the RSPB and ask for some leaflets on the subject and push them through the neighbour's letterbox.

Thank you, LadyDee. I know birds should be able to feed themselves in the summer but we had such a late, lousy Spring the fledglings have been very late this year so we thought we were helping. To think I feel (slightly) guilty for not feeding them more often (once every 1-2 weeks at this time of year)

One thing we do right is to provide them with water; practically no-one except us and one next door neighbour do so.

LadyDee

Smodlet wrote: »

Thank you, LadyDee. I know birds should be able to feed themselves in the summer but we had such a late, lousy Spring the fledglings have been very late this year so we thought we were helping. To think I feel (slightly) guilty for not feeding them more often (once every 1-2 weeks at this time of year)

One thing we do right is to provide them with water; practically no-one except us and one next door neighbour do so.

Indeed, water is as important to the birds as it is to we humans. I have various queues forming each morning when I go outside to top up three bird baths. I do wish the pigeons wouldn't bathe, then turn round and poop in the water before flying off!

Smodlet

I thought we were kind of a big deal having two... :rotfl:

lookstraightahead

Why is anyone feeding birds at this time of year??? Water yes, food no. There is plenty of food about. My neighbour puts food out and it's being eaten by the big bullying pigeons and magpies and the lovely little birds have moved on.