There's a XXX in my garden! Warning.

[DottyBlue2]

It has a tail. Don't read any further if you don't like this sort of thing.

MIL has a rat in her garden that she's obsessed with killing. She keeps saying how we'll get ill by going into the garden, touching something the rat has peed on, coming inside and eating without washing hands properly. This really isn't going to happen - there are no children that visit the house. She needs to get a grip.

Dunno about gundogs and rats, but if they caught one, they'd probably come and present it to you, still alive!

I suspect they would, too,

do get a proper terrier/ferret man in - if like me you'd prefer to die quickly from a snapped neck than lingering miserably from poison.

Totally agree that Death by Terrier is quicker, cleaner, and kinder than by poison.

A few years ago, I watched something on tv where a pack of terriers were sorting out a rat colony under a shed. The rat man had a petrol strimmer, minus the strim, but with a hose for the exhaust gas. As he piped the gas under the shed, the rats came flying out and the dogs were taking them faster than you could really see.

Each one was despatched instantly with one shake of the terrier's head, it took a fraction of a second, and the rats can't have known anything about it. I thought at the time how much more humane that was than using poison, especially the ones that kill them by thinning the blood so they die from internal bleeding.

Where do you live OP, maybe all the terrier owners on here could pay you a visit and sort out the vermin?

The ones with the tails are the WORST!

@milliemolliemou

ha ha! sorry, no, I probably was just typing too fast. I meant, restaurant with rats -> cockroaches likely -> risk of humans bringing cockroach eggs into home on shoes.

The noise in your attic may be a little mouse with clogs on

The local hunt might give it a chase if they're still banned from foxes.

Well I declare!

The noise in your attic may be a little mouse with clogs on

If it is, you'll often see him dancing on the stairs.

We have a rat in our loft (hopefully dead now as it’s taken all 15 pouches of poison). Then I saw one in the garden at the weekend and this morning. I have had the pest guy out again and he thinks it maybe using next doors garages to nest in. Lots of wrappers and empty snail shells between our fence and their garage :( So the restaurant maybe nothing to do with it, and it’s just the weather bring them out more

Well as soon as I saw that you said it had a tail I thought at least it's not a massive spider.

@SchadenfreudePersonified

yes, I think maybe he's up there rehearsing before he's ready for the audience

@DottyBlue2 I had a rat in my garden last summer, bold as brass it was. 4 o’clock in the afternoon it was prancing around on the patio. I had bifold doors and it went up on its hind legs and was tapping at the bloody door, trying to get in. Then it started leaping across my big flower pots like it was in training for the olympics. I lost my shit. I blame the neighbour who’s gardens back onto ours/ the shared back alley. He puts food out for the foxes and it encourages all sorts 🙈🙈

Rats may be everywhere but I've not seen one (and I live in a country village. Not near a restaurant though.) This cafe is causing a pest and smell nuisance and you should report it to Environmental Health.

It might make your house difficult to sell as well, come the time you want to sell it.

Years ago, when they pulled down the house next door but one, the rats came out in force. One decided to live in our kitchen. The Council came and dealt with it.

We used to feed the birds until I saw a rat run up a tree and dance along the bracket holding the bird feeder where he hung upside down and helped himself. Actually he was quite cute but unfortunately a week later there were five of them. We took the feeders down and at that point they came indoors. We had the ratcatcher and it was horrible knowing they were dying a slow death. We now have a Jack Russell and don't anticipate any more visits. Although he would quite like it.

Ah, so do I have to declare the pests on the house sale questionnaire? In which case I will definitely get a dog and plead ignorance.

I really appreciate your posts, everyone, especially the shaggy rat stories (but maybe not the photos).

We get them occasionally in our garden. Husband gets a gun out and sorts it out and the spaniels fetch it. Nice clean way to deal with it.

To the posters who have eats eating bird food, the RSPB advise adding chilli powder to bird food if you want to feed them without encouraging rats. Apparently birds don't notice but the rats do.

I just found s dead rat under my ds trampoline I live in the country though

shaggy rat stories

When you get your dog, we need a photo!

We had rats. Environmental health did a spot check on a local takeaway business (two doors down) after I called them with concerns. Called me back to tell me they had everything they should (boxes, contract with rat man etc...). Council offered to investigate. But we covered up some drainage holes and I spent the summer putting out poison and traps, then disposing of the dead ones! Don’t see any now, but think the new dog is scaring them off too! Also stopping feeding the birds off a bird table.

Both you and the other person who has spotted a rat on her side should report issue to L.A. environmental issues. Were you told about the change of use from a house to a cafe? Did you object, did others object? You may be justified in making a complaint about the change of use. Not usual for planning to allow a house to be converted to a business usually the other way around especially in the middle of residential area. Rats are everywhere but need to watch they don't become a real pest.

We live in the country and ndn has chickens. He put poison down to deal with a rat and next thing we had a fox dying in our garden. Until then I hadn't realised that foxes eat rats. Ndn was shocked too and hasn't done that again.

Ring environmental health, they'll be there like a rat up a drainpipe