Mr Ratty.. why now?

Hi there!  

I'm a newbie but followed RSPB for many years now.  

Wonder if anyone has rats in the garden problem?  First saw one earlier this year though I thought it was a mouse - yes, seen a couple of those in the garden too, but this was much bigger and swinging on the bird feeder (the squirrel proof ones where they can nicely sit on the shelf inside and feed to their heart's content!)  So.. took that feeder in and now have the normal wire bird peanut feeders instead.  I now take them all in at night.

In our utlity room tonight, I noticed a long set of jagged bite marks on the closure of our very hard plastic bin containers where I store the peanuts.. quite a sizeable chunk of the plastic had been 'sawn' away but strangely, no sign of any bits of the missing plastic.  No droppings.. nothing.  I'm convinced it's the rat but no trace.  Admittedly, I do keep my utility room windows open as I put the tumbler hose out of the window but now I've had to close both windows.  

We have a black compost bin from Wilkos that's been in the garden for the past 5 years and emptied out each year and never seen anything in there.  As far as I have know, there are no holes.  YET!

I've been feeding birds every day since we've been here and never had a problem.  Why now?   What else can do I to deter ratty?

Thanks,

Feli

  • Surprisingly we don't appear to have a rat problem.

    I say surprisingly, because two doors away I don't think the house occupant has ever attempted to look after their garden, in the 20+ years we've been here.

    However, rats are never far away, it's how prominent they are and what damage is being caused as a result.

    All bird food is stored in metal containers here, not plastic, which could be one of many reasons why you're seeing rats and the associated teeth marks, they know where the food is and how easy it is to get to.

    They  are intelligent creatures and will find a way to the food.

    It might be wise to consider getting some sort of rodent control in place before the damage extends to power cables and other vital services.