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Original poster

Are the rats doing nicely where you are?

28 replies

earlgrey · 15/07/2006 21:24

Did my Sainsbury's shop this arvo, put all the spent fruit from the 'fridge into a bag, put it in the bin and .... hey presto! one nearly jumped on my face! I gave such a shriek that dd2's face was white for about ten minutes. She said 'I thought you'd had a heart attack, mummy'.!!!!!

Is it just Oxford/shire?

OP posts:
sparklerswollenbruisedandfedup · 15/07/2006 21:26

OMG - I would have been hysterical.
lol @ your dd.
Where's the rat now?

Jazzi · 15/07/2006 21:28

God I live in Oxfordshire!!!!

LadyTamba · 15/07/2006 21:28

OMG!!!

I have a thing about rats....

I would be on the phone to my friend telling him to come save me

We once found a dead rat in the garden and I wouldnt go out there for weeks afterwards... the same lot of washing stayed on the line etc...

Original poster
earlgrey · 15/07/2006 21:29

rubbing his hands in glee on the neighbour's border about all he can get his hands on tonight, I shouldn't wonder.

The B**dy thing was sealed down, too.

OP posts:
mustrunmore · 15/07/2006 21:31

We had one in the garden being attacked by 2 magpies. Phoned the council... £135 to get a man out So dh spent £70 on various devices. Did think about telling them it had come from the council house next door though, as it'd have been free then.

bubblerock · 15/07/2006 21:32

None up here but I used to work in a Tesco near some docks and the rats used to just run between the bushes in the carpark!!

sparklerswollenbruisedandfedup · 15/07/2006 21:32

DH came home from work a couple of months back and told me that, when he opened the garage door, he saw a mouse scuttle across the floor. Yuk! It took me days to pluck up the courage to open the door myself and go in. Even now I look around the garage before I even dare put a foot in.

sparklerswollenbruisedandfedup · 15/07/2006 21:33

He has cleared the garage out since and found no signs of life. Thank goodness!

Original poster
earlgrey · 15/07/2006 21:33

Jazzi, I wasn't too worried about it when my friend came over and spotted one next door last Wednesday ... but to find one in your own bin!!!!

I called the council, they said they were so busy they couldn't come until Monday. But I gather (and a bit of me - just a bit - ) it takes a while for them to die.

OP posts:
galaxy · 15/07/2006 21:34

We get them round here often as we live near a river. Had a nest in the drain in the garden last year. Cost far less than you've been quoted - it was £40 for 3 visits. My cat has left 1 large rat on the front door mat and dropped a dead baby rat in the dining room over the last 2 weeks. It's disgusting.

Jazzi · 15/07/2006 21:35

One chased my dog a few months ago - took him a few days to go out in the garden again!!!

Original poster
earlgrey · 15/07/2006 21:35

[Bothers me, that is]

OP posts:
DumbledoresGirl · 15/07/2006 21:36

We live next to a river and I have seen rats and water rats (not sure if what I saw was a proper water rat or a rat swimming IYKWIM!) quite often. They don't bother me but I wouldn't like one to jump out of my bin I must say!

dmo · 15/07/2006 21:38

OMG i would be sick
babysat 2 rats last week for a neighbour while she was on hols they were ok but wild rats full of germs i would so move house

Beauregard · 15/07/2006 21:40

Well where we live our Tescos is situated next to a river where there is lots of lovely families of ducks and many people stop with the children and feed them and the pigeons.
We were putting our shopping in our boot one time and i saw something move in front of us so i looked up to see the biggest rat ever killing and dragging a pigeon about before eating it
I told a member of staff about it and he said "oh was it the big un ? yeah they av a go at the ducks an all!"

nikkie · 15/07/2006 21:52

Urgh!
I was ready to move house over finding a mouse but a RAT , I'd be out of there!

Original poster
earlgrey · 15/07/2006 21:53

Blimey - that's got to be it - I thought shoving our ageing dog into the garden for some sunshine might scare them off, Jazzi!!!!

As for them eating a pigeon ... words fail me.

Gives a new, thriving environment for Avian flu -not that I was ever particularly bothered about that. The private firm are coming on Monday, too, now!! No matter what the bloomin' cost...

OP posts:
Mirage · 15/07/2006 21:57

We get rats in our outbuildings,but live in the sticks,so expect it really.I used to do the washing up & look out of the window to see them scuttling about the yard a few feet away in broad daylight.I used to chase them with a spade to try & kill them,but they are faster than me.I resorted to poison in the end.

We had a mouse in our bedroom a few weeks back.DH & I were chasing it around trying to catch it at 12.40am,not fun!

Original poster
earlgrey · 15/07/2006 22:04

Good grief, Mirage, you sound like a Cyberman!! Fancy a holiday in Oxford while we're away!!

OP posts:
Mirage · 15/07/2006 22:30

Perhaps I should retrain as a pest controller earlgrey.

It was probably the sight of an enraged woman wearing a dressing gown & wielding a spade whilst running up the garden that scared our rats off & nothing to do with the poison.

Original poster
earlgrey · 17/07/2006 12:21

Well, one came round this morning and showed me where it had nibbled a nice little hole in our dustbin. Apparently galvanised metal ones are the only rat proof ones.

OP posts:
Jazzi · 17/07/2006 12:23

earlgrey - spotted 2 rats this morning when out walking the dog - I am getting paranoid now, will have to stop reading this thread!!

anorak · 17/07/2006 12:43

I have mice nesting in my garden and I battered one to death this morning. It put me in a horrible mood having to be so brutal

HenniPenni · 17/07/2006 13:30

We had a big one recently helping it's self to the contents of our compost bin, needless to say it was introduced to the contents of rat poison fairly quickly.

TinyGang · 17/07/2006 13:46

Ugh Earlgrey that would've sent me shrieking down the street. Horrible horrible. And I thought maggots writhing about in my bin was hideous enough

I am starting to think that most of the in my garden are mostly awful and waging a campaign of attack on the house to drive me insane.

Why can't they all just STAY AWAY FROM ME and I promise I won't bother them.

Flies
Wasps and bees
Spiders
Squirrel (in our loft)
Maggots
Moths
Mosquitos
Pigeons
Foxes

I am sick of the lot of 'em!

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