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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to feel annoyed by my neighbour's complaints about rats?

136 replies

Becnextdoor · 19/05/2026 22:50

Do not have many neighbours, only 4 on our street. I live next to this lady, detached houses but our garden is seperated with a hedge if that makes sense. She has lived in that house for 4 years and we used to get along in a good neighbour way - as she lived alone I would often do garden work for her and she came round for a family barbecue once a year, normal neighbour stuff.
We (me and my wife) have had pet chickens for about 7 years now, they are located near the connecting hedge, out of her sight, and she’s never had a problem with them, however the chickens have randomly just now started getting rats, and as a result some of them have gone in her garden, she has messaged to complain, and came round twice to complain, all in the same week, after the first complaint we told her we were dealing with it - as we were, however rat traps take time and don’t work instantly, however, she kept coming round and telling us it was our problem and we need to sort it, and getting progressively annoyed, even though we were managing with it. We payed for pest control to come today, and they even went and spoke to her about how it was getting sorted - as we were tired of her continuous complaints, I didn’t even get a ‘thank you’ or anything, and even after the pest control she is still complaining. She is about 40 years old and a lot of her money is “mummy’s money”, private school and parents brought her a nice house in a nice area, so especially with knowing that, we really think she’s just acting abit entitled now. We are probably going to fall out with our neighbour over this, are we in the wrong for being annoyed? edit: The rats only started coming the same week she got a new cat and dog, she’s also recently had an oil spill - which apparently can attract rats, I don’t know if that’s relevant but.

OP posts:
SALaw · 19/05/2026 23:49

Entitled?! She just doesn’t want rats on her property and, as you acknowledge yourself, it is your chickens that are attracting them. If she’s been complaining repeatedly to the point it has annoyed you this much it sounds like it has gone on for some time now. Team Neighbour all the way.

SALaw · 19/05/2026 23:50

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ACynicalDad · 19/05/2026 23:52

What does her schooling have to do with this? You are causing a rat problem, and a decent neighbour would sort it out and not victim-blame someone with a reasonable complaint.

BreadInCaptivity · 19/05/2026 23:52

You sound as if you are expecting her to be grateful for you resolving a problem that is of your creation.

Chicken’s are rat magnets. Having them in a domestic garden is not appropriate (especially near the boundary - but frankly, even moved unless your garden is over an acre, it’s still an issue - the buggers can scavenge far and wide from their base).

In your OP you are keen to label her as entitled. Can you not see the irony in this?

Arguably your sense of “entitlement” to cleve to a lifestyle choice of garden hobby chicken owning is far more entitled than her right to live in a home (whomever paid for it) that isn’t infested by rodents.

Frankly your response is so wide of the mark here in its arrogance it’s ridiculous.

In addition to sorting pest control you should be accepting that your chickens need relocating out of the garden (not just within it) and going round with a bunch of flowers/bottle of wine and a card of apology (and also losing the chip on your shoulder about her background).

thebustonowhere · 19/05/2026 23:58

I’m in my 40s. How old are you? 5? And did you actually just say “I would allow it”???? Who do you think you are?!

mathanxiety · 20/05/2026 00:17

You are being massively unreasonable.

You need to get rid of the chickens and apologise to this woman for inflicting rats on her.

Where she got the money for her house is none of your business. She's not an entitled snob. She's just a home owner who is rightly passed off that she is now dealing with rats because she has neighbours who have a much higher vermin tolerance threshold than she does.

The cheek of you!

mathanxiety · 20/05/2026 00:21

Becnextdoor · 19/05/2026 23:33

I was never trying to insult her age, I was adding it as if she had been younger and this was her first time living alone I would have allowed it more. I’m always doing free garden work for her on my days off, I even built a cat flap for her cat so it can get through our garden into the near woods - she doesn’t like her cat wondering in the road. Pest control came 4 days after she alerted me, and I put traps out on the first day.

Edited

Unbelievable obtuseness and entitlement.

Do you honestly not see rats as a massive problem?

Howmanycatsistoomany · 20/05/2026 00:23

lol at you expecting a thank you from your neighbour for calling pest control to deal with your rats!! I've kept chooks for donkeys years and have never had a rat problem because I don't leave feeders out and I clean up spillages/anything the chooks don't eat. It's not hard.

MeganM3 · 20/05/2026 00:27

Because of you she has had rats. It’s horrible. They carry diseases and are hard to get rid of.
If you lived round here a neighbour would probably put a brick through your window for this.
Sort it out as quickly as you can and you owe her an apology.

caringcarer · 20/05/2026 00:29

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 19/05/2026 22:55

I'm sorry but you sound awful.

I have no idea what "mummy's money" means, or why private school or the question of who paid for her house is remotely relevant to your post.

You have caused a rat problem. She doesn't want rats in her garden. You haven't dealt with it quickly enough. Of course she is going to complain.

This. What has going to a private school got to do with rats? 🤷

FullOfLemons · 20/05/2026 00:39

I love the way you pointed out the DN getting new (I suspect fictional ) pets at the end.

RealOliveTraybake · 20/05/2026 00:43

I think you're lucky. If I was your neighbour there's a good chance you'd have had an invoice through the door for any damages and pest control on her property.

OrangeOpalFruits · 20/05/2026 01:08

Becnextdoor · 19/05/2026 23:00

Thanks for the fast responses, I get the rats are our problem, but we do a lot to help her out and we got started on the problem the second she mentioned it, she’s just still telling us off on it even after pest control told her face to face that it will take a few weeks. Edit: we only have 4 quiet, small, chickens (we’re not running a chicken farm, they’re just pets) they get cleaned out every week and she has never had an issue until now.

Edited

Oh well, if they're small AND quiet, it can't possibly be your fault, can it? You could clean them out three times a day, have alcatraz level security and wash and blow dry them to your heart's content, but its their chickenness that is attracting rats. 😱

Becnextdoor · 20/05/2026 01:38

FullOfLemons · 20/05/2026 00:39

I love the way you pointed out the DN getting new (I suspect fictional ) pets at the end.

All very real pets thank you, her previous cat dies and she replaced it with a new cat and dog. Thank you for all the replies, I’ve been reading through them.

AIBU to feel annoyed by my neighbour's complaints about rats?
AIBU to feel annoyed by my neighbour's complaints about rats?
OP posts:
DelphiniumBlue · 20/05/2026 06:36

You are causing rats to be in her garden, but she is the entitled one ?? Of course she is complaining! The fact you invited her to a barbecue or that she has family money has nothing to do with this at all.

Stressedoutmummyof3 · 20/05/2026 07:24

I would be complaining if my next door neighbour had rats that were coming in to my garden. Perhaps she is like me and terrified of rats. Maybe she'd like to use her garden without rats running around and they breed like mad so it's not one or two rats.
I wouldn't be thanking you for getting pest control out either as presumably you would have done that anyway (I hope) without her saying anything.
Your actions have inconvenienced her. Someone here sounds entitled but it's not your neighbour.

twilightcafe · 20/05/2026 07:29

YABU.
Keep chickens, get rats. Which are vermin.
Poor woman, having you as a neighbour.

burnbabyburnout · 20/05/2026 07:34

Have chickens have rats.

Hoardasurass · 20/05/2026 07:35

Becnextdoor · 19/05/2026 23:33

I was never trying to insult her age, I was adding it as if she had been younger and this was her first time living alone I would have allowed it more. I’m always doing free garden work for her on my days off, I even built a cat flap for her cat so it can get through our garden into the near woods - she doesn’t like her cat wondering in the road. Pest control came 4 days after she alerted me, and I put traps out on the first day.

Edited

Ok let's spell this out got you in simple words so you can understand
YOU and YOUR chickens ARE the PROBLEM.
YOU dont have a say in how she complains or even if its daily until YOU fix the problem that YOU created
YOU trying to paint her age and financial situation as the problem shows that YOU are a MISOGYNIST.
YOU need to clean YOUR chicken poop and feed everyday along with collecting all eggs daily.
IF your neighbour complains to environmental health they will make you get rid of the chickens.
IF the rats get in her house YOU will be liable for ALL cost for their extermination however long it takes and ALL repair and cleaning costs.

Most importantly YOU need to go around and APOLOGISE TO HER.
It doesn't matter how many threads you create about this the answer wont change YABU and no we wont be calling her a "Karen" because YABU and this is a womens site not a misogynistic cesspit like reddit

unsync · 20/05/2026 07:38

Well, aren't you just charming posting photos of someone's pets on a public forum, especially as you're the one that caused the problem. Presumably you asked her permission before doing so? I'm looking forward to this being picked up by the DM.

Ludmilaandthelonely · 20/05/2026 07:44

You are the problem. I can't imagine anyone would want this "help' you seem to offer with jobs and so on. Just keep to your own property. If the chickens are bringing the rat population closer to the properties then they need to go. I don't have chickens but is cleaning them out once a week enough? - you sound like a terrible neighbour on losts of levels.

Delici · 20/05/2026 07:45

She could be 20 or 80, rich or poor- no one wants rats!
She is entitled but not in the way you think. She is entitled to complain when you have caused rats to come into her garden.

You sound like you have a massive chip on your shoulder about her.

GrandmasCat · 20/05/2026 07:51

Would cleaning more often than your regular once a week help?

Like everyone, I think YABU but then I also think people letting their cats shit all over their neighbours’ gardens are also unreasonable but someway is acceptable practice as cats are born to be free… so do rats it seems.

WelshRabBite · 20/05/2026 07:55

Why are you implying that state-educated/lower-class people would be fine about having rats in their garden?

As one of them I can tell you I absolutely wouldn’t be.

fancypantss · 20/05/2026 07:57

You need rat proof feeders, rats only stick around where there is food available.