We've got a raised bed at the end of the patio and have recently noticed a hole/tunnel/burrow at one end.
Neatly dug, about 3" diameter. We assumed it was rats and have put down three lots of poison, which disappeared and we closed the hole.
A few weeks later another one has appeared in a different place. Never seen anything moving day or night.
Is this likely to be rats or something else - and how do we get rid of the little perishers?
Dave
Sounds like a mole to me. One sign from any moles I've had is that the soil the mole leaves is excellent quality. i.e.very fine.
Why, what harm is it doing?
:-)
Mary
How about sending a small motorised 4 wheel vehicle down the hole with an appropriately sized camera mounted on it? Just like the one they used in the pyramids?
I'm sure some of the guys here will offer advice in how to assemble such a thing.
Or perhaps dangle a fishing rod down it with some scrummy bait on the end?
Perhaps he doesn't want Weil's Disease?
Easier than that, put a PIR detector out on the patio, connect to a camera with flash to capture whatever it is.
Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there.You're never morethan a few yards (or metres) from rats. You're very unlikely to contract Weils under normal circumstances.
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Not with a 3 year old granddaughter playing near it.
Dave
You can contract Weils simply by exposing a cut or graze in contaminated water. I heard of a canoeist who did just that...he died fairly quickly.
Why? What harm are they doing to you?
A little paranoid if that's true? I'm sure wildlife wouldn't want some of the diseases that humans carry.
Perhaps just another layer of cotton wool then?
You can contract hepatitis simply by exposing a cut or graze to it. Is that an excuse to go round murdering humans?
That's almost the only way you'll get infected - not from having rats in your garden.
We all have rats living very close to us. How many other people do you know who have contracted Weils?
Mary
None. But, Andy, you must remember that some big strong men are terrified of little things with long tails. Sometimes I think the bigger the man the more irrational they are. And the smaller the creature the greater the effect on those big strong men.
Mary
Not true, ANY exposure to rat urine can be enough. Just the kind of thing someone working in a garden or children clambering around the place could easily encounter.
Two over a period of 20 years, neither contracted it from water and although this was in an industrial location (pulling in cables in underground ducts) the circumstances were similar to those encountered in a domestic situation as mentioned above. Oh and one of the above only in his 40's never worked again, the other who was much younger was ok.
The only good rat is a dead one.
Well, as someone said, another layer of cotton wool should cope with that. Or keeping the little darlings indoors where everything is100% safe.
So how do you propose killing all the rats in the country? It's estimated that there are as many rats as people.
You know of two cases of Weils in twenty years. How many r ts do you think have lived and died in that time?
Cats and dogs carry diseases and we're much closer to those ...
I agree. I am particularly terrified of smaller beasts. Every time I see a mouse I jump onto the nearest table and scream continuously until it has gone. By that time I am shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. With spiders I am even worse. Once I was using a chainsaw and I saw a small spider...I dropped the saw and cut my leg off.
Mr F.
Oh poor baby :-)
Well at least you had another one.
Mrs F
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