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

[so called]

For the three or four years, developers have been building houses in the fields across from my house.
It seems to have resulted in rats moving over to 'our side of the road'.
Two years ago it was particularly bad as I would see them every morning as I prepared to leave for work in the early hours.

This year I've started to see them again.
I don't want to put poison down due to our own dogs and cat, and my daughter has asked that I don't kill them.
So far the crafty little beggars have defeated the various home made and purchased humane traps.

My next idea, taken from the 007 film Skyfall, is the oil drum.
I'm not filling with water but just placing a tit bit in it as bait.
I'm not digging the lawn up and burying it either so Mr Ratty will need to negotiate a ramp.
Then I'll leave it to my daughter to persuade the beast to walk into a shoe box and close the lid so that it/they can be relocated.

Better ideas welcome.

[so called]

Pieman68 said:

You're gonna fix that rat, that's what you're gonna do

[so called]

randlemarcus said:

Poison on the lawn is not a great idea, but in bait boxes, tucked into their rat runs, should be safe enough from the cat, as the entrances are very small.

Alternatively, have a word with the cat, and tell him he needs to step up.

P.S. you do know if you see one, ten others are close by?

Worried for cat and dogs if a rat comes out of the bait box.

Cat is 19 years old now and couldn't catch a snail if she tried.
She used to bring mice into the house but alive, not deceased.

Yes, but occasionally see two at a time.

[so called]

Boosted LS1 said:

I wouldn't do anything. Soon you'll be told an infestation and plague will be next and you'll have to shoot them with a .22. For now I'd make sure there's not a food source for it/them. I get an occasional one here as I live by a brook but in 20 years it's never been an issue.

Or a pandemic.
Cant shoot them while my daughters working from home.

[so called]

Busterbulldog said:

Having had experience with a trapped rat I would be willing to bet you won't get the thing in a shoebox.
I didn't realise how scary a trapped rat was until I caught one. Kill it.

That's why I've volunteered my daughter.
She used to have pet rats so thinks there all cute, lovely and cuddly.

[so called]

Mort7 said:

We had a problem when the old guy who lived nearby in a large poorly maintained house moved in with his daughter, and major work began on the house. The indigenous rat population moved further afield looking for food - including our garden.

We stopped feeding the birds for a few weeks, and they moved on. We're now feeding the birds again and so far there has been no sign. So as has been suggested above, make sure there's no food source and they'll go elsewhere.

Our cat, and visiting neighbour's cats, probably helped too.

Yes, we've stopped stocking the bird feeders.
At its worst, we would see rats climb a Rhododendron and dive onto one of our bird feeders. Quite impressive.

Maybe I'm overplaying the issue.
We have fields at the bottom of our garden and the sightings are now always at the bottom of the garden.
Previously it had been up to the house and in my garage.
I had to move my P&J out to protect it from damage.

Thanks for all the reply's.

[so called]

55palfers said:

I have one of these.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/pest-stop-electronic-ro...

Very effective.

Bait with peanut butter.

Thanks, thats very interesting.
Will check that out for sure for my garage.

[so called]

Radec said:

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

https://youtu.be/6s2PcbFu0nw

Looks very efficient.
Another to check out.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Just to say, my volunteering of my daughter was a little tongue in cheek.

[so called]

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.

I've got a Tuscan.
I've seen what a rat/rats can do to the interior of a Cerbera when left alone, what a mess.

Late last year I was preparing to winter my car and hapn't been in the garage for weeks.
Opened it up and couldn't believe how much rat poop there was!!!
Placed 3 different makes of electronic repellent in there and checked daily. Worked successfully thankfully.

[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.

[so called]

I haven't seen a rat for a few weeks now but my garage stinks of rat piss.

[so called]

Nightmare said:

littlebasher said:

Last week there was one, now there are four. I dread to think what they're building down there!

it’s the rat version of the Legion of Doom!
I’m amazed you’ve seen them that much - it’s a real treat for me to spot mine at all and I’m looking!

On a more serious note - without being able to comment on your marksmanship skills (you might ex special forces for all I know!), shooting something as small and fast as a rat really isn’t a realistic means of control in my opinion. You would need to commit a lot of time and patience to it unless you have rats which stick to a really tight timetable. I’ve certainly never seen one just sitting still somewhere

I have.
It was in the garden of my last house, sat on the path having a general clean.
I had time to go across the street to my favorite neighbour, borrow his air rifle, go back home, go up stairs, carefully open a window and shoot it.
The shooting bit was masterly as the old air rifle was a wonky old Russian one with bent sights.

[so called]

magpie215 said:

Ayahuasca said:

so called said:

I haven't seen a rat for a few weeks now but my garage stinks of rat piss.

Careful with that. Leptospirosis is no fun at all.

Aka Weils disease.....was a worry when I used to go ratting on a pig farm.

Thanks very much for this advice.
I better have a look on google about that.

My wife spotted a rat again yesterday traversing the garden from the garage to the neighbours garden.

Again thanks.

[so called]

I have resorted to violence.
So Called 1 - Rats 0

[so called]

My neighbour has a new cat that is now old enough to have started taking an interest but one of my dogs keeps chasing it off.
Don't want to use Council/poison because of the dogs and cats.

[so called]

BoggoStump said:

The amount of cruelty in this thread it should be closed.

I've done a lot to avoid killing and its all failed.
My garage now stinks and I'm warned to be careful of disease.

If using a trap is cruel then Last week I was cruel.
I didn't celebrate my 'success' and to be honest I think it has made a jot of difference to the issue.
My neigbour's cat has taken up the challenge but then, one of our dogs keeps chasing it off.

Any words of advice are welcome.

[so called]

Dr Jekyll said:

so called said:

That's why I've volunteered my daughter.
She used to have pet rats so thinks there all cute, lovely and cuddly.

How is that any way for a young girl to be

???

Anyway, the rats are back.
The neighbour has relocated his chickens which may have stirred interest fro the local rat pack.
Our bird feeding station has been relocated nearer the house now so they're now in range.
My daughter still says

[so called]

popeyewhite said:

so called said:

My daughter still says

Little chat about whose the boss?

She's bigger than me.

[so called]

Wrong breed of dog, you can say that again.
In between sleeping he argues with you.

Goby - "I came to help you in the Office but I'll just take a nap".


Me - "I've just found a burrow in one of the borders near my neighbours chicken coup, I think its rats again, can you go and sort that out please".
Goby - "Not sure I want to".


Me - "Go on you said you'd help".
Goby - "OK but I just take a nap first".


Me - " Goby, go and sort out the rats"
Goby - "Nooooooo"


Me - "Don't argue, just do it".

Goby - "I'll just have a quick nap under here, he wont find me"


"or I could hide here".


"anyway, its lunch time so I'll just had a bite to eattttzzzzzzzzzzzz".


Me - "Goby, RATS, NOW".
Goby - "I DONT WANT TO".


"if all else fails, play dead".

Edited by so called on Friday 28th May 08:30

[so called]

Pastie Bloater said:

Goby is my spirit animal

He sleeps as much as my daughter.

And argues like my daughter,