Rat in garden - advice please

[Ratadvice]

I saw a rat at the bottom of the garden this morning. It disappeared behind the compost bin.

DH emptied out the old and broken garden shed next to it and found some droppings in there.

There is also a hole by the decking which we naively had thought was from a hedgehog....

We have young children and I am now freaking out about them playing in the garden. I feel like it's all contaminated with horrible diseases!

Also slightly concerned that we saw one out in broad daylight ( Google says it either means they're starving and desperate or that there is a big infestation... hopefully the former!!)

Our first reaction was to get some poison but now I've read about it it doesn't seem like a good idea.

We will remove the decking and shed in a few weeks when we have time as it's all old and not used anyway, but what else should we do in the meantime?

Stop panicking, it's most likely scared of you and just wants to find somewhere safe to hide.

Put some seeds/vegetables/fruit out for it and leave it be.

No, don't feed it. It will soon realise there is nothing there for it and move on.

Why would you do anything? It's just a rat passing through your garden. If you also have foxes they will likely eat it anyway.

Killing an animal is not cool. It’s also not cool if a bird of prey eats the dead animal riddled with poison. It dies too then. Plus also perhaps it’s babies that it’s feeding the dead rat to.

You're never more than 6-10 foot from a rat. You just don’t usually see them. Your precious kids will be just fine.

Just do nothing. There’s rats all over, the kids will have played in plenty of grass that rats have touched and other things like cans or bottles that have been in a warehouse.

Where did you think rats lived? Like mice and voles and shrews they live in gardens, by rivers, behind sheds...
I would leave it quite happily. It won't be diseased. Avoid leaving food out and when you do your decking you could check your compost bin doesn't have any holes in it.

Isn't there an old statistic something like you're never more than 6ft from a rat?

I've seen loads in my garden. They're no bother until they decide to reside in your house!

Hi OP,

If you saw one in the garden i really wouldn't get too excited they can easily be from another property. Block up holes and don't leave food out they will soon disappear. I really would not use poison, they will go under the decking and into the shed etc to die and you will soon get loads of flies due to rotting dead bodies.

I speak from experience do not use poison.

Far better to block of entrances and exits and remove food sources they will move on.

They are around and natural and not a big deal as normally the numbers are so low.

Decking is notorious for creating excellent rat habitats. You’ll have loads of them living under it, I expect. So ultimately you need to get rid of the decking.

Rat poison is warfarin. It makes them bleed to death internally, and it poses a risk to other wildlife if they eat it (or eat the dying rats). Please don’t use it. It’s incredibly inhumane. The risks to human health from rats in your garden is very low. Live and let live until you can remove the decking.

Please don’t put rat poison down. My neighbour did that and killed my cat!

You'd be happy for an animal to be starving and desperate? That's really sad.

I've never understood the "rats spread diseases" argument. People are pretty good at that too.

A rat bit the bottom of my trousers when I was down the bottom of the garden the other day. I had to do a mad dance to get it to detach, honestly OP it's normal and fine

Make it a small bow tie.

Thank you that's reassuring, we won't be using poison. Just worried for DH when he removes the decking, will there be lots of rats jumping at him? 😬

Rats love compost bins , delicious hot food for free ( especially when people are not too scrupulous about what goes in them), almost as good as waste disposal units aka rat soup producers.

Do you know anyone with a Jack Russell?

Jesus, that's not normal in my world. I've never once seen a rat in the garden, let alone been bitten by one 😩

Rats are everywhere. We just don’t see them most of the time. They very very rarely harm humans.
They can only spread disease if they are actually diseased. Most are healthy. We don’t have bubonic plague any more and Weil’s disease is only an issue near waterways.

Just wash your hands when you’ve been gardening or in contact with soil (we should all do that anyway), that’s all you need to do. You don’t need to “freak out”.

You say it was behind the compost bin and this is a clue. Rats are attracted to compost bins if cooked food or eggshells are put in them, or they’re dry. If it’s dry, water it regularly to keep it moist, and the rats will move on.

Like all wild animals they will run away.

I'd walk around the perimeter of the house and check for rat runs along walls, I'd also go up into the roof and check for any signs of rats up there (droppings, smell, anything chewed). If you can satisfy yourself they're not under or in the house then I wouldn't worry, but remove any sources of food (compost, bird food, chicken feed etc). If it does look like they're in or under the house then you need professional help - rats will chew through anything and everything - plastic water pipes and cables particularly. Most home insurance policies don't cover damage caused by pests. A good pest controller will find the source, often you need to put a rat valve in your sewer connection. If it's a big infestation then you might need to bait - cholecalciferol baits prevent secondary poisoning of pets and birds but should be placed a pest controller, don't do it yourself

Most people say its normal and do nothing but then on other threads it's the opposite: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/general_health/4814849-are-rats-making-my-2-year-old-ill

When I read the post about it crawling up the wall and going through an open window it makes me want to put poison down everywhere!!

Maybe we should keep the decking so at least I know they live there and not in my house!

I know of a neighbour who died from Weil's disease.
She was fishing a ball out of a stream and had an open cut.
I wouldn't be happy with toddlers around where rats are.

I am told that Dried Instant Mashed Potato is a very good way of killing them.

Poison should ONLY be left in bait boxes, its a legal requirement

Chili flakes on the top of the compost work. Re apply regularly.

Remove all food sources that you can find, don't put veg scrapings etc in you compost bin. No food no rats. Please don't poison it or crush it in a trap.