A large rat at the bird table this morning...

[UnwantedNewPet]

...do I need to do anything?

We've lived here for decades - very old house, rural area but not next-door to a farm or similar property likely to attract rats - and we've never seen a rat in all those years. We feed the birds daily and the table is very busy. We've seen a mouse or two at the bird table over the years, but as they've stayed outside it's not bothered us.

This morning, having braved the ice and snow to clear the table of snow, break the ice and put out some food and water, I watched from indoors to admire the usual rush of visitors. Except, under the bird table, came a large rat. I couldn't believe my eyes at first, and gave them a few blinks and a rub, and cleared the window of condensation - but no, there really was a rat. I watched as it made several trips back and forth, through some foliage and into the bottom of an old stone wall.

I've got mixed feelings. It's nature. I believe in living alongside nature peacefully, enjoying it, helping it or at least leaving it alone if at all possible. We live in the countryside, rats are to be expected. They say you're unknowingly never far from rats wherever you live, city, town or country. I'm guessing if there is one rat, there is more? Have they been here all along and we just haven't seen them, or have we got a newly arrived problem? Is it just the weather conditions forcing them to find food and they'll just disappear again? What, if anything, should we do? The obvious worry is it becoming a big infestation outside and the possibility of them coming inside.

NC - rat shame!

Please don't block off your garden - you will also cut off the hedgehogs. They need to roam far and wide, and closing off our gardens is one of things that is leading to their demise.

We live semi-rurally and see lots of rats. And deer, and foxes, and hedgehogs etc etc. They were feeding off next doors apples a few weeks ago, whilst we were chatting in the garden, cheeky buggers.

I don't really worry about them, they will be around. We have a compost heap too, and it often has deep holes dug in it, probably rats, possibly hedgehogs.

I wouldn't worry OP, unless you start seeing them a lot, they are probably just passing by.

Poor rattty needs to eat too. We used to get them in our South West London garden .. admittedly I did think it was a squirrel with a bald for a while..

That should say bald tail

Like you, I live in an old (1930s) house, and we've had rats (3 one day, it must have been a family picnic).

Our cat sat and watched them, took absolutely no notice! I'm not bothered about rats being around - our garden is about 60ft long and they were seen at the bottom, so not near the house.

Our local park recently had quite a few rats (there's a lake there) and appealed to people not to feed the ducks etc. Rats will go anywhere where there is a supply of food, so if you don't want them in your garden, don't leave bird food out.

We have a pole and a home made baffle - rat still got to the feeder - might try buying one - sold baffle

Stop feeding for a bit -would be my advice.

Unfortunately at this time of year the rats will be looking for food and warmth. We have had two infestations in our house, the first in the kitchen at the start of some snow. We had to get poison and it took 10 days to get rid of them and they had travelled through several cupboards with plates etc to get to larder cupboard. Pest control didn't know where they were getting in but somehow got into cupboard under the sink. The last time we had loads in our loft. They climbed up through climbing plants along a wall and across to the roof. We really like feeding the birds but I haven't risked it since. They not only climb the poles but the birds drop lots of crumbs underneath which the rats clear up so I would definitely stop feeding for a while.
We border a field and some water so it's hard to keep them away. They are in our garage at the moment pulling insulating material out from the cavity. It is obviously cosier in there!

A pole feeder will make it harder for rats, even if they're not totally rat-proof.
Use low residue feed eg sunflower hearts, and fat ball feeders with a 'cage'.
If you feed on the ground or trays on the pole, then no more than the birds can eat during the day.

Rats are a health risk because they are incontinent, so they wee constantly. And inadvertently we touch things and then touch our faces.

Try bird feeders on thin metal poles, smeared with vaseline and no trees nearby to become a jumping launch pad. Husk free bird seed helps too.

Where there is bird seed falling/blown/thrown onto the ground as birds pick through it from bird tables/feeders [ not all birds like all seeds] and when people chuck food for birds onto the ground....there will always be rats. Always.
You won't see them in the day much, but they [never just one] will be around dusk to dawn.

I'm astounded that so many people don't know this nor know they are encouraging rats to visit their property, and don't know how much of a health risk rats are. So very obvious.

If you have any animals living outside you may want to move them. Rats will eat rabbits and other rodents alive. They will happily have a go at larger mammals too.

Apparently the problem with the chilli idea is that just like some people, some squirrels and rats like chilli!

Thanks everyone - I will catch up with the thread and reply later.

Rats are just part of life in the country. We have them in our garden, and they nest in the compost bin at the end of the garden. They're not causing a problem. We also have a family of bank voles living under the hedge.

However, years ago when we lived at a different house that had decking, we had a big rat infestation under the deck, and burrowing under our garden and all the neighbours' gardens. We had to call in the rat catchers to deal with that as we counted 15 rats (adults and babies) running around our little garden.

An update to Ratgate:

Last night, I didn't put any food out on and under the table to be there ready for the early birds as I usually do, and when I did put food out this morning, I just put it on the table, not the ground. I moved the fat feeder to a less accessible spot too, because I think a large rat could easily reach up from the stone wall to where it was. The hanging feeders are still out. I know bits will still fall down on to the ground from everything when the birds feed or the wind blows, and Ratty could climb up onto the bird table - or even jump, yikes! - or scale the uneven stone walls to reach the feeders.

I saw her/him/one of them again this afternoon. When I went out of the back door, I twice saw a large rat tail and backside disappearing off from the area of the bird table. This time, instead of disappearing under some foliage and into the bottom of the stone wall, Ratty was entering a tumbledown bit of the outside wall of a small outbuilding. We've got 3 small old stone outbuildings and they're all regrettably quite close to the house and back door. They're used for storage at the moment and I suspect Ratty/The Ratties are living in there, unfortunately.

