Rats!

[The Ratcatcher]

There's a rat-catcher on here, from Manchester way. I can't remember his username though (might be 'the ratchatcher')! He'd know what to do

Yes, it is The Ratcatcher. If you've got two rats now, by the spring you'll have at least twenty, probably more. Rather than use rat poison, the best solution is properly sited traps, especailly BMI Magnum 110's, which I use a lot. These traps are 'pass-through' type traps, which increases the catch rate and the kill probablity, and they don't need to be baited if you know where the holes are.

If you want any info PM me, and I'll give you all the info you need.

Alan

 

[Bushwhacker]

I don't have a rat problem, neither do I maintain the practise of what I said previously, but when they do encroach it works a treat. I've kept rats as pets and they're very intelligent animals. The scent of a predator is more than enough to put them off. I'd imagine that in an urban environment they would rather pester the neighbours than mess around in small plot with the potential of being mauled.

 

[shaggystu]

......I'm inclined to live and let live with most creatures, but I don't think I'd be too complacent about ratty nearby......

couldn't agree more, i'll quite happily co-habit with most critters, but rats need killing. anyone who knows me will know that i'm a bit of a sentimental bugger when it comes to most animals but rats i have no time for. shoot them, trap them, set dogs on them, even (gods forbid) poison them, just get rid of the blasted things, they bring no good to anyone.

just out of curiosity, there's rats (rattus rattus) and there's rats (rattus norvegicus), which kind have you got?

 

[Toddy]

I don't know.
How do I tell ? I only saw the two gerbil sized ones in the bucket and they were drowned and drookit when I poured them into the compost bin. I didn't really look too close tbh, I was tidying up the leaves and I just covered them up, and left the worms to get on with decomposing them.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[hedgerowpete]

nope keep shooting the feckers, there are thousands to replace just one rat in the citys and its a good target practise

 

[British Red]

Just as an observation, councils have a duty to control pest species and can oblige and compel land occupiers to remove / control rats and mice on their land (Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949). Choosing to let rats breed is non a good idea both from a legal or social responsibility point of view.

Nuke em till they glow - then shoot 'em in the dark

 

[jojo]

I have to admit to a reluctant admiration for the little beasties! They are survivors...maybe even bushcrafters: they know how to make themselves comfortable in the wild...

They will surely be around long after the human race has annihilated itself. Thinking of it, there probably will be far fewer of them because we are such a messy lot who provide the "pests" with better homes than they would do for themselves! Anyway, with 2 dogs, 2 cats and the foxes who regularly visit the garden, I haven't seen any rats around recently!

Did I say "pests"? It takes one to know one, I s'pose!

 

[blacktimberwolf]

I don't know.
How do I tell ? I only saw the two gerbil sized ones in the bucket and they were drowned and drookit when I poured them into the compost bin. I didn't really look too close tbh, I was tidying up the leaves and I just covered them up, and left the worms to get on with decomposing them.

cheers,
Toddy

Rattus rattus is the indiginous black rat & ratus norvigicus is the larger & more successful brown rat................if there is a rat problem, it's usually the brown one.that's the cause............................
Please note that when you poison them, you not only kill the rats but you risk killing cats, dogs, foxes, badgers, stoats,weasels etc. & various birds of prey including owls as the poisoned rats, when they on there last legs start to wander about in the open in a dazed state & are easily caught by predators.......& of course, they often die where huntin 'n' scavenging critters can git 'em too.



Don't put food (pasta, rice, cooked veg etc.) in your composts.............



We have regular ratty invasions ( inside the house aswell despite a very strong smell of dog) but I shall try Bushwhacker's pred. poo technic next time.............I don't have access to ferret dung but I can get hold of some fox or stone marten scats.

 

[Chiseller]

Live catch traps....

.

The Mighty Oak Is Merely A Nut Who Stood His Ground

 

[Bushwhacker]

Please note that when you poison them, you not only kill the rats but you risk killing cats, dogs, foxes, badgers, stoats,weasels etc. & various birds of prey including owls as the poisoned rats, when they on there last legs start to wander about in a dazed state & are easily caught by predators.......& of course, they often die where huntin 'n' scavenging critters can git 'em too.

Quite, this is my main reason for not using poison.

