I have a rat

In the garden. The HogCam spotted him last week stealing some of the food I put out for my hedgehog, and he’s been back every night since. Seems to be living under the same storage box.

Not huge, just a normal brown rat. Looks quite cute and fluffy.

There is a difference of opinion about what to do which is between “who cares” (me) and “KILL KILL MURDER SQUASH POISON BLACK DEATH” (everyone else).

Who’s right? I can’t see that a rat carries any more disease than a hedgehog or cat, and it’s a sleepy country village garden. There are probably thousands hidden in the vicinity.

I have named him Roderick. Only to be pronounced in the style of Life of Brian.

Yeah they carry more diseases than hedgehogs and cats, they also do considerable more damage to homes and buildings.

Obviously there won’t be just one on its own living in your garden. I wouldn’t put poison in the garden for rats unless they become a serious problem that affects you, just don’t feed. IMHO

I have them under the deck at the end of the garden, put traps down with peanut butter but they generally avoided them although sometimes they managed to eat all the PB without touching the hair trigger. As they’re at the far end I have no truck with them and kind of admire their intelligence. Like you I’m very rural and I’m pretty sure they’re everywhere anyway. It’d be like trying to eradicate midges in the Highlands.

We have them .

Outside I’m ok with it.inside – death.

Looks more like a field mouse than a rat to me
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2022/03/types-of-uk-mice/

We had an issue with them picking up the leftovers under the bird feeders, just outside the house – we put traps down (and we saw a magpie take a young one in fascinatingly grim style), but when we started to see signs that they were investigating the house (including one running over my bare foot – I screamed in a pitch too high for humans to hear), the bird feeders went waaaaaay down the bottom of the garden and I don’t think I’ve seen one since.

Looks like a field mouse/ wood mouse to me.

@StuE. I think you’re right. That would explain the fact it’s suspiciously cute.

New name needed.

Yep. We’ve got them in the compost bin. House backs on the woodland so I suspect that there are thousands of them.

Not too bothered as long as they stay outside.

That would explain the fact it’s suspiciously cute.

Isn’t it also suspiciously small compared to a rat? That’s usually the biggest telltale sign.

same same. I want to feed the hedgehog, but the rat takes the food.
There was a rat problem before i moved in here
Last year the hedgehogs came evry night, even got one in the kitchen
I stopped putting food out for now hoping ratty will go walkies and not come back
The plan is for a clear plasric tub upside down with a hole just big enough for the hedgehog,and a wall/baffle inside so there is only one way in and out,as rats are supposedly more reluctant to go where they can be seen and cornered.

Isn’t it also suspiciously small compared to a rat?

I just assumed it was young.

New name needed.

Silus the Syrian Assassin?

Yep. We’ve got them in the compost bin.

Given the diseases they carry, it’s not advised to use rat infested compost to grow veg, fyi

the bird feeders went waaaaaay down the bottom of the garden and I don’t think I’ve seen one since

Rats (and mice) are very neophobic, so the theory is that bait boxes take a while to be explored because they’re incredibly wary of them. It works the other way too, so moving feeders to other parts of the garden is effective; it takes them a while to establish if it’s safe to move to that new area – purely as an in built self-defence mechanism.
Unless you’ve got super-confident rats with zero-tosses given. That was a fun summer.

Unless you’ve got super-confident rats with zero-tosses given. That was a fun summer.

Sat round a mates house enjoying a cup of tea in the garden yesterday & huge ratty saunters by… apparently they are in his walls & eat the food the parrot drops 😳

New name needed.

Basil?

We have one or two, regularly found in the composter, and occasionally clearing up after the birds round the feeders. Not ideal, but both are at the bottom of the garden, and the only way to get rid of them would be to stop composting (or get one of those expensive off-the-ground rat-proof composters) AND stop feeding the birds, neither of which we want to do.

The people two doors down have just got two kittens who are showing an interest, so that’s our best hope, but they’re not showing signs of great hunting prowess 🙄

If you’re going to try and get rid of them, please don’t poison them. The rat dies a horrible death and you end up with a dead rat wherever it chooses, which might be under your deck, or your neighbours’, or where a cat/dog/bird will eat it, none of which is going to end well. One of our neighbours must have put poison down last summer because I found one half-dead in our garden. Not pleasant.

BLACK DEATH

Probably a brown rat, if it’s not a mouse, so Weil’s disease, yes, black death, no.

