There's a rat in the garden, what am I going to do?

[Oilchange]

just hammer the pre frozen rats into his lawn, he might get the message then

[nute]

Radec said:

This gets good reviews and very effective, bit pricey though.

https://youtu.be/6s2PcbFu0nw

Sadly also kills hedgehogs...

[AstonZagato]

Boosted LS1 said:

Busterbulldog said:

Jasandjules said:

Busterbulldog said:

Jasandjules said:

Busterbulldog said:

Oh yeah , they are fast , really fast and act like they are rabid. Last 2 I caught I slung one in a barrel fire and shot the other.

You threw a live rat into a fire?

I did not feel good about it , but if you had seen the damage they done and the effort I had to go to to catch them you would appreciate it. Try going into your attic and finding your electric cables stripped of insulation. Besides that once it was in a cage u wouldn't want to open the hatch to let it out it really was mental.

Well I spent rather a lot of money getting my car re-wired (TVR Chimaera) due to mice getting in and chewing stuff up. Never would I throw them on a fire alive though that is quite awful.

Ok so you have a rat trapped in a cage , it's going mental freaking out like a lunatic thing , blood coming out of its mouth where it's trying to chew the cage fast as hell , its taken you months to finally catch the bd. You have had professionals in setting traps , you have had people in with ratting dogs , you have set up cameras and trigger lights in your attics and garage , you have replaced wiring and all your newly fitted insulation has been ripped off your rafters they are chewing through your cavity closers and running through your wall cavities in the garage you are building , you can hear them in the loft , they eat all the poison you put down as if its smarties but don't die , so you finally trap it with some home made curry there happens to be a nice barrel fire feet away from you...seriously what would you have done?

Set it loose in a field perhaps?

It is illegal to release capture vermin. Once captured, they MUST be destroyed.

[Boosted LS1]

Or just set it loose in a field.

[Sonie]

Boosted LS1 said:

Or just set it loose in a field.

For it to come back again?

[NGRhodes]

Need to upgrade your pets.
Our cat has had 2 rats this year.

[hyphen]

2 in 6 months? That it.

You need to upgrade your cat.

[Jeepv6]

Borrow my Tom cat he will sort it no probs.....

[Boosted LS1]

Sonie said:

Boosted LS1 said:

Or just set it loose in a field.

For it to come back again?

Which rat? Could you i/d it? The field could be anywhere he chooses. If there isn't an infestation then just ignore it.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Saturday 6th June 21:23

[Boosted LS1]

hyphen said:

2 in 6 months? That it.

You need to upgrade your cat.

Yes, I've known cats to catch rats and rabbits almost daily during the summer in a country environment.

[Boosted LS1]

Sonie said:

For it to come back again?

How do you know it'll come back?

[so called]

I mentioned earlier that my cat is 19 years old and not really up to fistycuffs anymore.
Unfortunately she went blind about 6 weeks too so she's off the list of options.

Noticed some rat droppings in my garage again and so will be putting one or two old fashioned traps down where the dogs cant get to.

Thanks for all of the responses and advice.

[NGRhodes]

so called said:

I mentioned earlier that my cat is 19 years old and not really up to fistycuffs anymore.
Unfortunately she went blind about 6 weeks too so she's off the list of options.

Noticed some rat droppings in my garage again and so will be putting one or two old fashioned traps down where the dogs cant get to.

Thanks for all of the responses and advice.

19 years is a grand age for a cat, hope she stays happy despite her vision.

[Oilchange]

It certainly is, ours reached 20 before I think it was a stroke made her font legs all wobbly and she had to take the long journey to the vets...

[littlebasher]

So, appears that the rats have found their way back into my garden, despite my best efforts. They've now made a nice home for themselves under the waterfall.

Poppy, the neighbours cat wiped out the last infestation, but she doesn't seem interested thus far. So what's peoples thoughts on buying an air rifle and dealing with them that way?

2nd hand air rifles seem impossible to find in the usual places, but looks like you can get a new one that'll do the job for £150. Is shooting vermin in your own garden considered ok in this day and age?

[randlemarcus]

littlebasher said:

Is shooting vermin in your own garden considered ok in this day and age?

Probably not. First neighbour to spot you brandishing will have the squad cars squealing along, and unless you have steel fence panels, you haven't really got a backstop. Create some really narrow runs along the fence, shed etc, and then poison bait down those?

[boxy but good]

littlebasher said:

. Is shooting vermin in your own garden considered ok in this day and age?

It is legal as long as the pellets do not cross the boundary of your property. That includes through a fence panel as well as over !
I would also inform your neighbours of your intentions so that they are aware.

[Douglas Quaid]

I did a job for someone once who had a barrel full of water In the garden. She used to catch rats in traps then put the traps into the barrel to drown them, before throwing them over the fence. The lady told me she’d thrown hundreds over the fence. I didn’t take a look but a pile of hundreds of rotting rat bodies was a lovely image in my minds eye as I drank my cup of tea.

[hyphen]

littlebasher said:

So, appears that the rats have found their way back into my garden, despite my best efforts. They've now made a nice home for themselves under the waterfall.

Rats need water, removing the water source will help.

[littlebasher]

hyphen said:

littlebasher said:

So, appears that the rats have found their way back into my garden, despite my best efforts. They've now made a nice home for themselves under the waterfall.

Rats need water, removing the water source will help.

The waterfall empties into a fish pond. I also have a swimming pool