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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to tell my neighbours what to do with their garden?

34 replies

NotASoccerMum · 12/02/2025 08:47

So, we noticed we had rats appearing in our garden a while ago. A couple of very big ones. So we got pest control in and they are currently trying to sort the issue before they end up in our house.

Thing is, i'm fairly certain they are coming from our next door neighbour. They are constantly throwing leftover food in their garden - just all over the grass, feeding ever problematic foxes (that's a whole other issue) and birds and of course also rats.

The pest control people agree the problem is likely coming from there. We redid our whole garden to make it a child friendly space for our young kids but now I don't feel they are safe out there.

They are nice enough neighbours (seems to be three generations of a family that live there) and I don't want to cause issues between us but I've literally just popped my head out of the bathroom window to see 5/6 rats running around their wilderness of a garden. I want to tell them to stop putting all the food out but I guess legally it's their property to do what they like.

I just feel like us paying for pest control is a waste of time as long as they keep doing this. I'd even be willing to offer to pay to get pest control round to theirs. Don't want to offend anyone just so sick of this situation.

OP posts:
Funykeudfh · 12/02/2025 08:50

If they're feeding foxes and probably know rats are there too they won't be the type of people who agree with pest control so I wouldn't go down that route. If they're family people I'd probably word it as something along the lines of you can't currently have any young children out in the garden due to the rat problem and would they consider not throwing any food out into their garden for a few months to just stop the rats coming through. Something along those lines anyway. You have to find a way to get on their page where as talking about pest control is likely to get their backs up.

Stalked476 · 12/02/2025 08:51

Report them to the council. It is a health hazard.

AlisonDonut · 12/02/2025 08:51

I'd take advice from the council in this respect. And film those rats.

Julen7 · 12/02/2025 08:53

Environmental health department at your council. If you can take any photos that would help your case.

Samesame47 · 12/02/2025 08:53

NotASoccerMum · 12/02/2025 08:47

So, we noticed we had rats appearing in our garden a while ago. A couple of very big ones. So we got pest control in and they are currently trying to sort the issue before they end up in our house.

Thing is, i'm fairly certain they are coming from our next door neighbour. They are constantly throwing leftover food in their garden - just all over the grass, feeding ever problematic foxes (that's a whole other issue) and birds and of course also rats.

The pest control people agree the problem is likely coming from there. We redid our whole garden to make it a child friendly space for our young kids but now I don't feel they are safe out there.

They are nice enough neighbours (seems to be three generations of a family that live there) and I don't want to cause issues between us but I've literally just popped my head out of the bathroom window to see 5/6 rats running around their wilderness of a garden. I want to tell them to stop putting all the food out but I guess legally it's their property to do what they like.

I just feel like us paying for pest control is a waste of time as long as they keep doing this. I'd even be willing to offer to pay to get pest control round to theirs. Don't want to offend anyone just so sick of this situation.

Contact environmental health at your local council with evidence and let them deal with it

Blueglazzier · 12/02/2025 08:54

A polite letter asking them not to leave food out may help . I did this when neighbour kept leaving trays of food for the birds . Some people just don't think . Try this first . Best wishes .

bluesatin · 12/02/2025 08:55

Buy a cat. My friend had rats coming in from the left hand neighbour. Her right hand neighbour recently bought a couple of kittens; they have grown into very efficient rat exterminators.

BoiledOrRoastPotatoes · 12/02/2025 09:00

I had similar problems when I lived next door to a friend. She feeds the birds which is lovely as the birds often need a helping hand, especially in the winter. But it was also attracting the rats. She kept trapping and releasing them a few miles away but there was so many of them. Then she has the audacity to blame it on them living under my shed!

Anyway. One day I saw a pest van outside the house the other side of me. The problem soon disappeared. I never told my friend about it as she would have been livid. She thought her trapping and releasing was working.

lightsandtunnels · 12/02/2025 09:03

Have you told them you have rats in your garden and have seen them in theirs? I would go round to see them and let them know that you have pest control in at the moment sorting out a rat problem in your garden and you noticed rats in their garden too. Absolutely fine to do this, no blame, no accusations, just factual.

Edit to say we got rid of our compost bin as pest control said this would encourage them so you could mention this to the neighbours too who may (hopefully) realise that the food they are putting out is causing the problem!