Given the diseases they carry, it’s not advised to use rat infested compost to grow veg, fyi

Very unlikely not according to what I’ve read, as long as you wash your veg and your hands, which you should be doing anyway. Useful info here:

https://www.carryoncomposting.com/416920198.html

Do you want to borrow my cat, Nelson?

Don’t be fooled by his cute, cuddly appearance, he is the destroyer of worlds to the local rodent population

I’m sure he’d love to pop round for an all-you-can-eat buffet 😃

Not a rat, thats a Siberian Hamster.

I also have a rat, in the garage, who is soon to be an ex rat as they chew through all manner of things thinking their might be food inside.

Do you want to borrow my cat, Nelson?

That’s not a cat, it’s a big black smudge. 😁

I know. He’s completely black, even his whiskers and inside his ears. Like a little mini-panther

It’s remarkable how effective that camouflage makes him at night when he’s essentially invisible, like the ‘Predator’

Our house backs on to open woodland and he loves hunting at night(he was found feral as a kitten so had to fend for himself). The most we’ve had is 4 big rats lined up neatly by the back door as presents in the morning. If you were a rodent living in our back garden, I wouldn’t fancy your chances

That’s a mouse. We have a hedgehog feeding station and have to turn off the motion alerts on the camera due to the frequent ‘mouse’ alerts

Woderwick looks like a mouse.
Smudge will solve that problem.

I read somewhere that rats cover every inch of ground every 6 months (Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell, I think).

Can be buggers to get rid of. H’s pet rat escaped and embedded herself in the sofa.
Pickles was a crafty bugger and took an age to catch.
For various reasons (Pickles was H’s 5th birthday present and he’d only got her the day before), conventional lethal traps were not an option.

For rats you probably want a terrier or something like that. Or an eagle.

There you go. This is the excuse you’ve been looking for to buy that pet eagle you’ve always wanted

There is actually a bloke near us who is often seen wandering around town with a big bird of prey on his arm

The people two doors down have just got two kittens who are showing an interest, so that’s our best hope

Hopefully theres a rat in me kitten.

Can be buggers to get rid of. H’s pet rat escaped and embedded herself in the sofa.
Pickles was a crafty bugger and took an age to catch.
For various reasons (Pickles was H’s 5th birthday present and he’d only got her the day before), conventional lethal traps were not an option.

One of ours did that, the wee sod took great delight in getting chased around the inside of the sofa. 🤣

The people two doors down have just got two kittens who are showing an interest, so that’s our best hope

You’ll have to be more specific, baby rats are called kittens as well.

I didn’t know that.

Every day is a school day, eh?

One of ours did that, the wee sod took great delight in getting chased around the inside of the sofa. 🤣

We were sat watching telly one night when Nelson strolled in with his latest present and deposited a live mouse down in front of us, which promptly did a runner and disappeared into the sofa.

The cats then spent 2 days staring at the sofa, waiting for it to emerge when it did it ran into the kitchen and being denied anything to hide under by the fitted kitchen units, I managed to get a pint glass over it and deposited it outside, no doubt for Nelson to finish the job

There is actually a bloke near us who is often seen wandering around town with a big bird of prey on his arm

Rentokil use Golden Eagles for seagull management.

I managed to get a pint glass over it and deposited it outside, no doubt for Nelson to finish the job

You have to not hesitate, but just pick ’em up by the scruff of the neck and carry them off to the nearest wild place.

Rats, OTOH, get lead poisoning delivered at 4.8ftlb (I think it was last time I chronied my old Meteor)

Get a dog! And search for ratting on YouTube.

We saw a rat in the garden eating bird seed. After a mouse problem in my last house, I’m a bit worried.

But there is a resident peacock and lots of ducks so it might get scared off, or eaten.

I won’t hesitate to put poison down if there are any signs of it getting in or damaging the house.

@binners 😂

there is a resident peacock and lots of ducks

I won’t hesitate to put poison down

😕

Maybe try not encouraging it with tasty titbits and it will sod off elsewhere. I’m sure the birds are more than capable of looking after themselves. You win, rat wins, local wildlife wins (or at least doesn’t end up with secondary poisoning).

That’s the thing – if you feed them, they will come.

can you get a rat cam app? one that recognises a rat, and sends hypersonic martian waves at it, or goes ‘beep beep, youre a rat, go away,”and electrifies the place