Rats

Indeed. Given current priorities, providing hospice care for rats on the NHS, is probably still a long way off.

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams
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Well I wouldn't mind if he could rid me of a few of my neighbours.

Reply to
AnthonyL

We have 10 properties in a fairly 'communal' setting. Over the years a different breed of inhabitant has moved in bringing:

A goat

3 free roaming chickens A woman who doesn't understand keeping the wheelie bin lid (nor her gob) shut. A quail shed

The numerous cats and dogs that have arrived over the years don't seem to assist with the now growing rat population.

Reply to
AnthonyL

Cheers. I hope at its cost that it is effective. I had also looked at these electric/electronic traps but I guess the old fashioned way is probably more effective.

Reply to
AnthonyL

Rats didn't get to be who they are today, by only going to places where they already know they'll get food.

Individuals who are creatures of habit will soon lose out to individuals who are more opportunistic. And the latter are the ones who will survive.

Even if you don't provide them with a ready source of food they're still likely to visit your garden on the off-chance. There's not just one or two rats, there's loads of them out there, and they're all mainly opportunists.

This is probably different to house mice who have far less opportunity to roam far and wide, where the removal of food sources - will probably be far more effective.

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

Which letter, or letters, in the six letter word "garden" are you having the greatest difficulty with ?

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

That depends upon how much rat you want to be left after hitting them :-)

Reply to
Nightjar

You need bait and a slow acting poison. I knowit sounds cruel, but there you are they are a health hazard and many local authorities used to sort it for people, but nowadays they either charge or point you at the contractor they use themselves. One has also to recognise that somewhere in the area there will be a good source of food. If its you, then you need to stop at least whiile you deal with the issue. Also look for their droppings if you are looking for where their food source is. It might be a place where food is stored, any food outlets or food shops nearby?

If so warn them to block up every hole to the outside and suggest they hunt for droppings or pollished areas of floor or ground as its true about rat runs, they are creatures of habit. I know this cos many moons ago, we backed onto a field and we had rats, indeed one got into our TV once... dont ask. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

It's not clear what you mean by that. A "garden" can range in size from tiny to vast. Either or both a shotgun & poison could be applicable or not in any size of garden for a bunch of different reasons. Eg you might be telling us that you're concerned about neighbours' pets being able to access a garden and pick up poison...

Reply to
Jeremy Nicoll - news posts

People who own "vast" gardens are less likely to be aware of, or be worried about, the presence of rats in their gardens. As opposed to people with small gardens.

In addition, as compared with shooting in fields, unless your garden is totally unkemp already, I'd imagine blasting away with a shotgun is unlikely to enhance the appearance of any ornamental trees, shrubs or herbaceous perennials you happen to have planted.

Clear now ?

I'm not concerned at all. The neighbours' pets are all a damn sight larger than the squirrels which not only feed off the nut feeders used by the t*ts, but off the detritus falling off the containers put out for the ring neck parakeets, and starlings etc.

However unlike rats, although similar in size, squirrels have always benefitted from good PR. They're cute looking with nice bushy tails, unlike their scrawny red cousins ; they provide entertainment with their shows of ingenuity in accessing supposedly "inaccessible" nut feeders; they've never been associated with the Black Death - quite a biggie that one I'd imagine; and they weren't seen knawing away at corpses and the dying in the trenches of WW1.

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

A quick google gives an effective killing range for a 410 cartridge of 25 yards. So you spot ratty in the garden around 30 feet away and let him have it with both barrels. So what happens to all the pellets that whiz past ratty ? Do you simply leave the pellets embedded in the fence or do you fill the holes with something ?

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

In message , michael adams writes

There used to be a 9mm smoothbore sold as a *garden gun* but cost of certificate, secure storage, etc. probably outweighs the benefit:-)

Reply to
Tim Lamb

However, when I was young (I was once), the Post Offices carried posters offering a bounty for squirrels' tails. They were thought to be vermin.

Reply to
charles

If you were thinking of getting a dog anyway, and not just for Christmas, then it seems a Jack Russell terrier would be an ideal choice. I've only just remembered seeing a film of terriers clearing a barn of rats, which they grab by the throat and then shake vigorously until dead, drop, and move onto the next one.

Cats unless present in large numbers are apparently useless, as they may only catch one or two a day, which they then proceed to play with and than maybe eat, which is slower than the rats can breed.

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

They still are. In addition to a penchent for electrical wiring in lofts apparently - they can also strip the bark off young trees. Which is why they're regularly culled in places like Kew Gardens.

Being rodents, the same a rats and mice, they gnaw away at things simply so as to keep their teeth sharp. Something like that anyway .

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

In the instructions for the cage trap I used it said - from memory - if you accidentally trap a grey squirrel you must kill it. If you accidentally trap a red squirrel, you've broken the law.

Cheers

Reply to
Syd Rumpo

An excellent summary of good advice. I followed similar advice a few years ago, using two traps. I caught (killed) a few rats, then they disappeared. (Not that we were over-run, but just seeing one suddenly appear on your lawn is a nasty shock!)

People also told me that rats are intelligent enough to know that if they see their family being killed, they'll go elsewhere. As for all animals, minimal risk is the name of the survival game.

J.

Reply to
Another John

Then presumably no one ever finds a red squirrel in a trap. On a similar note, I recall one of those TV building restoration programmes where a builder said he had NEVER EVER found bats living in derelict buildings (wink-wink, nudge-nudge).

Reply to
Ian Jackson

Very occasionally I've seen a rat in our garden (approx 1/4 acre). Each time it scurries along the wall of the house from one neighbour's garden to the next. We do have bird feeders but have never seen a rat anywhere near them. What is interesting is that on every occasion builders have been at work nearby and have foul drains open. Coincidence?

Last time we had a rat I set a trap. Shortly afterwards I saw a grey squirrel take the bait and dash off leaving only a few hairs. Agile things. A few days later the trap caught a rat and we haven't seen one since. But there haven't been builders leaving drains open either.

Edgar

Reply to
Edgar Iredale

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