RATS!

Can anyone give me the benefit of their wisdom as to how to have birdfeeders in the garden without attracting rats to scavenge the stuff that falls to the ground?

  • Well I suppose it is probably that time of year again - and rats are becoming more active.  We now have 4 rats visiting the garden - two from the gardens at each side - at least that is where they go when you shout at them!  I am pretty sure they are not nesting in our garden.  They do eat the bird food.  They climb up the feeding station pole, they like the fat balls which are in a sort of cage hanger - in fact they can get inside the hanger & sit there gorging themselves.  Feeders are in the open, not near enough to any shrub or tree to be used as a springboard.  The rats are out and about in daylight.  Elsewhere there was a post about plants that deter rats - & I shall try more of those, including garlic spray.  Daffodils were given as one example of a deterrent - the feeders are in grass which has many daffodils - doesnt seem to worry them.  Squirrels are supposed to chase of rats - no - we have both!  Am about to buy a squirrel baffle with the hope it will help against both.  I am also going to block up holes in the fence one side with crushed up wire netting, and also use some strong, stiff narrow gauge wire netting as a horizontal barrier in front of our fence on the other boundary, where they have been digging under.  (We keep filling it back up).  

    I shall just keep trying to make it difficult for them with the hope they will go else where.  I hate them!

  • I've not tried it myself but there is this on the market: www.amazon.co.uk/.../B005GKCFV6. Quite a number of similar products too but I would research the impact on other wildlife before purchasing - or just put it out at night for a week or so to make sure the rats are 'convinced' to look elsewhere for food for good.

    On the plant's side, peppermint, spearmint, sage, fur trees, hyacinths and oregano are good deterrents too.

    On the birds side, encourage owls and kestrels, they will have the time of their lives!

  • Please don't be concerned about having rats in your garden.
    Rats have been given a bad reputation, people claiming they are disease carriers and should not be around children, some have claimed salmonella, or even rabies.
    I haven't heard of any cases in this past couple of decades where it is official rats have caused an outbreak of disease amongst humans.
    Rats did not cause the black death, the plague in the 1500's this was a disease caused by humans throwing excrement and rotting food out of their doors into the street, also the town's people literally put dead people out into the street ready to be picked up by a horse and cart, the corpses would lay there for weeks on end. Also people back then burned all there unwanted rubbish and the town's were covered in black toxic smoke, the pollution was horrendous. Each of these factors caused the black plague.
    Rats are not a problem as far as I'm concerned however 99% of humans go out of there way to poison and kill any rat den that is found. Every animal is special and precious, may it be a fox or a rat and should be treated equally. Birds are rats with wings but you don't try and kill them. All our wildlife is desperate for food, it's in the animals nature to find the source of this. Feeding our desperate animals is what we should be doing as apposed to killing them. The rats are causing no harm and should be given food at first instance.
    Love Animals, Love Life!!!