 

[mrcharly]

The damage they can do is incredible. A friend passed on an unwanted dishwasher to me and I stuck it in the garage until I'd finished the kitchen. A few months later I went to move the dishwasher - and there were piles of bits of plastic under it. Rats had got in and chewed up all the pipework, flexi and rigid alike. Totally ruined it.


We had chickens in the garden, so there were always rats around (despite best efforts of the terrier). I wish I'd used a trap to kill them.

 

[Toddy]

I'm not for using poison, I don't even use weedkiller in the garden; too many knock on effects.
We do have airguns/pistols but honestly, these two wee drowned ones were the first ones I've seen in nearly twenty years, and I'm pretty observant.
I'm not saying they aren't there, just that I suspect that numbers aren't a problem, and if the idiot down the street would stop throwing out dinner scraps for the birds (stupid, because it's dark when they're finished dinner all through Winter ) I suspect there'd be even less of a problem. Dead rats apart, I never put meat in the compost bin, or bread, pasta, rice or the like either, so unless they really like a diet of garden clearings and veggie peelings, there's not much to attract them but someplace warm and dark.

I'm going to have a word with my friend who keeps ferrets, and if he thinks that my garden's worth bringing them through and clearing out any rats, well there'll be a bottle of something good as a thanks.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[dwardo]

When people are saying air pistol and Gat, are they powerful enough for a clean kill? Only ever used a rifle my self.
Dont like the little bleeders one bit but any kill even disease carrying virmin should be clean.

 

[gowersponger]

buy a half decent air rifle with fibre optic open sites on as these are good for low light rating and shoot every one you see , thats what i would do anyway

 

[Toddy]

I know my brother used the pistol and shot the rat in my neighbour's garden. Clean, straight through the head, alive one moment and dead the next. He is a *very* good shot though. Probably the rifle would be better.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[ged]

My dogs have a couple every week. When they get the scent of one it will keep them happy for hours. Quite often they'll bring what's left of the carcass to the door as a token of their undying love. I throw them over the fence for the foxes. If you don't want them around, the main thing is not to attract them with food and a nice place to stay. If you do have a number of them move in, you really have no choice but to get rid of them. I prefer traps, far more effective than shooting, but as has been said they're canny beggars. If you use poison the odds are they'll crawl into some inaccessible hole to die, and if that's indoors there'll be an awful smell for a while, and probably a plague of bluebottles too. I use poison and traps inside our warehouse, where there's little risk of harm to other animals. The traps rarely catch any but the poison works. They usually die in the partitioned-off roof space above the offices, whcih is how I know about the stink and the flies, but at least we can run the extractor fans to clear the air.

 

[Opal]

Something to think about, glass, rats use their paws for digging, they don't like glass but you have to use some common, know where to place it like under sheds, I've seen many sheds with rat nests inside, broken glass underneath will stop this. Years ago my neighbour had nests in his shed, I didn't.

I always used an air rifle too, you get rid of the lot but yer can bet yer life they'll be back in time.

 

[hedgerowpete]

just because the have a duty does not mean they will, smethwick councils does not deal with rats or mice unless they are physicaly inside your house, gardens dont count, they also refuse to deal with all of the following as they are not a pest!!!, WASPS, BEES, BUMBLE BEES, HONEY BEES, FOXES, WILD/FERRAL CATS, STAY DOGS AND ABANDONED DOGS, but they do deal with horses in a certain estate near me though!

 

[hedgerowpete]

Just as an observation, councils have a duty to control pest species and can oblige and compel land occupiers to remove / control rats and mice on their land (Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949). Choosing to let rats breed is non a good idea both from a legal or social responsibility point of view.

just because the have a duty does not mean they will, smethwick councils does not deal with rats or mice unless they are physicaly inside your house, gardens dont count, they also refuse to deal with all of the following as they are not a pest!!!, WASPS, BEES, BUMBLE BEES, HONEY BEES, FOXES, WILD/FERRAL CATS, STAY DOGS AND ABANDONED DOGS, but they do deal with horses in a certain estate near me though!

 

[British Red]

Oh I know how they are - the risk is they can lay the problem at the landowners door (or charge the occupier for dealing with them) - a bit like managing your trees - other people can charge you if you don't stay on top of it.

I would hate to think someone here didn't realise that and got sent a bill!