Deterring Rats From Garden, Problem Neighbours

Kiran

Your cut back garden will be a big difference, rats don't like change and the also don't like being exposed. Fingers crossed you should already be seeing an improvement.

chrisw

Kiran said:

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

Contradiction aside, I'd be interested to know what your home made solution is. I don't want to use poison as we have a dog and hedgehogs but neither do I fancy getting squashed ones out of a trap, particularly if they're not properly dead.

I've got concrete gravel boards along the fence, the rats just burrow under them.

Glad

At first reading I wondered if the OP was a neighbour of mine. I have had rats under my floorboards for a few months and am convinced they are because of a nearby HMO that regularly has over 20 bags of household and food waste in their back yard, which gets moved by a skip every 6 months. I have complained to the council who are slowly moving my emails up the food chain!! the agents of the house were not interested

I eventually found a local pest controller who told me they are getting in through the drains and I have used hanging poison which fingers crossed seems to be working

Eldi_Dos

chrisw said:

Kiran said:

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

Contradiction aside, I'd be interested to know what your home made solution is. I don't want to use poison as we have a dog and hedgehogs but neither do I fancy getting squashed ones out of a trap, particularly if they're not properly dead.

I've got concrete gravel boards along the fence, the rats just burrow under them.

If rodents are burrowing under fence you could dig a 300mm + trench and fill that with gravel so that it is sitting proud of base of gravel board, that will stop burrowing to a extent.

barnstar2077

Eldi_Dos said:

chrisw said:

Kiran said:

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

Contradiction aside, I'd be interested to know what your home made solution is. I don't want to use poison as we have a dog and hedgehogs but neither do I fancy getting squashed ones out of a trap, particularly if they're not properly dead.

I've got concrete gravel boards along the fence, the rats just burrow under them.

If rodents are burrowing under fence you could dig a 300mm + trench and fill that with gravel so that it is sitting proud of base of gravel board, that will stop burrowing to a extent.

My plan is to create a concrete trench, which I can also use as a border for when I cut the grass.

barnstar2077

Glad said:

At first reading I wondered if the OP was a neighbour of mine. I have had rats under my floorboards for a few months and am convinced they are because of a nearby HMO that regularly has over 20 bags of household and food waste in their back yard, which gets moved by a skip every 6 months. I have complained to the council who are slowly moving my emails up the food chain!! the agents of the house were not interested

I eventually found a local pest controller who told me they are getting in through the drains and I have used hanging poison which fingers crossed seems to be working

Thankfully my floors are all concrete!  My neighbours filled a 14 yard skip in an hour from all of the bin bags in their garden.  The trouble is they have left a lot of other stuff behind.

I now have a contact name for the housing officer at the housing association, so I am going to try and get some more details out of him.  I want to know if they have a plan to finish clearing the garden (the fact they have moved everything to behind the shed makes me think not!), and if they have employed the services of a pest expert.  Two things that I believe will need to be done before the issue is resolved.  I don't know if they will talk to me, but I will make myself a nuisance until it is just easier for them to resolve the issue! :  )

Kiran

chrisw said:

Kiran said:

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

Contradiction aside, I'd be interested to know what your home made solution is. I don't want to use poison as we have a dog and hedgehogs but neither do I fancy getting squashed ones out of a trap, particularly if they're not properly dead.

I've got concrete gravel boards along the fence, the rats just burrow under them.

2 very simple versions that I have used.

Fist one, mix 50/50 mix of bicarbonate of sofa (or baking powder) with flour. I usually go for 150g of each. Then add 1/3rd of your total weight in icing or caster sugar, so in this instance 100g. Give it a good mix dry and put it somewhere sheltered so it doesn't get rained on. I use a plastic takeaway container underneath an upturned plastic box in an area bu the birds. If you mound up your mixture you can see how much is being taken.

The second is a similar method taught to me by someone who carries out pest control on farm and waste land. Get some instant mash, you can also use this dry in method one as a substitute for the flour component but it does work out a bit more expensive. Anyway back to method 2. Mix up some instant mash and once it's done add 2 or 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and mix it in once the mash has set up a bit (I usually wait a couple of minutes before adding it in).

You can place this out in the open where you see the rats and watch them eat it. 

Both methods essentially rely on a rats physiology. They can't regurgitate or pass wind and that's why this works. You can see from the ingredients why I mislabelled it as non toxic now

chrisw

Kiran said:

chrisw said:

Kiran said:

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

Contradiction aside, I'd be interested to know what your home made solution is. I don't want to use poison as we have a dog and hedgehogs but neither do I fancy getting squashed ones out of a trap, particularly if they're not properly dead.

I've got concrete gravel boards along the fence, the rats just burrow under them.

2 very simple versions that I have used.

Fist one, mix 50/50 mix of bicarbonate of sofa (or baking powder) with flour. I usually go for 150g of each. Then add 1/3rd of your total weight in icing or caster sugar, so in this instance 100g. Give it a good mix dry and put it somewhere sheltered so it doesn't get rained on. I use a plastic takeaway container underneath an upturned plastic box in an area bu the birds. If you mound up your mixture you can see how much is being taken.

The second is a similar method taught to me by someone who carries out pest control on farm and waste land. Get some instant mash, you can also use this dry in method one as a substitute for the flour component but it does work out a bit more expensive. Anyway back to method 2. Mix up some instant mash and once it's done add 2 or 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and mix it in once the mash has set up a bit (I usually wait a couple of minutes before adding it in).

You can place this out in the open where you see the rats and watch them eat it. 

Both methods essentially rely on a rats physiology. They can't regurgitate or pass wind and that's why this works. You can see from the ingredients why I mislabelled it as non toxic now

I wasn't sure if you were winding me up but Google shows that rats and mice burping themselves, or not, to death is actually a thing. Apparently baking powder and peanut butter is also effective.

It still sounds a bit of an unpleasant way to go but might be worth a try. Thanks.

Chloe_G

That sounds appalling.  A snap trap would be more humane.

chrisw

Chloe_G said:

That sounds appalling.  A snap trap would be more humane.

My mum had a mouse caught by its legs in a snap trap. That was horrible. She didn't know what to do with it so drove it out to a field and let it go!