Anybody know about RATS?

[jansman]

It's reckoned we are never more than a few feet away from each other, rats/ people that is.We had a good old infestation a few months back at work.The cellar was the focal point.Pest control put down poison and sticky mats,and jansman took his rifle! Two lunch breaks down there saw off 15 of ' em,all ' greys' - youngsters- and the sticky mats saw off 5 mature ones. Rats are everywhere.

[diamond lil]

Yep, and I suppose they are a form of waste disposal really. I don't mind them but the husband screams and runs at the sight of a tail On the other hand, really scary stuff like moths and pppiders will make me stand outside in the garden until somebody deals with them
Yesterday I moved everything around the smelly part and dug it all over - at the very least it will annoy the wee buggers.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Yep, and I suppose they are a form of waste disposal really. I don't mind them but the husband screams and runs at the sight of a tail On the other hand, really scary stuff like moths and pppiders will make me stand outside in the garden until somebody deals with them
Yesterday I moved everything around the smelly part and dug it all over - at the very least it will annoy the wee buggers.

Make sure you wash your hands and tools leptospirosis is nasty

[jansman]

Yep, and I suppose they are a form of waste disposal really. I don't mind them but the husband screams and runs at the sight of a tail On the other hand, really scary stuff like moths and pppiders will make me stand outside in the garden until somebody deals with them
Yesterday I moved everything around the smelly part and dug it all over - at the very least it will annoy the wee buggers.

Agreed. I had Weils disease when I was 17.
Make sure you wash your hands and tools leptospirosis is nasty

[diamond lil]

Absolutely. I've seen Weils disease.

[Medusa]

I recently read somewhere that there are a lot of them about at the moment or a lot of them being more noticed I guess. One ran across the road in front of me on the way to work last week. On Monday I heard a scuttling at the bottom of the garden and came face to face with a pretty big one, an old fella Im guessing as he was quite grey around his nose and face. He didnt blink an eyelid and we stood and had a bit of a glare at each other. Daughter saw him again later picking up the remnants under the bird feeder. Having worked in poultry cabins many moons ago I am not particularly scared of them I would just rather not have them eyeballing me in my garden.

[ForgeCorvus]

Excuse to buy a .410 as a 12 bore is overkill..... And I'm not allowed to use a longbow

[Yorkshire Andy]

I recently read somewhere that there are a lot of them about at the moment or a lot of them being more noticed I guess. One ran across the road in front of me on the way to work last week. On Monday I heard a scuttling at the bottom of the garden and came face to face with a pretty big one, an old fella Im guessing as he was quite grey around his nose and face. He didnt blink an eyelid and we stood and had a bit of a glare at each other. Daughter saw him again later picking up the remnants under the bird feeder. Having worked in poultry cabins many moons ago I am not particularly scared of them I would just rather not have them eyeballing me in my garden.

I mentioned it the other day the poor little buggers are hungry.... No people dropping half a Gregg's pasty in the street, no cafes with bins overflowing round the back,, no drunks staggering home dropping kababs...

At the coast gulls have gone without fish and chip scraps too....

So they seek new food sources especially at this time to feed their young...

[Medusa]

And today I have seen two more, both out at the same time, but not the old fella, these are younger. I was at work yesterday but apparently husband and daughter were in the garden with our house cat who is only allowed out under supervision. Ratty decided to come out and the cat just sat looking at it but will chase birds, flies and wasps. Obviously decided it was too much of a risk or is just plain lazy. I have set traps along their runs, but they seem to be avoiding them, I am not a fan of poison.

[jansman]

Traps need to be left unset for some days until rats get used to them.Before handling,wash your hands in plain hot water,dry them and then rub your hands in the soil.Rats' noses are not ornamental. Good housekeeping is the key too.Food sources include bird tables,in fact in gardens they tend to be *the* food source.That's why we don't have a bird table.Regarding cats: Cats will sometimes tackle rats,but they soon learn that rats bite- I like cats,for not being stupid.Not like my old brain- dead terriers.

Back in the 80's and early 90's we hunted rats on poultry and pig farms with our terrier teams.Those places were crawling with rats,and we would take ,literally, several hundred a night with 9 terriers.Mine were a Lakie/ Russell cross that were hard as nails ( we used them for digging foxes and badgers too when it was legal), and some of the bites they sustained were nasty.Mind you,when the next night- time rat- fest came round,they knew and were squealing with excitement!

The farm cats on the other hand,would just sit,high up , and observe.As cats do.No,don't expect cats to tackle rats.Those farms were run by old boys who wouldn't waste money on poison,so that's where John and me came in handy.As time went by though,the old boys died or packed up,and it got harder to find places to rat.The newer farms were clean and efficient.And my point? They used poison.Poison works.

I keep bait points down,all around the perimeter of the property,to deal with mainly mice,but the odd rats too.Always put bait points,and traps , on the perimeter.Rats and mice are survivors,and very rarely cross open ground.I only have poultry and aviary birds now,and since the rabbits went,I realise it's the aviary that draws the most vermin ( I knew that really) just like a bird table.Since building a new aviary,and making it so much easier and efficient to clean,the vermin level has dropped dramatically.

So,in my rather extensive experience of vermin control,I would suggest that good housekeeping,and alternating bait points are the key.