RATS and Air Rifles/ Poison ?

Brilliant, love that sketch.

I reckon Snap has caught himself a few proper whoppers with this one 🤣

Take the bird food in at the end of the day. I was once told food outside during the day feeds the birds, food outside overnight feeds the rats. Bringing in feeders every evening certainly fixed a problem my parents were having.

Food outside overnight, or at least what the messy little gits drop all over the patio, usually helps feed the hedgehogs, bringing in the feeders is utterly pointless, ‘cos the rats certainly won’t be able to access them, unlike the tree rats/squirrels.
I did have one little rat living under my shed for a while, it would poke its head out if we were sat very quiet, dash out, grab a suet pellet or sunflower heart and dash back again. Haven’t seen it for ages, but there was a little mouse took its place for a while and then disappeared. Possibly both got nobbled by the bastard cats that use the garden as their larder/latrine.
Certainly the hedgehogs like the birds leavings as an hors d’ourves before the main course I put out!

Strongly suspect Amy one suggesting humane trap and relocate is spouting their ideals and Nd we actually had to do it.

Fwiw we used to get mice in the fall each year. Now I have and ultrasonic repeller I run from start of October and not had any thing in the house.

On the farm rats got a shovel to the head. ….. 1/50 landed.

Fyi never corner a rat. Vicious bastards when scared and you really don’t want bitten by one

Vicious bastards when scared and you really don’t want bitten by one

Apart from anything they may be carrying they bite deep. Hurts like hell.

So we have the final words of wisdom from the rat and the squirrel.

I hope someone reports you to the local wildlife crime officer.

Where I live, aye, right.

Far safer than shooting etc and you’ll find no one in a rural that’ll GAS what happens to rats.

I’m the biggest tree hugging save the whales type person but I absolutely love watching the farm videos where the terriers are let loose on rats.

No, you are not “the biggest tree hugging save the whales type person” if you get pleasure from watching one animal kill another. Where do you stand on badger baiting and hare coursing?

No, you are not “the biggest tree hugging save the whales type person” if you get pleasure from watching one animal kill another. Where do you stand on badger baiting and hare coursing?

“Nature raw in tooth and claw”. Spend much time in the countryside observing nature closely and you soon realise it’s a killfest, even in British fields and hedgerows and that’s without the input of man.

Animals hunting and killing each other IS nature, as much them eating or procreating. It’s possible to take an interest in observing animal behaviour, including predation without being a sicko.

Do you class people sat on their sofa enjoying an Attenborough documentary about a lion stalking an antelope or an Orca killing a seal in the same way as badger baiters?

Someone watching a sparrow hawk kill through their kitchen window?

Animals hunting and killing each other IS nature, as much them eating or procreating. It’s possible to take an interest in observing animal behaviour, including predation without being a sicko.

And when that terrier hunts kills and eats the rat I’ll happily say yep, it’s barite. A terrier being set to ratting isn’t nature any more than fox hunting, hare coursing, badger baiting, cock fighting etc. and watching it for pleasure isn’t any different from watching anything else kill anything else.

That it’s *functional* isn’t the same as it being natural.

(it’s also seriously risky for the dog. Rat bites kill dogs often enough.)

I absolutely love watching the farm videos where the terriers are let loose on rats

Bit of a difference between “loving” watching something ripping something to pieces than taking an interest in and understanding nature. We’ve had mice in the house and I’ve set traps, didn’t enjoy it but it needed doing. Likewise I have a cat who has been known to take rabbits and on one occasion a weasel! It happens, it’s his nature.

And when that terrier hunts kills and eats the rat I’ll happily say yep, it’s barite. A terrier being set to ratting isn’t nature

I agree, the setting is artificial, but the terriers instinct to kill is very much hardwired and natural. Granted,
selective breeding has resulted in that natural instinct being focused on a particular type of prey, but it was very much present in the first place.

And, the terrier absolutely would eat the rat if his belly wasn’t full of pedigree chum or whatever, even my disgusting cocker spaniel is partial to the odd dead rat! In dogs, like cats the hunting instinct is separate from feelings of hunger, which is why well fed moggies still drop baby Robbins on their owners floors and well loved but poorly controlled family dogs disembowel and rip the throats out of sheep every lambing season. We might not like it, but even this behaviour is instinctive and ‘natural’. Our family pets are still very much wolf and tiger whether we like it or not.

