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

[NotASoccerMum]

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.

I had this same issue, my dog was going mad to get in to next door’s garden, sat once and starred at one spot on the gate for hours, the other side is raised decking and then they have a bird feeder next to that. There was a huge pile of bird food on the floor. Any source of food it will attract rats. I went and knocked on the door and mentioned it. She was happy enough to take the bird food away. Does hasn’t acted strange since. I would just go round and have a gentle word. Like you say they are nice enough and they should care about their home and garden. Rats will eat through anything…. Once in the house they will destroy anything in their way. good luck.

you can fortify your fences and dig them even deeper to avoid any vermins coming from other gardens.

My dad had rats coming in for the bird and chicken food years ago. Then we got 6 cats and a rat has never been seen since😂

“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.”

Regardless of whether or not it’s their property they don’t get to do what they like when it’s causing a health hazard to others. If you think they’d be open to the discussion/will stop, tell them it’s causing rats. If you don’t think you saying anything will make any difference then just report it to the council. It sounds really unpleasant @NotASoccerMum. Sorry you’re having to deal with this.

Neighbours across the road had this trouble. Spoke to their NDN and asked her to stop feeding the birds for a bit because of the rats. Her response? "Oh I'm not feeding the birds. I'm feeding the gerbils living under the shed." She would not believe it was rats not gerbils....

You have to report the problem to the council

We had rats in our garden a few years ago and they were climbing the pergola to eat the nuts and fat balls in the bird feeders hung up there! In the morning, all the bird feeders would be scattered on the ground after they’d invaded them.

Oh that's hilarious! Did you manage to correct her and how did she take it?

Pest control are a waste of time- make your own rat boxes and use : Powdered Soup, Plaster of Paris mixed up with sugar and put in the box out of reach of birds and domestic pets.