Rats!

naf123

I'm pretty sure I saw a big rat in the garden .

Do I need to do pest control or leave it alone as it hasn't come into the house ...

I do have kids that play in garden ...

bouicca21

There are rats all around my area. As long as they don’t want to come in, I’m happy to ignore them. Equally I wouldn’t do anything to encourage them, like putting out fat balls for the birds.

Grenage

It depends; if they aren't common in your area then it's not a terrible idea to try and get rid of them.

London50

Just get a cage rat trap for the garden, bait it with rat poison and let nature deal with it.
Where I live estates are being pulled down and I have had many of them over the last 9/12 months and have all been dealt with with traps ect.This time of year they will be looking for warm/dry places for the winter so check and make sure you do not have gaps {ie like rusted air bricks } or they could get into your home.

naf123

How does nature deal with a cage rat trap? Do I have to empty the traps ?

Grenage

naf123 wrote: »

How does nature deal with a cage rat trap? Do I have to empty the traps ?

Well you can wait a few years for the rats to decompose, but generally yes.

Davesnave

A rat, big or small, is no problem. Regular sightings of rats might be.


I live in the country surrounded by all sorts of wildlife, no doubt including rats, but I've never seen a live one. If I did, I'd just note it and wait to see if the experience was repeated several times before acting.

London50

naf123 wrote: »

How does nature deal with a cage rat trap? Do I have to empty the traps ?

Rat poison kills the rat {nature dealing} then YOU empty the trap;)

in_my_wellies

I keep hens so I'm sure they're around. I keep a baited trap in the garden. I check it weekly and it can go for months without being touched then all eaten in a week then all is quiet for a few more months.

snowcat75

Decent baits (rodenticides) are now controlled, (needing a valid cert of competence to buy), So options are limited to what can do yourself.

I live on a farm and control is a constant war, If id seen them I would not be complacent about "doing no harm" they will when there outside food source stops be looking for both food and shelter as winter comes, which is often a nice warm house, they will dig nor or find a way in if they get determined enough, if you've seen them active in daylight hours its likely the population is high..... they need dealing with pronto.

zehua

Haha, Grab and kill it.:rotfl: