Rats

[Issy]

We had a whole box of rat poison licked in our shed - the rats burrowed in and are the lot!

[Stan79]

We had a whole box of rat poison licked in our shed - the rats burrowed in and are the lot!

Licked or knicked (or both?)!?!?!

[Issy]

Should read the rats knicked the rat poison ! Well spotted Stan. Yes they certainly ate the lot - we found lots of blue excrement but no bodies!

[Florence Fennel]

They are still running around the base of the shed, so haven't taken the poison yet - boxes have been down since Monday.

[DannyK]

Three poison bait stations seemed to have worked eventually. It takes quite some time.
The rats also took the retaining rods from the boxes with the poison. Never found them.

Break backs caught the odd one but mainly caught mice.

Still keep bait going.

It's funny the rats eating slug pellets as the slugs here are eating the rat poison!

[JanieB]

I don’t like the use of poisons as you end up poisoning friendly animals. Terriers or cats are a better idea. Just saying.

[Plot70]

The ones we had in the back garden were sewer rats. It was poison to weaken them and then cement to seal up the holes in the inspection chamber. They took the Wilco branded poison first and then the blue stuff the council provided after that.

[Florence Fennel]

Rat watch again today, Pest Control come on Monday. Gardener also comes on Monday to cut the grass and I'm going to ask him to clear the vegetation from around the shed so we can try to concrete around it. Trouble is it up only a few inches away from the back fences, so we can only do two sides, so maybe a bit pointless?

[Nicos]

I wouldn't concrete it Flo.
I'm thinking that once concreted you won't be able to access it and the rats will be more protected.
At least you can access for poison and squirting hosepipes under there as it is now.
Their runs will be all over the place -with designated food storage areas ( set aside for lean times like the winter) and they can easily create a new tunnel. Once hunger sets in they'll start tucking into the poisoned food first (as apparently it has something in it which is very appealing to rats)

I think you'd be creating a dry safe haven for them by concreting 2 sides....and not be able to hook out anything dead, festering and stinky????

However-ask the experts

[Florence Fennel]

I don’t like the use of poisons as you end up poisoning friendly animals. Terriers or cats are a better idea. Just saying.

Nothing else can get in the boxes Janie.

[Florence Fennel]

I'm sure you're right Nicos, common sense really

[Mark Rand]

Question. Would you be taking such action against red squirrels, hedgehogs or voles?

[Florence Fennel]

Question. Would you be taking such action against red squirrels, hedgehogs or voles?

No I wouldn't

[burnie]

I displace anything that has entered my garden and causes damage to either property or crops, I use live caught traps as a first resort and place rats out side of the village in a place where there is food and shelter. Rats don't like disturbance and if you remove sources of food like a bird feeder in the summer, then Rats will often move on. Problem unique to Rats is Weils disease, so sorry, but I don't tolerate them if I see one that is persistent, then it is removed. I co-exist with a lot of wildlife and in the winter when food is scarce I do feed the birds and Rats do take some of it, I do not use traps in winter, in summer I let the birds forage for caterpillars and the like in the garden and stop feeding them until Autumn.

[Florence Fennel]

None of the bait/poison has been touched, but it's still cost us the full payment and the boxes have been taken away! We'll continue to watch and get the Council pest control in, who are considerably cheaper!