How to stop attracting rats!!

Hi everyone! 

Does anyone have any tips on how I can stop attracting rats, well one rat. I’ve never seen this rat before until I started feeding my wild garden birds and I really do not want to stop feeding them but I also do not want to attract rats. The rat is unable to get up on the feeding stations but he his walking around the patio eating all the debris. Every evening I always tidy up my bird feeding station but this doesn’t seem to deter this rat from visiting my garden. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated! 

  • Ill say this now! Straight away if iv got rats i call post control out straight away. If Rats get into your home they can naw through plaster and also through electric cables and cause fires. I don't care what anyone else says! Rests can breed very fast and you could get overrun by rats very fast! It costs money! But that’s the only way!

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • I would suggest that you take down, wash, and put away all your feeders and do not feed for a few weeks. Clean up under the feeders, sweep and wash paths or paving or hoe over the ground. This is not cruel to do, the birds will fend for themselves and find other food sources for their young.if someone had an outbreakout of disease, this would be the advice to follow. No food out will hopefully deter ratty and he will move on.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

  • If you don’t take action quickly against Rats. There will worse problems ahead for you. The RSPB controls rats from time to time as welll.

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • Here is a link from the RSPB about Rats.

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • community.rspb.org.uk/.../celebrating-seabird-success-on-the-island-of-lundy-and-the-isles-of-scilly
    This blog from around 2021 is about how the RSPB with other organisations mananged get rid of rats on the Island of Lundy in the Isles of Scilly after a 15 years operation to clear Lundy of Rats and the seabirds on Lundy in 2021 where doing extremely well. Hope this link works. I also agreed 100% with what the RSPB with other UK conservation organisations to achieve this IAN mentioned in this blog from 2021 on the RSPB Community Forums. As I’ve mentioned many times I always take a pragmatic approach to Wildlife conservation and never get over sentimental as sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. If I sound harsh. I’m sorry! But at times when this has to be dome, I fully support the RSPB.

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • www.bbc.co.uk/.../uk-england-lancashire-31114916
    Article from BBC News website from around 2015 about having to cull Deer at Leighton Moss. Again a difficult decision that hadto be made and I’m afraid yet again I agreed with this decision at the time this was made.

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • www.theguardian.com/.../kill-them-the-volunteer-army-plotting-to-wipe-out-britains-grey-squirrels
    And this an archive article about all mainstream conservation organisations humanely culling Grey Squirrels. Up in my area of North East England it’s mainly the local county wildlife trust in charge of this. Sorry about me posting all of this. But I’m just showing as what I said is true and again as I’ve said deficult decision at times have to be made in Wildlife consevation and often saying all wildlife has to to live is not that simple as I know of some don’t want anything like this to happen. But in wildlife conservation management what I’ve posted about this is true!

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • Hi!
    We had a short rat problem in our close the winter before last, we are a very small new build close and back onto fields and rats were making homes in garages or any kind of shelter - one dug under our raised bed we think it was a pregnant female we managed to flood her out, and again I will repeat food is a no no for at least a month!! But change things around in your garden!! One garden in our close was welL cluttered with pots and compost bags and other items and the minute those things were moved/rearranged the rats seemed to leave - apparently they hate things changing and love areas with lots of cluttered sites for hiding - decks are also bad for rats!! Our old neighbours before we moved here had a great big family of them and I had to stop feeding birds in my garden because of them
    Hope this helps and good luck!!
  • The OP reported a singular, and (seemingly) specific, rat. Which piqued my interest.
  • @ItisaRobbo I'd appreciate you not bandying my name about as a mistake maker, thank you. I addressed my rat issue and no longer have said issue. If a magpie swooped down and ate a sick rat I am not in the least bit concerned. I work in the food industry and there are probably millions of rodents being poisoned in the same fashion up and down the country on the premises of factories similar to where I work.

    Get down off your high horse before you give yourself a nosebleed.