To Feel Wretched That I Put Poison Down To Kill Rats?

[TheCatsBlanket]

My very elderly aunt has rats in her garden. She is terrified of them and asked me to put poison down, which I did. Today, I went to check the rat trap box in the hedge, and I saw one of them underneath some leaves, obviously still alive but in a bad way. I feel so horrible about it, because I am responsible for causing pain to an animal, who was quietly living it's life and just because they get a bad press (probably stemming from the plague) I am now a murderer.
It made me wonder why there isn't a more humane way to get rid of them where, if they have to be killed, why can't it be instant? I stupidly googled it too, and now am more sad that they can take up to several days to die and are conscious throughout.

You are cruel to say it was dying and you left it to slowly die in agony instead of ending its suffering . Woman up, check if there’s more dying and swiftly put them out their misery.

JKScot4 I know and hence I feel wretched enough :(

DesignedForLife no, sadly not. The fences are a chicken wire type and hedges too with lots of undergrowth.

We saw a little mouse in our dining room the other day, so we put out a humane trap. It's like a tunnel, but when they walk inside, the pressure activates the door to close behind them and traps them in.
We then take it (3 miles away is recommended) and release it.
We've actually caught 8 😬 this way but none for a few days now and we found their nest so cleared it. Hopefully they've all gone and we didn't kill any of them

I'll have to google some nasty rat photos with gnashing teeth and horrid faces to try and reason with myself and why they have to be exterminated.

Yep. Sympathy for you gone!

Well you could buy an air rifle and try shooting them. But it's very time consuming. I'd chuck the bodies over into crazy bird woman's garden and get some quiet satisfaction from that.

You should feel wretched, it’s a horrible way for them to die.
Either lift the poison or deal with it properly, no point whining about feeling wretched when you know they’re suffering an horrific death and do nothing.

The house behind ours had decking put in their back garden. The children drop crisps and bits of food as they play.
At night we watch the rats nipping under the decking to eat.
If there's no food they're less likely to stay around.

Sometimeswinning You had none for me anyway.

Did you even stop to consider the wider effects of putting down poison?
A cat could ingest it, small mammals then caught by other animals/birds.
Poison is cruel and can damage the wider environment.

The most humane way, where feasible, is terrier imo. One shake from a terrier and you have instant rat death.
That would be my choice and the dogs love their jobs and it doesn't harm any other animals like poison can.
There are terrier men out there that do this for a living although I don't know how it works right now with social distancing.
An option for the future though 🙂

So does anyone have any constructive suggestions for
A) how to get the wretched neighbour to see sense
B) a more humane, practical, way to deal with the rats.

Or do you think the elderly aunt should just put up with them?

Linda get rid of the squirrels! They will absolutely trash your house.

It's done now OP. Can't go back. Bloody rats everywhere.

toomanypillows what bait did you use in your humane trap? We have mice. I’m advocating humane traps which they ignore. DH has put down poison and traps which they also ignore.

@jkscot do give it a rest, you've hammered home your point more than once. Maybe OP can parcel you the rats and you'll take care of them in your house as you love them so much?

OP - it is what it is. Nobody wants an infestation of rats (bar a few odd bods on this thread) and it's a shame that there isn't a more humane way to kill them but until there is, you gotta do what you gotta do

JKScot4 Deal with it properly? If the council were to come, sadly they do the exact same with poison. As mentioned in my original post, theyre in my old aunt, so what do I say to a 93 year old who's terrified of them running across her patio right by the glass door, "just deal with them"?

Crotchetyquaver I'm not sure where I'd buy an airgun from!

There are lots and lots of humane rat traps online.

They love peanut butter. Catch them with that, transport them to the nearest wood/riverbank and release them.

Do you know anyone with a dog? We've taken our dog (she has Jack Russell in her so is officially a 'ratter') and put her in various gardens with rat problems for a good sniff around etc She's never caught anything but seems to be a good deterrent! I'm guessing her scent does the job?

I have to agree with pawsies a good terrier is the most humane way to get rid of them. Maybe next time talk to a terrier man about clearing the garden? I have a ratter and he is brilliant, we live on a small holding and never have trouble with rats. They are not stupid and will stay well away from a hunting dog. In the meantime, could you report your aunts neighbour to the council or would this cause more problems for her?

Ferret wee can help as well. We had pet ferrets when we lived in a city who would wee in our garden, we never had a problem with rats!

Deal with it as in not walk away leaving them to die in agony, I’m sure you’re capable of lifting a spade ffs but no I’ll come on MN and try for some attention.

I'm guessing her scent does the job?

The scent of a dachshund is unfortunately no deterrent at all.

Chillipeanuts If the problem persists I'll go down that route, but a hysterical aged woman on the phone seeing 'loads of rats', meant I had to do something very fast. The alternative would likely have been she'd have dropped dead with the fear of them scurrying on her patio (which prob wouldn't have been as inhumane as the rat poison) but either way, there was going to be a death.
Just wished I hadn't checked the shittin' box and seen what I did :(

I think until you get a rat infestation inside your house, you don't fully understand how horrible the situation is and will do anything to get rid of them, humane or inhumane. We have them coming in from next door. Paid pest control company hundreds so far (council pest control is cheaper but won't come into homes because of covid), but there's bloody dozens of the buggers. They can gnaw through your wiring, destroy plumbing and cause huge leaks from the bathroom, spread disease, and as I've found cause terrible anxiety and insomnia because of the constant scratching and scuffling. Last thing I need when stuck at home and hormonal (pregnant).

OP, do it for your aunt to ensure they don't get into the house. That would be horrendous for her especially as she is self isolating for who knows how long.

One of my cats is brilliant at catching them and mice and squirrels, oh and birds.

The other is shit.

I am hoping someone can correct me, but I think one of the reasons they use poison is because the rat will go back to the nest, die and the other rats will eat it, so the poison goes into more of them, doesn't work with other vermin

Apparently catching a mouse and releasing it miles away will kill it (even if you catch it alive) because they are outside their territory . Don't know if this is true .

One winter , my NDNs and our house had mice ( living under floorboards and getting through tiny gaps) . One house had a dog, one had a cat . No deterrant .

I;m sure I caught the same mouse three bloody times it had half a tail, possibly from a trap?
I released it at the bottom of the garden but obviously it got back

(I used those tube traps or the little maze ones with peanut butter)