Mum putting rat poison down in her garden - do others see this as cruel or unethical or is it just me?

[GardenRat]

My mum has been having a problem with rats being present in her back garden. She is dealing with it by putting rat poison in bait boxes around the garden. I don’t agree with her on this as I understand that rats die a slow and agonising death from the effects of the poison. Also, if any other animal (including birds) was to eat the rat poison itself, or try to eat a rat that has died from poisoning, then that other animal could also potentially become very ill or die. Her position is that she doesn’t care about that, and that using rat poison is the only realistic option she has to dissuade the rodents from entering her house. What are your thoughts on the matter MN?

We have lots of foxes and cats locally dying from ingesting rat poison.

I'm with you, it's cruel for the rats and for any unintended victims. I also think they will always return if there is a food source. We've seen them in the garden in the past when we were feeding birds on a table where food got knocked to the ground; we live near a park with a stream where they live and if we provide food, they will come. When we stopped they moved on.

We had rats in our old garden because people in the street left rubbish out. We got bait boxes and put poison under the shed. I hate the things, it’s given me the shivers just writing this, and didn’t want them in the house.

I’m on your mum’s side.

I was contemplating this some time ago, the difference for me is not just 'one has a fluffy tail': rats scuttle along low to the ground and avoid being in the open for too long, for obvious reasons: they are prey animals, but it does make them less appealing in my mind.
Squirrels bound about, appear (for want of a better word) confident, will sit out in the open when feeding for example, and when they bury their food they look cute, digging a little hole, putting the food in then patting it down and pulling vegetation over the spot: very entertaining. And although they can damage plants (strip bark off trees for example) they don't, as far as I am aware, carry diseases that harm people.
Plus their tails are cute.

If she has got a rat problem and is using block bait secured in a bait box then she is sorting the problem out responsibly. Other animals do carry diseases but you can die from diseases rats carry.
Snap traps are good but injure you badly if you are not very careful setting them

The only time I saw rats during the day was when they’d chewed into the chicken food and had a population explosion. Honestly they were fat fuckers, size of cats. Was not atall sad at their demise.

Glad they had a good life before you poisoned them 🐀 😄

Most people only have a rat problem because someone is (inadvertently) providing food.

Remove the food, and the rats will move on.

I wouldn’t poison them due to the way they die and the risk to other animals and birds.

We have several rats in our garden. I can see a big whopper out there right now. They don’t come near the house and don’t bother us.

Rat poison is so cruel. I would never use it. They are just animals looking for food like any others. I couldn't think of them suffering an agonising death just because they are living somewhere that doesn't suit me. Also the risk of killing other more 'acceptable' wildlife like hedgehogs. You also can't control where half eaten pellets might end up, they could end up in children's sandpits or being eaten by pets.

We had rats in our garden but removing the bird feeding stations from our garden got rid of the problem.

She has rats. They need to go

This is a difficult one. I live in a flat and in our bin area at one point there were rats. It escalated very quickly from seeing the odd one to seeing 30 or 40 running on the railings and walls. I live in a very built up area. I’ve also seen rats having a little wash in puddles and they’re adorable and scrub themselves like little humans so I do like rats, I think they’re very cute and super intelligent, my point being that I’m not phonic nor have I vilified them. Environmental health came and put out the boxes you’re speaking of and it upset me… I saw a rat falling around outside on its last legs and I cried for hours, I could cry right now, I’ll never forget it. I don’t know what the answer is but it’s heart breaking to me. If it was my own personal garden (I didn’t request the rat poison boxes) if it were my garden I wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t.

Fast food shops and supermarkets seem to use bait boxes so presumably that’s the least messy and effective way to deal with rodents.

Try having a rat infestation in your home because they've come up from the drains in the garden and then under the floor boards.

I have bait boxes in my house. So do my neighbours. Pest control put bait down around the drains.

I regularly see rats in my garden, they don't bother me so long as they don't try and get inside again.

Also, have you never seen all of the bait boxes on retail parks around fast food restaurants??

Pest controller here. Generally speaking, rodenticide does not have the rat dying in agony, they tend to go to sleep somewhere and don't wake back up again. I say generally simply because the public can buy all sorts online with no training!

Secondary poisoning of non target species such as birds is not a thing. The amount of rodenticide in a dead rat has no effect on a bird that might eat the rat.

Direct poisoning is different but if people put it in secure bait stations then a bird shouldn't be able to access it. It's when people throw stuff around (usually grain bait) in their garden that, surprise surprise, the birds then eat! People forget that birds can't read the instructions that the grain bait is for rats!

Rats are nocturnal so if you’re seeing them in the daytime you’ve got a sizeable population.
They chew indiscriminately, not so cute when they’ve severed water pipes or electric cables!

They aren't nocturnal as such, I often see them in the woods when walking my dog during the day.
They might come out at night in some environments because they feel safer.
If they aren't causing a problem leave them alone, no need to kill anything for just existing.

Where do we draw the line? Is it going to be deemed cruel one day to pour bleach over germs down the loo?

Rats are vermin so I wouldn’t be bothered about cruelty to them, but I’d be worried about birds/cats/other wildlife.

Get a Whippet!
They are very good ratters.
A very fast death and no suffering compared to poisons.

However- rats 🐀 will be drawn to where there is food.
Farms, stables, compost bins- BINS.

Well my garden must be worlds biggest rat deterrent as not only do I have my own cats pissing there all the local Tom's spray all over the place. Drives me mad but I'm not using the garden in the winter and if it keeps the rodents at bay 😂

To me its like sticking a shell on a slug and suddenly its cute enough to be a used as a model for childrens toys and all sorts.
I just think its a shame that we kill/don't kill things based on our human perception of "cuteness"

I wouldn't. My mum had rats, and on the advice of the council used poison rather than traps. Some of the bodies were hidden, and then flies laid eggs. The resulting clouds of flies, generations of them, were horrendous. Traps would have been so much better. If you can see their access points, copper wool (you can get in on amazon) is good to block them up with.

We had a rat for a weekend a few months ago. Was washing the dishes, looked out the kitchen window to see him striding across the back garden bold as could be. He had discovered the bird feeders and was helping himself to the scraps on the ground. He chewed a way through the fence next door and spent the next two days bouncing back and forth, once forgetting he had a hole and trying to squash himself between the slats - the little face all squashed up was so cute 😂

We named him Ben.

I spent that weekend completely clearing the bird seed away, blocking his access and generally tidying up the garden. He vanished once his food source was gone and there’s been no sign of him since.

I wouldn’t have poisoned him, but am very relieved his was a passing visit.