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Original poster

Neighbour pestering us about rats

50 replies

itcouldhave · 08/08/2021 22:20

One of our neighbours has become convinced that we have a rat nest in our garden and keeps hassling us about getting pest control in.

She says she saw a rat in our garden a couple of weeks ago. This is possible - we are in a semi rural area and many houses on our street have decking or outbuildings. Both neighbours either side of us have decking (including the complainer) and the other side had a rat problem a few years ago as they were storing pet food in a shed on their decking.

I’ve told her we don’t have rats nesting in the garden - there is nowhere for them to nest - but she won’t have it and keeps messaging asking when we are having pest control in claiming it’s making her garden a no go area. We have not seen any rats in our garden, no sign of them and no droppings or holes.

I’ve already politely suggested that they’re more likely to be under her decking, especially as her bloody dog is out there every morning and evening yapping and hunting around her decking. At most, they’re using our garden as a thoroughfare because there is nowhere to nest and nothing to eat.

I’ve looked at pest control companies, and the majority of them seem to indicate there’s nothing that can be done in a garden apart from putting bait boxes down. We tried that and the bait was never touched.

What can I suggest to her (apart from telling her to fuck off) to get her to start looking at her own garden and/or that of the people the other side of us rather than hassling just us?

OP posts:

30degreesandmeltinghere · 08/08/2021 22:36

Block her number
.

Panickingpavlova · 08/08/2021 22:37

Have you actually looked properly?
Looked for signs?
We have joined Gardens and next door had a rats nest, we put poison down it takes a good few weeks for the rats to go for it. They hate new things they need old boxes.. And you need to wait.

Did you wait and have old bait boxes down?
It might be worth a collective action from all the neighbours.
I rang around and found a great guy, who charges much less than other companies and he tops us up every few months.

Heronwatcher · 08/08/2021 22:56

Maybe tell her you have a friend who is a rat-catcher expert and he has 100% certified that there are no rats in your garden? Or just ignore her. Or spam her with telephone numbers for the pied piper….

FreeBritnee · 08/08/2021 23:01

Just tell her to fuck off. Honestly neighbours are such massive PITAs.

LittleFroggie · 08/08/2021 23:05

She’ll have to put bait in her own garden if she has an issue with rats. Just repeat “sorry we don’t have any issues with rats here, if you do then maybe you should call someone round to your house”.

MorriseysGladioli · 08/08/2021 23:07

I suppose you could hire the rat catcher, then ask him to go and explain to her that the rats are probably from her property.

Deadringer · 08/08/2021 23:10

@LittleFroggie

100% this

mumwon · 08/08/2021 23:32

if they are seed baits rats don't like it - we used the green circle solid thing but you could try peanut butter with the seed they apparently like this
(our dear neighbour kept a pot belly pig as a pet - either they didn't clean its poo or the bedding or its foodstuff- they moved - so did the rats)

SynchroSwimmer · 08/08/2021 23:50

Rather than engage a pest controller - suggest she gets one of these which I used with success
(Have to be checked visually every day though)

HirplesWithHaggis · 09/08/2021 00:07

And then do what with the captured, live rat? It's illegal to release vermin.

memberofthewedding · 09/08/2021 02:36

Just tell her to fuck off. Honestly neighbours are such massive PITAs.

Am amazed at people here who have given their phone number to neighbours!

Mine once asked for my number. I told her that my number was for family and close friends and not random people.

"But I'm your neighbour!"

"No your a random person who happens to live next door"

She still doesn't have my number and I don't open the door to people without appointments.

Rainbows89 · 09/08/2021 02:48

We had this. It was really annoying.

We had not seen any rats on our side. They however were doing big garden renovations so it was highly likely that that was causing the disruption.

Nat6999 · 09/08/2021 02:58

They will be using your garden as a run through. Rats like places like under decking, sheds, long grass, they don't like open spaces. If they are anything like other rodents they run next to walls or under things. I know this because when we have had an escaped hamster we have watched them head straight for the perimeter of a room & always follow the walls, rodents have very poor eyesight. They also don't like change so if you regularly move things around they hate it & move on.

Silkiecats · 09/08/2021 03:28

I would just repeat sorry not problems with rats here. If you have a problem with rats maybe you should get pest control in, if they need to look in our garden that's fine (if that's OK with you).

Wombatstew · 09/08/2021 03:42

@HirplesWithHaggis

And then do what with the captured, live rat? It's illegal to release vermin.

I think you’re supposed to submerge it in a bucket of water…..

SirYawnsAlot · 09/08/2021 03:43

Buy a trap and put it in your garden and say "pest control have been, you must have been out when they came. He said it's likely they are coming from your garden. By the way the bill is X amount. How do you want to pay it?"

ThePoint678 · 09/08/2021 04:22

I would have a good look around and be certain you don’t have an issue then tell her you’ve contacted them and you’ll deal with it and you suggest she does similar for her own property. Then if she follows up restate that you’ve dealt with it and she should get someone in to check her place, and repeat. And repeat. And repeats.

Original poster

itcouldhave · 09/08/2021 08:43

Thanks for the replies.

I'm pretty much certain we don't have a problem and our garden is an occasional thoroughfare. I'm definitely not down with getting pest control out then asking NDN for money as she will most likely refuse. We did have old bait boxes as we had the same advice from someone else about it! DH baited them with solid blocks and left them for a few weeks before checking. The blocks weren't touched at all. We've also made sure there isn't a lot of plant growth along the boundaries so I think we've done as much as we can do.

I'll just continue to tell her that we don't have a problem and if she wants pest control out then she's welcome to call them herself. It's just aggravating because she's like a stuck record over it.

OP posts:

MrsSkylerWhite · 09/08/2021 08:45

Decking is an absolute magnate for rats. I’d ask her when she is going to get pest control in to check hers out.

DinosaurDiana · 09/08/2021 08:45

I’d suggest she pays for pest control to look at her garden, and that you’d be happy for them to look in yours if they need to.

Saucery · 09/08/2021 08:51

We have a neighbour like this. She has paved her entire back garden and built a raised shed thing on it, so lots of nice shady decking for rats to live under.
I know how distressing a rat problem can be, but now we have switched to the Broken Record tactic if she ambushes us with her You can call the Council you know, they will come out and put poison down.
We just say we are not having poison downed we have a dog , we don’t feed the birds any more and regularly move pots around etc to disrupt any potential settling. And repeat and repeat.

Saucery · 09/08/2021 08:54

She also got the entire row of houses issued with an official letter from the council forbidding any of us from feeding birds and saying old furniture like sofas etc can attract rats, which is when my patience ran out. None of us are Clampetts with old furniture in our gardens so she can cock off, frankly.

PaulGallico · 09/08/2021 09:27

This is the DIY/Property thread - not Aibu (should I be angry with my neighbour because..).
You have a rat problem - those rats are not just running through your garden into next door, they will more than likely find entry points into your house as well as your neighbours house. The problem will only get worse. You need to address the problem together.

Whammyyammy · 09/08/2021 09:33

Reply: fuck off
Block
Sit back and relax

SoupDragon · 09/08/2021 09:37

Say you've checked your garden and found nothing but did see a rat go under their decking.

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