Rats digging in the garden

snowcat75 wrote: »

If the OP is spotting rats then the infestation is large, there normally shy nontonal creatures, and there only about in daylight if there's a large number of them and there short of food, or they've been baited and disorientated.

Not always the case. Juveniles do come out in daylight and aren't that shy.

I despise rats.... Your want them gone..... there one step away from moving indoors and now as the weather is about to turn there natural instinct will be signalling them to head into buildings... dispatch them before cold weather sets in.

Agree with this. I'm not to bothered with them outside but if they come inside, they die. I don't bother with poison for rats and mice, I think it is a cruel death. I use spring traps which are quick and efficient.

Unlike mice, if you kill one rat inside the house, the others are likely to take the hint and move elsewhere.

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Not always the case. Juveniles do come out in daylight and aren't that shy.



Agree with this. I'm not to bothered with them outside but if they come inside, they die. I don't bother with poison for rats and mice, I think it is a cruel death. I use spring traps which are quick and efficient.

Unlike mice, if you kill one rat inside the house, the others are likely to take the hint and move elsewhere.

And also adults but as a rule, if your seeing them during the day the population is high, I actually had a doped one around the yard last night which met its maker with a piece of 4x2 (rifle not to hand) there now coming from the fields where they have been in the summer looking for there overwinter place. I always have boxes both around the house and they yard with either Difenacoum or Brodifacoum whole wheat with aniseed attractant, spring traps are fine for localised infestations, but bait is far better for long term control as boxes can be left for months and just inspected to see if any infestation has started..... If rats are hungry there return no matter what's happened to others even seen them eating the body's of other rats.


Mice are actually far worse harder to bait as there feed in many different areas, and able to live on much less food, spring backs, glue traps all can have there place but best of all is the 2 domestic cats which come in the house and 4 ferules , females making far better mousers than the males. generally the female house cat leaves at least 2 on the doorstep nightly.....


Fortunately I have the bits of paperwork to allow me to do my own control. As I said its now difficult to do it on a DIY basis.

Just speaking from my experience.

Killed this one and the others b*ggered off, never to return.

Picture of a dead rat - do not look if you are of a sensitive nature.

PasturesNew wrote: »

My rats were coming out in daylight. The "worst" thing I saw was when one dashed out from under the shed, got half way across the garden and then "leapt" in the air by over 2' and ran back across the garden. My God those things can leap on a sixpence!

So glad I didn't see any after the first year....

last year we were on a demolition job at a local farm, it involved pulling out all the old grain silo system, I had 4 lads working the job on the second day we were getting ready to lift out a conveyor, 2 of the lads had one end resting on there shoulders whilst we made good the other, This huge rat ran up the conveyor cross there necks then down one guys back...…. This 20 year old lad screamed like a 6 year old girl.... Not sure that's the story he told his mates in the pub though:rotfl: