Rats! Where am I going wrong?

[2sugarsagain]

It seems we can't get rid of them at all from our garden. The council come, put some bait down, we occasionally see one on its way out or > our S spaniel gets hold of a dying one .... then a month or so later we're back to square one. The rat man comes back, the bait gets taken, we're on another roll.

We did get a rabbit and guinea pig back in the summer, but TBH the rat problem was just as bad before we had them (we've been her 10 yrs).

We do live next to a church which has allotments attached to it - H reckons they're the most expensive carrots in North Oxford! Do you think, given the allotments are what's between us and the church - I should have a word with Fr McNab?

It's sooooooo horrible - the other night the girls had the rabbit and guinea pig in the lounge, and I saw a rat nosing outside the hutches - even though they're on a stand! We live on a main road - in fact one of the major routes into the city - and, well, I just thought they preferred rural areas - or am I sadly misguided?

What can I do?

It would be interesting to know if the allotment owners are aware of rats eating their produce because then you might be able to work together on it. Definitely talk to the priest - it's a real public health issue. I really really sympathise and am so glad I now live in a flat!!

OMG I'VE JUST SEEN ONE!!!! IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!!!

Running to where the wheelie bins are, through the hole in the wall, into the garden, up on the rabbit hutch stand with a whacking great lump of green poison from the poison box by the bins. He did this three times while I was watching!!!!

Must keep an eye on our dog running towards the kitchen door, tail wagging with a present for us.

I actually feel quite It did look quite sweet, although shockingly healthy.

Janni, our next door neighbours have an allotment on that site. When I ask them (and, indeed, the council rat man about them) they just shrug their shoulders and say 'they're everywhere'. Yeah, but obviously not in your garden!

Oh you POOR thing. I absolutely loathe rats. It's really unacceptable to just have the attitude that 'they're everywhere'. Kick up the biggest stink you can to anyone who will listen and do something.

Okay, rats need food and shelter. Take away either and they leave. The poison is a good start but it needs to be EXTREME - many rats are now immune to the generic poisons used by the council exterminators. Try and encourage your dog not to pick up their contaminated corpses either, however much satisfaction it gives you to see a dead rat.

Perhaps you need to remove the rabbit and guinea pig for a few weeks while you blitz the area and ask the council to do another trapping/poisoning sweep.

If they are coming in after the rabbit food you see you will never get rid of the little blighters.

Also talk to the vicar, explain the public health problem and ask if they will allow the council to inspect the land - chances are he's not aware of the problem. Also check out your bins - are they sealed? Rats can sometimes eat holes in wheelie bins so they have a constant supply of food.

Thanks everyone. WMMC, the rat man checked the shed and the garage but saw no evidence of them occupying either - even though we keep the fish food in the shed. We keep the rabbit/gp food indoors, although it has to be said its near impossible to stop bits of straw falling to the floor when dds get/clean them out.

I will have a word with Fr John but since he did a major overhaul of the allotments in the summer, with tree felling included, I think he'll just fall back on that and say he's already done it. Do you mean they are coming to the hutch after the smell of the food, since there's no way they'd get into the hutches.

Seeing our springer with a dead rat in it's mouth just sends me into orbit and on to the 'phone to our neighbour to extract it!

We did use a private contractor for a while - but he was £80 a shot and they still came back ....

Yes, if they know food is in there they may well be gnawing the back trying to get in. We had rats for a while and they attacked cans of catfood in the she - FFS CANS! They ate all the labels and actually did some damage to the cans. I was impressed!

Ours came up through a tiny gap next to the water pipes! If you can get a biro through a rat can get through apparently. Once we'd found the source we blocked it with expandable foam filler and bits of glass - apparently the little buggers get put off when they chew shards of glass.

I hope you get it sorted, it always made me feel unclean to have them around, even in the garden.