Should I be worried about visiting rats?

Hi Sue,   we get asked a lot about what to do with the presence of rats.     Suggestions are to add those seed catcher trays to the bottom of your feeders and you can add a baffle dome to your feeding post which will prevent the rat/s reaching the feeders.     If you have more than a single rat I would suggest you stop feeding for a couple of weeks or so as they will then disperse.   Also a good idea to move feeding station around every 2 or three months so there is no large build up of fallen seed beneath and I would dig over the ground now and again,  even if it is grass, you can just reseed the area in springtime.     Most folk that feed birds on a regular basis may encounter unwanted vermin so I'd give it a couple of weeks, move the feeding station and try keep the ground beneath as clean as possible as fallen seed will attract them.   The baffle dome will prevent them from reaching the feeders.     Here's a baffle dome fitted to show you how it looks;  I had to use them because we had a lot of grey squirrels and the baffle prevented them from reaching the food and will work the same for rats.

Thanks so much!

Hi - I have rats in my garden all the time but they stay at the bottom of the garden where my feeders are and they never bother me. In the past, If they have become a nuisance I have simply trapped them with a humane trap and relocated them into the countryside away from houses. We can't choose what wildlife comes into our gardens and they all need to survive, I would never suggest poisoning them as other animals feed on them, I have foxes dens where I live and love seeing the fox cubs frolicking in the sun. I couldn't hurt an animal, not even a rat and I'm sure we can all live happily together but it cuts both ways. If they do become a nuisance, a humane trap and relocation is a good choice.

I totally agree Joanne. I'm just looking up humane traps on amazon as we speak, but even then I feel guilty about moving them. They were here before I was. I guess I was just a bit worried about disease spreading to my dogs and cats.

I have dogs and although I try my best to keep them away from the feeding corner they do go around that area but have never been ill. Be careful with the traps, mine is really old and I had a rat escape through the bars a few weeks ago, I think the new ones are better - they are a bit like crab pots now. I have one like this www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=sr_1_10 but the new ones look like a much better design www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=sr_1_12

I tried the Big Cheese one and put out a trail cam to monitor the trap. The rat could stretch far enough to reach the food without triggering the catcher so I ended up throwing the trap away. Doesn't work for mice either as they can get through the mesh !

They are designed so mice get through the bars - I had 5 mice in it one day all eating the bait. I've also trapped a hedgehog and a blackbird and probably about doz rats and only had one escape.

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I see you have managed to attach the photo, well done.   Here is a link created by one of the members to adding photos including the change of default needed