Our family pets are still very much wolf and tiger whether we like it or not.

I’m now looking at my hound and mog curled up together on the bed having a snooze..I’m not convinced either is particularly wolf or tiger like tbh!!!😂

You are correct however..

A juvenile response from Snap, but maybe calling someone a bastard is just a bit out of order.

Social media is hugely toxic, but this place is usually a bit better than that.

The average domestic cat owner is allowing animal cruelty on the same par as drowning a rat in a tub on a daily basis. It’s just cats have better PR.

The average domestic cat owner is allowing animal cruelty on the same par as drowning a rat in a tub on a daily basis. It’s just cats have better PR.

Please explain, I don’t follow?

I have a goodnature trap after the wife spotted a jumbo-rat in the garden.

It hasn’t caught one yet – but the test-firing of the trap confirms that, when it does, death will be extremely swift.

It’s even got bluetooth.

A juvenile response from Snap, but maybe calling someone a bastard is just a bit out of order.

I disagree. I would have been justified using stronger expletives to describe somebody who has been firing lead pellets into the bodies of rats. And then coming onto an internet forum and admitting it.

Have you tried banging on the window in a furious manner?

Calling people names on the internet. Always ends well in my experience, it’s generally impossible to make a point without getting straight down to the playground name calling.

It’s even got bluetooth.

@batfink Has it? I’ll have to have a look at that as my trap is in the loft and getting to it is a PITA.

Edit – spoke to Goodnature UK who say the Chirp module won’t be available in the UK until 2022. Oh well.

I had the joyous cute bundles of fur chew through a plastic sewer pipe, dig a tunnel and come up through the foundations of a house to run round cavity walls having a fine old time. I used poison in the loft and shot them in the garden when I saw them staggering around in a death frenzy. Even beat one to death with an iron bar in the middle of the road. Upset the cat owning neighbours whose beast regularly shit in the flower beds and maus birds to death. I am a bastard. Love Mondays on STW.

I disagree. I would have been justified using stronger expletives to describe somebody who has been firing lead pellets into the bodies of rats.

I couldn’t agree more. Callous at best, deliberately cruel at worst. Stronger language would definitely be justified IMO.

It’s even got bluetooth.

@batfink Has it? I’ll have to have a look at that as my trap is in the loft and getting to it is a PITA.

Edit – spoke to Goodnature UK who say the Chirp module won’t be available in the UK until 2022. Oh well.

It’s a NZ company I think. Send them an email directly – they’ll probably be ok with sending you one. I had an issue getting mine up and running, and they were super helpful on the phone.

That ‘Bastard’ stuff above reminded me of an amusing incident at a badminton match.

At one pont our man made what his opponent thought was a dodgy line call and in the ensuing ‘discussion’ the opponent called our man a ‘cheating bastard’. Our man, somewhat taken aback, asked the opponent ” did you just call me a cheating bastard”. To which the opponent said “No, I called you a cheeky bastard”.

There was much laughter that night.

Folk defending rats are amusing, your cosy modern life is destroying all wildlife, go have a long hard look in the mirror.

Folk defending rats are amusing, your cosy modern life is destroying all wildlife, go have a long hard look in the mirror.

I don’t think many were “defending rats”.

It is more about the completely unnecessary and callous behaviour of the OP.

Three pages in and I am struck by the fact that I don’t think anyone has suggested getting a professional in to the the job. If the OP has a rat problem and isn’t able to deal with it himself, isn’t it time to pay someone who does it for a living to do a proper job?

(it’s also seriously risky for the dog. Rat bites kill dogs often enough.)

I don’t rat with my Beddie, however his favourite game is to fight your hands whilst you run them along the floor as if they are rats, during the game he tries nose bump them whilst dodging and weaving away from you nipping/pinching him with your hands – very much like a boxer sparring. I suspect that there is some evolutionary reason for this due to what you mentioned – kill the rat whilst making sure you aren’t bit yourself.

If the OP has a rat problem and isn’t able to deal with it himself, isn’t it time to pay someone who does it for a living to do a proper job?

I hear that if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire….