rats

[frazzled74]

was in the garden today and saw a rat run across garden from our bin store and climb up a drainpipe. we have emptied our bin store and thrown it away as it had a hole in it. what do we do now? are we infested? feelin bit hysterical.

Your local council should be your first point of call on Monday. I don't know about yours, but our council will send "the rat man" out free of charge to investigate. They have a look around to see if they can find signs of rats. If they do, they will leave bait and check back regularly. It may have been a rat "passing through" and you may not have a problem but the rat man will know. You have nothing to lose by calling them.

In the meantime, don't worry.

Where is the drainpipe?

outside our back door he seemed toknow where he was going.worried there may be infestationin the pipework.

Definitely get a professional in. You need to find exactly where it was going. Most likely there is a nest and the rat was carrying food back.

Second calling the council.

Had a rat walk across our back garden and climb over DC's baby climbing frame - bold as brass !!!!

Rat man came and laid lots of bait. Took about 3 weeks to get rid of them completely. The builders on the site down the road had left the drains open and the rats decided peoples gardens were better than the sewers.

You are never more than 30 ft away from a rat at any moment, according to dh. I am choosing not to believe him for my own peace of mind !

thanks all am going to ring council first thing monday, and not panic.

If your council charge for dealing with it, you can easily put poison down yourself. Buy poison (cheapest is by weight from farmshop/petshop), get a piece of drainpipe, place by base of wall in garden, put cupful poison in it and MAKE SURE NO PETS OR WILD BIRDS CAN GET TO IT!!!!!! I cover with piece of wood.

Blue wheat poison works best here. Ask vendor if local rats are immune (some are to some poisons)

thanks for all your advice, he council are sending someone out free of charge.