Well, this is getting worrying now, coz I saw one in broad daylight this morning Little blighter was happily sitting in the hedge behind the bird feeders chewing away at something, so I opened the window, the birds stayed there but he scarpered (sp?) I then notice this new big hole which wasn't there yesterday and THEN I caught Georgie sniffing around there, he'd sneaked through the side gate from the front garden, so he got told off, poor lad he didn't know what he'd done wrong, but I'm terrified he could catch something from their urine? Don't they catch lepto from rat's urine????? I'm sure they do, so I must keep him well away, he's not jabbed due to his other problems at the moment.

This might be war now that I've seen him in daylight, cheeky little begger!!! How very dare he!!!! LOl!

We live next to woodland and have a constant problem with rats, we get the council (we're privately owned) to come out and put rat poison down under the log cabin and summerhouse, they then disappear for a while, but it's time to give the ratman another call as we saw 3 running down the garden path this morning. The trouble is living next to the woods, we're never going to be free of them. It's worse in the summer as they come uninvited to our BBQ's!!!

I couldn't wait for the council man to come, he'd take 6 weeks to get here!!! I use a little man I've used for years who I know from when I had the horse, he used to come to all the stables that I kept the horse at over the years! I trust him explicitly too with my dogs around, and he never wants any money which is also a bonus!!! I have to "push" the money at him, he just won't take it normally!!! How good's he then!!!

I know I've got to expect it living in the countryside, but perlease, not in my back yard hey!!!!!

Apparently if rats are seen close to your doors they have to come out same day, so they've always been quick to get here.

He always leaves us a sheet with instructions on what the poison is, just in case, doG forbid, the dogs ever get hold of it.

Yes, but can you imagine how many people are seeing them "close to their doors" at the moment, and in turn that still means I will wait far too long for them to fit me in! I know this from my neighbours a while ago, they said it was quite laughable when they phoned the council, so I just use this private chap. He always used big locked boxes too, so there's no way Georgie could get hold of any of it. Having said that of course, the rats keep it in their pouches at the sides of their mouths and probably drop it around, and that's what worries me about letting Georgie anywhere near the side of the house where they seem to have settled in nicely! If I had Cassie around, I would be even more paranoid coz she ate some once from some bait, so that just makes me doubly aware of the situation which is a very good thing I suppose. They have to GO and the sooner the better.

Trixybird has just popped round, and she was chatting to a man she knows who deals with rats today, and he said he has never, ever known a situation like we have at the moment, all due to the wet summer and now the cold, they want to move indoors!!! NOt here they won't!!!!

Near us is the quarry which supplied the stone for this house and the others in the area. Nowadays, a local farmer dumps dead carcasses in it, so it hoaches with mega-rats. These rats even killed a pair of ferrets! We used to see the occasional rat in the garden, but we haven't seen a live rat since Kali came to live with us! I don't think either he or Snorri has caught a "mousie" in the garden, but the rats don't know that, and they tend to steer clear. Possibly because of his farmyard origins, Kali hates rats with a passion and has done in a few when we've been out walking. Snorri is not quite as effective, as he is scared of things that move (even runs away from beetles) - hey, they might be dangerous! (But the rats don't know that, either)

Nevertheless, I keep a loaded air pistol in the porch, ready to deal out rat death if the opportunity presents itself!
("This is a rat writ, writ for a rat.........)(John Wayne, "True Grit")

Snorri

Lol at you Snorri!!!! Right then. Short of beg, stealing or borrowing your Kali for a short while, it looks like a shotgun might be in order - would an air rifle do the same job??? A chap up the road who had them a while back sat in his conservatory taking pot shots and got the lot in one morning, again all around the bird feeders I can see it now, me leaning over the kitchen sink, window wide open, shotgun cocked, ready to take aim, bang! Helen end's up blasted backwards against kitchen wall with the backlash of the 12-bore! Lol! I can just see it, then to finish me off, Georgie could come and lick me to death whilst lying in a heap on the floor hey??!!! NOw I ask again, would an air rifle work then please????

Air rifle would be fine (.22 is best)! Some of the local lads had a rathunt the other night, and bagged a total of 276! Mind you, they go to enormous lengths - infra-red sights, laser sights, the lot! I keep a .22 air rifle in the house, too, but it was a cheapo Chinese job and it isn't very accurate, even when clamped in place - and I don't have any wierd sights, just a small telescopic job, but the gun recoil keeps knocking it off

Snorri

(Border Collie is still more effective, and environmentally-friendly) :smt001

I bet he is! Can you ask him for me then please Snorri?? He wouldn't have to stay long Mind you, I know how much he loves his home comforts and that great log fire of yours, so I doubt he'll oblige! I'll get on the case for one of those .22 rifles then, I'm a blooming good shot too!! and I'm gonna enjoy this!!!

Well - no... I love pet rats - but they are a very different beasty - wild rats do cause a lot of damage, and are not nice to have around. We had a terrier at the farm for just that purpose

I was just going to come on and make another little speech about glue traps and poison. Just for those who are ever in the position where they need to be ridded of wee beasties, don't ever use either of these methods. Poison is cruel to one or two rats, and doesn't work anyway for an infestation... and glue traps are just unbearably cruel. We are working on getting them banned, they really are evil.

xx