We had rats in our garden a couple of years ago and suspected they were from a neighbour who is a bit of a hoarder. I was horrified - I absolutely hate them! We just told neighbour what was happening and suggested they might want to use the same pest control to sort the problem in their garden. I'm not sure they did, but for us, pest control came three times and we put down extra poison ourselves that we got from B&Q. We have had no sign of any rats since, it took maybe three weeks for us to stop seeing them. The poison does work quickly and is very effective so I'd just keep going with it then hopefully by the time the nice weather comes back your garden will be safe for your kids again.

bullywee · 12/02/2025 09:08

Had this issue, sadly ended up moving house. We didn't have rats ourselves, but they were using our garden as a rat run (excuse the pun) between rat nests in the gardens to the back of us. Didn't matter how much money we spent on traps/poison/professional vermin control as the issue was not in our garden there was nothing we could do. Our garden became unusable and we were frightened that they would invade our property.

Environmental health won't do anything unless the person at the address who has rats reports they have a vermin problem. Or at least that was what we found when we contacted the local council.

Original poster
NotASoccerMum · 12/02/2025 09:11

Thank you for the comments /suggestions. I have just gone back and filmed and photographed the rats. Even more were out there 🤢

I am going to go round and speak to them about it as politely as I can. But depending on the response, i'm reporting it to the council. And they will have to be really emphatic about stopping with the feeding otherwise I am just going to report it. Wish me luck!

OP posts:
Londonrach1 · 12/02/2025 09:14

bluesatin · 12/02/2025 08:55

Buy a cat. My friend had rats coming in from the left hand neighbour. Her right hand neighbour recently bought a couple of kittens; they have grown into very efficient rat exterminators.

We got a rat in our garden when the next door got a cat...cat bought it back and let it go.....was nightmare as cat had got two and they had babies....it's all sorted now

Julen7 · 12/02/2025 09:17

bullywee · 12/02/2025 09:08

Had this issue, sadly ended up moving house. We didn't have rats ourselves, but they were using our garden as a rat run (excuse the pun) between rat nests in the gardens to the back of us. Didn't matter how much money we spent on traps/poison/professional vermin control as the issue was not in our garden there was nothing we could do. Our garden became unusable and we were frightened that they would invade our property.

Environmental health won't do anything unless the person at the address who has rats reports they have a vermin problem. Or at least that was what we found when we contacted the local council.

Environmental health will do something, they did for me in the past when neighbours were leaving black bags of food in their garden for months. In my case I didn’t even see any rats but I was worried it was a vermin haven.

bullywee · 12/02/2025 09:21

Julen7 · 12/02/2025 09:17

Environmental health will do something, they did for me in the past when neighbours were leaving black bags of food in their garden for months. In my case I didn’t even see any rats but I was worried it was a vermin haven.

Show quote history

May depend on councils. We called on numerous occasions and even contacted the local councillor, MP and MSP. The response from the council was that they would not do anything unless the nests were in our garden/reported by the owner/occupier of the garden that they were located. Trust me, we tried. Didn't want to move but in the end had to as the problem was not getting sorted.

Julen7 · 12/02/2025 09:23

bullywee · 12/02/2025 09:21

May depend on councils. We called on numerous occasions and even contacted the local councillor, MP and MSP. The response from the council was that they would not do anything unless the nests were in our garden/reported by the owner/occupier of the garden that they were located. Trust me, we tried. Didn't want to move but in the end had to as the problem was not getting sorted.

Show quote history

Sorry to hear that, awful to be forced to move.

Original poster
NotASoccerMum · 12/02/2025 09:26

Ok, so they said they noticed the increase in rats and were concerned about it too. Apparently, they had been planning to go buy a big cage and try and catch them allShock

They have dogs (who clearly aren't interested in rat catching) so are concerned using pest control will affect them. But have agreed to contact the same people we have been using.

They said for years they were putting out bird food with no issue (they have been here 43 years, we moved here just over two years ago). But also admitted they also throw crackers and bread and I have certainly seen watermelon (and other food i couldn't identify) out there more than once.

I think they understand that they need to stop doing that now. I will give them a couple of days and then will check with the pest control to see if they had gotten in touch yet.

We will persevere on our side and pray we are soon rid of them all.

OP posts:
Original poster
NotASoccerMum · 12/02/2025 09:28

bullywee · 12/02/2025 09:08

Had this issue, sadly ended up moving house. We didn't have rats ourselves, but they were using our garden as a rat run (excuse the pun) between rat nests in the gardens to the back of us. Didn't matter how much money we spent on traps/poison/professional vermin control as the issue was not in our garden there was nothing we could do. Our garden became unusable and we were frightened that they would invade our property.