I think we need a wildlife camera to see what is really going on and how many there are. Any recommendations?

I suppose one good thing is that she/he/they seem to want contact with me as much as I want contact with them!

Honestly I amazed you've gone this king without seeing more!

What are you storing in the outhouses-, any feed?
Rats are 'neophobic' ie they hate new things or change. You could go and repeatedly move stuff around in and near the outbuildings. Might get rid but might not, but obviously it is an eco friendly start!

Have you any cats or dogs you could put I there, or put their hair or bedding in there?

If one comes in on Christmas Day and gets on to a chair and picks up a knife and fork (they are rather intelligent), then worry a bit. And don't let them get into the garage if you've got any apples stored in there, which I once had! Yes, I've seen one climb and let the wind swing him over towards the food, when I thought I'd got a bird-feeder nicely safe, hanging on a tree.

Not sure if this would work with your bird table but .......we had a problem with a thieving robbing bastard squirrel on our bird table so have used a plastic bottle on the pole to stop him climbing it (use a tall plastic lemonade style bottle, cut off the top and bottom, cut it length ways and then wrap around the pole)

@UnwantedNewPet

I'd hate to have to stop feeding the birds, *@TheSpottedZebra* - especially when they've come to rely on it and in the winter.

It might help to change from a bird table, as @ClaudiaWankleman suggests. We do have feeders - as well as the small birds, the mice, big birds and squirrels can still get to those - but I put out quite a lot on the bird table and under it too for the ground feeding birds.

I wonder if one of those tall poles with feeders and trays hanging off it might discourage rats, though they'd still get whatever falls on the floor. Or am I being naive - can rats climb those poles?!

Rats can climb. Our building had them and they managed to get to the top floor (4th floor). Don't underestimate rats.

Rats are clever and agile, and I know we're never more than 6m from one - I can live with that if I don't see them, but if their presence is becoming visible, then action is needed. And they are why I don't feed the birds any more.

We had them in the back of our gardening shed only knew because neighbour's cat kept bringing them in and they saw where coming from on cctv. They were in our old shed that had a hole in the back. We did not know re hole until looked. They like to go deep and hide in places so birds dont get them. We did put a poison box down where they take the poison from and it killed one. In the end we knocked the shed down and there was only one there dead not sure where others had gone but no where to hide now really or the cat had got them all. Look around deepgarden for places they can nest. They might even be nesting in a neighbours garden. The boxes are good as other animals cant get in it like cats etc.

Sorry its called a bait box. You buy the posion seperate.

Yes, definitely put poison out if you want to poison lots of other wildlife too, when they eat the dead or dying rats.

NB if you DO need to call in pest control, a ratting terrier would be the quickest death / least impact on the environment.

No sign of Ratty/ies since my last post. Maybe it was the snow and ice forcing them to look for other food sources. I realised I had also heard major building work, including demolition and ground works, going on recently on an old house not far away as the crow flies, and so I wonder if family rat has been disturbed from their usual abode.

I have stopped putting bird food onto the floor and also moved the feeders so that they are harder to access without wings! I know it won't stop rats as we still use the bird table, food will still fall and rats are very good climbers. I'm just trying to discourage them as best I can.

As a long time rural-dweller and wildlife buff, I'm not scared of rats but I am concerned about a population increase, damage and the spread of disease, especially after a friend lost a puppy to leptospirosis from rats on a property next to her. If they do start to become a problem, calling in pest control using a ratting terrier seems to be the kindest and most environmentally safe way to tackle it.

In the meantime, I have gone back to being able to pretend they don't exist - long may it last!

Thanks to everyone for your posts, with advice and opinions from your own experiences of our dear/not so dear rodent friends - I really appreciate it.

We'll see what Spring brings...

Thanks for updating. We are trying to deter a rat at the moment that has got into the shed and keeps appearing in the garden. My peppermint spray will hopefully work... hmmmmm.

Inspired by a current thread, I thought I'd pop back to give an update on our own ratty situation.

Six months on, with Spring in full flow and heading towards early Summer, I'm very relieved to report that there has been no obvious explosion in numbers - so far.

We still very occasionally see one rat feeding on seed spillage under the bird table and a seed feeder hanging high on a garden wall. It might not be the same rat each time, of course. Obviously keen to avoid us, s/he runs off back through the stone wall whenever we go outside, so we usually only see the back end and tail of her/him. I put a stone in one gap in the wall we'd seen ratty going through, but that just meant s/he climbed over the top of the wall instead. Once, sitting quietly at the garden table reading, I got a good look at ratty as s/he appeared under the bird feeder very close by. It is a pity about the potential disease, damage and population explosions, because s/he looked very clean, healthy and cute. As soon as I moved slightly, s/he looked quite frightened and ran off.

Our nearest neighbours have kept a few chickens in recent years, so perhaps it's inevitable that rats are now nearby for the chickens' feed and have eventually strayed into our garden for the wild bird food.

All we've done during the six months is put the feeders higher up and away from the house, stop deliberately scattering seed on the ground for the ground-feeding birds and stop putting seed out on the bird table at night so that it was there ready for the early dawn visitors.

With no need for drastic measures but keeping an eye on the situation, we continue to live in relative, slightly reluctant harmony with our unwanted visitor/s - long may it continue! I can't help hoping that they pack their bags voluntarily and disappear completely again though...it was better when we didn't know they were there, even if they were!