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Deterring Rats From Garden, Problem Neighbours

barnstar2077
barnstar2077 Posts: 1,565 Forumite
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About six weeks ago, while working in my previously overgrown garden I noticed a rat running along the back of my property by the fence.  I have dug out tree stumps and cleared any weeds down to the ground across the whole garden, with the eventual plan of having only well maintained grass and a few plants out there.

My next door neighbours property is unkempt, full of junk, and the wooden fence between us (theirs) is in a poor state, with one fence panel being completely gone (their shed is there, so I haven't previously been bothered by it.)

I think the rats are coming from their side, as I have seen them go out that way, and there is nowhere left for them to be living on my side.  The neighbours are not approachable, and my local councillor has been making enquiries with their landlord, a housing association, to try and get their garden cleared, and the old sofa, mattresses and general junk removed from their back garden.  They have filled a skip already, but seem to have stopped for now.  I haven't been able to contact the councillor recently, so not sure if it will eventually be cleared or not. 

What really needs to happen is that they employ an expert to kill anything on their side, and that they clear up their mess, but I am not sure how likely this is to happen.  As communication with the councillor is not great, so I think the best thing to do is to deter anything coming to my side as much as possible and keep putting bait out to get anything that does make it over.

So, do you think that putting a gravel board fence in front of their fence (instead of a wooden fence, to prevent gnawing), and creating a foot wide, two foot deep trench of concrete along it's base to stop anything from tunnelling under it would be a good start?

My local council want £100 to come out to any rat problems, but as they are only visiting my side and I have already cleared the garden I don't see what they can do, other than what I am already doing, which is putting bait/poison down.

Clearly the housing association should be sorting it out, but if they don't, I'm not sure if I have a legal recourse or not, or what I should do about it.

If the neighbours were good people I would help them clear the garden myself and offer to find where the rats are living (presumably under the junk) and put bait down for them etc, but that sadly is not an option.
 
Think first of your goal, then make it happen!
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Comments

  • Bookworm105
    Bookworm105 Posts: 1,713 Forumite
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    why do you think the housing association should interfere in someone else's life?

    Your neighbour may think the same about you?

    rats exist where there is an ongoing food source, not just because there is "junk" in a garden 
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 35,043 Forumite
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    edited 16 June 2024 at 6:35PM
    Although they may be nesting in the junk. Parent’s neighbours had a load of trees branches/ garden rubbish at the top of their garden - no food source, just garden waste.
    When they finally got it sorted out and called pest control and he said he’d never seen so many rats in one place.
    So they may well be nesting in the neighbours garden. And the OP is right - it needs a two- pronged approach to sort it if there is more than one rat. 
    Having said that, I’ve seen a rat come out of my drain and my garden is very tidy. I’ve also had them in my compost bin when it got too dry although I never put food waste in there. . 
    Wherever you live, there will be rats, but if you think there’s an infestation on the other side, can you not complain to the housing association directly?

    And as per the above comment about “interfering in someone’s life” there is very likely to be a clause in the tenancy covering maintenance of the garden. 
    Now pondering whether Bookworm105 is the OP’s neighbour? 
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • barnstar2077
    barnstar2077 Posts: 1,565 Forumite
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    If I do not hear from the councillor soon I will ring him and try and get the details for the housing association.  However, my other neighbours, that also adjoin the troublesome property, told me that they rang the housing association to complain previously and they weren't interested, which is why I went through the councillor, thinking he may carry more weight.  It is a difficult situation for sure.
    Think first of your goal, then make it happen!
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 35,043 Forumite
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    edited 16 June 2024 at 6:52PM
    Was the councillor you were dealing with up for re-election  this year?
    They won’t have done a huge amount while electioneering but now is probably a good time to chase things up again with whoever got in, if they didn’t. 
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • Emmia
    Emmia Posts: 4,582 Forumite
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    Rats also don't like being disturbed, so your work on your own garden might have 'flushed them out' from wherever they were hiding.
  • ThisIsWeird
    ThisIsWeird Posts: 7,564 Forumite
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    I'm surprised the repeated poison isn't getting rid of them. Chances are they'll return to their home - likely neighb's garden - to die. Jobbie jobbed.
    I wouldn't bother trying to keep them out with a physical barrier such as concrete, but by all means put up your own fence tight against theirs, just to make your garden look decent and secure.
  • Kiran
    Kiran Posts: 1,530 Forumite
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    What kind of volume are you seeing? 1 or 2 a night, or multiples? If you are only seeing a couple then go with snap traps baited with peanut butter or Nutella. If you are having many then poison is your best bet, and what will be put down should the council or housing association get involved. There are other non toxic methods to get rid of them but as they may be considered cruel by some I'll leave you to google non toxic home made rat poison.  I live on an old farm which was left in a complete state by the previous owner, when we introduced chickens and ducks they all came out to eat the food that they dropped or attach the feeders overnight. I strimmed the bank of the drainage trench they were nesting in to take away their cover and then used non toxic homemade poison to get shot of them. It took about a week and I've not had a single sighting for a couple of months. Also, and may not be a concern for you where you are, but I've got owls and birds of prey nearby who catch and/or clear and I'd rather not give them anything nasty so the homemade solution is a win on that front too.
    Some people don't exaggerate........... They just remember big!
  • Emmia
    Emmia Posts: 4,582 Forumite
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    Isn't non-toxic poison something of a contradiction?
  • Kiran
    Kiran Posts: 1,530 Forumite
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    Emmia said:
    Isn't non-toxic poison something of a contradiction?
    Yes, I suppose it is. I should clarify that with non toxic to humans and other forms of non rodent wildlife.

    Thanks for pointing out the error of my ways :smile:
    Some people don't exaggerate........... They just remember big!
  • MysteryMe
    MysteryMe Posts: 3,326 Forumite
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    The odd rat in a garden is inevitable, but this is a much bigger infestation.

    Would a land registry search show who the freeholder was?  I think you are right to try and make representations direct to them.

    Rats can climb so I wouldn't bother spending a great deal of time and effort with concrete trenches. Gravel boards are a good idea for fencing generally.

    I don't like using poison, rats are a food source for other wildlife so it's not just rats that you'd be killing. Snap traps are the most humane way of despatching them.
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