Environmental health won't do anything unless the person at the address who has rats reports they have a vermin problem. Or at least that was what we found when we contacted the local council.

Wow. That's awful. I'm so sorry you had to deal with all that. But i hope you found some peace and safety in your new home. Really hope it doesn't get that bad here. But really cannot go on like this.

OP posts:
Julen7 · 12/02/2025 09:30

Well it’s a start and sounds as if you had an amicable conversation.

Let’s hope things improve.

BMW6 · 12/02/2025 09:35

One of my neighbours used to chuck leftover foods onto the grass in the kids play park in front of our street - loads of it including meat!

I asked her to stop doing it as we have a huge rat population and can see them running around between the bushes and the children are at risk.

Thankfully she understood and stopped doing it.

Womanofcustard · 12/02/2025 10:06

It’s not feeding birds from feeders, it’s the other foodstuffs that are put on the ground that will attract rats. I have a large bird feeding area (tree based) and I had to ask previous neighbour not to put THEIR leftover food in MY garden ‘for the birds’. They were encouraging rats - one of which got into the fabric of our house!
Environmental Health will stop people from ‘feeding pigeons’ if the foodstuffs are attracting rats.

Laughingravy · 12/02/2025 12:53

We had an issue last year. They got in the house and we saw them in the garden. We got the council's vermin dept bod in. He identified how they were getting in and put out a special feeder with poisoned bait. We saw the rats plenty of times in the garden - including trying their best to access the birds fat ball feeder.
They ate their way through three lots of the bait and we haven't seen any in some months now.
According to the bod they don't usually nest in houses but come in for food. The poison they use isn't available to the general public and takes a few days to work and the dead rat will be eaten by the others and they'll die as well. I guess the only concern is if a dog or cat finds a dead one - though they usually return to the nest to die.
We have bird feeders and chickens, so there's plenty of snacks about but no signs of them. No doubt they'll return and we'll just get the bod in again.

So long as they aren't getting into the house I'm not sure what harm they are doing in a garden but I totally get the urghhhh! reaction.

Twosticksandstring · 12/02/2025 15:35

Laughingravy · 12/02/2025 12:53

We had an issue last year. They got in the house and we saw them in the garden. We got the council's vermin dept bod in. He identified how they were getting in and put out a special feeder with poisoned bait. We saw the rats plenty of times in the garden - including trying their best to access the birds fat ball feeder.
They ate their way through three lots of the bait and we haven't seen any in some months now.
According to the bod they don't usually nest in houses but come in for food. The poison they use isn't available to the general public and takes a few days to work and the dead rat will be eaten by the others and they'll die as well. I guess the only concern is if a dog or cat finds a dead one - though they usually return to the nest to die.
We have bird feeders and chickens, so there's plenty of snacks about but no signs of them. No doubt they'll return and we'll just get the bod in again.

So long as they aren't getting into the house I'm not sure what harm they are doing in a garden but I totally get the urghhhh! reaction.

Would you not be concerned about children playing in the garden and the possibility of them contracting leptospirosis?

PonkyPonky · 12/02/2025 15:50

The council won’t care, environmental health won’t care. I speak from experience with a very similar problem. We have to keep rat poison out year round which has worked.

DangerousAlchemy · 12/02/2025 16:04

Yeah I had to stop feeding the birds a few years ago as we had a mum rat bringing her 3 babies to scamper up our small tree and slide down the bird seed feeders I had hanging there to dislodge the seeds - was sweet to watch but no I didn't want a big rat problem. I filled in the hole they had made under my fence and completely stopped feeding the birds (I have cats so the birds are safer now and hopefully finding food in another garden). I think you definitely need to raise your concerns with your neighbour OP but in a sensitive manner maybe?

RattyNeighbours · 12/02/2025 16:05

I have something similar with my neighbours. They were leaving a ridiculous amount of "bird food" that was attracting rats. They'd get their carer to put it all out, including some of it in ground feeders, each evening.

They had a rat nest in their garden and we found out they even had them in their house! It was a fight to get them to stop. We had to report to Environmental Health. Neighbors ignored the first warning they received from them but did eventually comply.

However, now they have started leaving out shelled peanuts in a hanging basket. Again, it's put out overnight so it's all eaten before they even open their curtains so I don't see the point. I saw a massive rat yesterday after several months of not seeing any.