Just seen a rat in the garden ....

[Medievalist]

Running around bold as brass 😱😱😱

We have 2 dogs and 2 (elderly) cats so I thought we were fairly rodent proof. I know there will be more. What can I do to deter them? Any advice?!!!!

Do you want to borrow my cat? She’s brought me home a dead one. It’s currently outside the back door. I can’t deal with it tonight! I get regular ‘presents’ but we live live next to playing fields and back alleys so it’s not a surprise.

We had a couple last year. Bought every trap going and never caught them, couldn't believe how intelligent they were. They knew they were traps and to avoid them. Awful buggers, bold as brass they were

I'd let you borrow my cat, but she's more of a birder. She will kill a rodent though, given the chance. Thinking about it, she took down a squirrel last year. 🤔

Do you want to borrow my cat?

We had a couple at our old house - each only seen once,

Is there an obvious source? - We had a field out the back so that was the likely source, but has any neighbours got rubbish etc?

Neighbour does have decking ...

Also DH recently put out some bird feeders. I didn't want him to as we get squirrels in the garden. I thought they were bad enough - but rats!! Needless to say, feeders have been taken down ...

Is there anything I can do to deter them? (Apart from borrow your cats!!)

I'll be having nightmares tonight. How likely is it that they might try and get into the house? We have wisteria, ivy etc growing up the walls so I'm sure they could get into the attic or through an open window if they wanted.

Should I put traps out? Can't put poison down.😩

We had one living in the shed last year, I'm a huge animal lover so didn't mind as long as it didn't try to move into the house, I then realised it was a whole family as babies appeared.
They used to come out to eat the birds seed that had fallen on the floor, we stopped feeding the birds for a couple of weeks and never saw the rats again.

Rats are everywhere. As long as they are not in your house, I say live and let live. And they haven't got into most houses I've lived in, though I have lived in a couple of houses with mice. Rats are cleaner as they stick to one area for toilet, so I hear, whereas mice go everywhere...
I would clear climbing plants away from windows though for other reasons than rats. It's nice to let the light in.

We had a considerable issue and two neighbours with decked expanses. I love feeding the birds so to start with I stopped buying cheap seed with lots of waste bulk in it and brought feeders which don’t drop the seed so no waste on the floor.

Traps didn’t work for us. Tried traditional baited traps (they were too clever for those) and in the end put poison down and they went.

I hated doing it but I work in an industry where it’s explained clearly to us about the risks of weils disease. It’s something you really don’t want to catch. And they’re running up and down in the areas I garden/plant/weed in.

I've had one in my garden for the last year. It's fine. Never tried to get in the house. Just make sure you don't leave food out.

Poison tortures animals to death - not just the ones you kill, but the ones that get into the poison too, plus any that eat poisoned animals.

Are you sure it wasn't in your kitchen what am I gonna do?

Sorry not sorry.

I thought it was mice find a food source, rats a water source - any broken drains ?

Nought you beat me to it

Borrow my son? He shoots them.

Well ds (20) seemed overly keen to go after it with a spade .

Honestly couldn't put poison down - I'd be too worried about my pets, birds, foxes etc.

I enjoy gardening and now I'm going to be a bag of nerves out there. Just absolutely gobsmacked that it would come into a garden where there are dogs running around and barking.

I think I saw it/one a couple of days ago too. Saw it out of the corner of my eye but persuaded myself it was a bird. Deep down I knew.

We're in an urban area so I suppose it's inevitable that they're around. But to see one a few inches from the patio door 😱.

And now I'm worried that if one of my dogs does go after it they might get scratched or bitten.

Onlyfools - I read that you should remove water sources to deter rats. But it's quite difficult in a 'mature' garden to eliminate all the pools of water that collect in pools on the ground and in planter saucers etc. The hose leaks. We also have a deep plastic tub we keep filled with water for the dogs. It's about 2 foot high and smooth plastic. Would they be able to get at that?