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?
Welcome to the forum
I have one lone brown rat who has been with us now since the summer. He comes out in daylight but is nervous and scuttles off at the least movement. I mentioned on another thread that I read somewhere that lone brown rats who appear during the day are probably ones that have been turfed out of the extended family nest by a dominant relative. These tend to remain as loners. I have never seen more than one at once, and I am hoping he is one of these loners. He doesn't bother me at all, as long as he is a loner and we don't get an infestation.
I had suspicious baby rat prints in the snow across my front garden this morning :-I It had come across the street from the drain.
If I find a hole I put the poison down it & put a huge rock on top so nothing else can get to the poison. I then put poison down it for several days & keep it covered. When signs of activity have gone e.g. tracks, I cement the hole up. This does deter them & prevent others from using the hole.
Susan H said: Welcome to the forum I have one lone brown rat who has been with us now since the summer. He comes out in daylight but is nervous and scuttles off at the least movement. I mentioned on another thread that I read somewhere that lone brown rats who appear during the day are probably ones that have been turfed out of the extended family nest by a dominant relative. These tend to remain as loners. I have never seen more than one at once, and I am hoping he is one of these loners. He doesn't bother me at all, as long as he is a loner and we don't get an infestation.
That's interesting Sparrow! I had what appeared to be a lone rat for some time! I never saw more than one and after a while it disappeared (not such if neighbours cats or natural causes) but it certainly never caused me any problems! I know I have plenty of mice in my garden though! A few weeks ago I had some fencing repaired and the chap that did it had a gorgeous little Jack Russell who thought my garden was heaven! Don't think she actually caught any though!! They've never caused me any probs either so I let them be...
I have at least two rat's in my garden! I was watching them today. How can I get rid of them?! I dont want to hurt them.
Hi Marjus,
Mine disappears for a couple of weeks or more, then comes back again. I also have plenty of little mice, although they look huge through binoculars! They live under our decking patio. I think they are just little field mice, and not doing any harm at all. They are all part of our garden wildlife, including Ratty Roland. I'm glad the little Jack Russell guest didn't catch any! Our dogs know about Roland and hunt him, but they are too big to get under the shed!
Hi there Darwin 51...
Was reading your post and although I'm new to all this really, I wanted to say my feeding station is almost identical to the one you're thinking of getting. I've found that only the tits and nuthatches use it really. It was a waste of money really. A big disappointment in my experience. One hanging feeder is the main bit used. And nothing with a baffle gets used in my garden, the birds simply avoid them. They seem reluctant to risk going into the caged area and can't reach with their beaks. Blackbirds and pigeons etc fly into the wire dish on the feeding station and eat all the food there (one at a time) and my robins and chaffinches don't like the feeding station much- the robins can't perch well on the feeders and don't get the opportunity to use the wire dish, while the chaffinches seem too nervous full stop. I've got a bird table (about 1.5m tall), which is used b y the blackbirds and anyone else who can get to it. I've found a hanging lantern feeder which has got a small tray'dish around the edge is used by all little birds since there's a flat surface for them to perch on, but it's too 'dangly' and small for the blackbirds or pigeons, starlings etc. So I think a low bird table and hanging feeders, one with a flat lip kind of thing that robins etc can stand on fully, will feed all, and you could avoid ground feeders altogether. Obviously, some ground feeding birds may miss out but if you want to stop the rat and still provide accessible food I think it might work. However, can't rats climb? If so will they get up a bird table?
I find that whatever type of feeding station, bird table, or style of feeders you use, all birds will spill food on the ground, especially if you have starlings. If you have a rat nearby, he will eat the fallen seed, and there is nothing you can do about it unless you clean up all the fallen seed every day, without fail.
Yes, rats climb. You could grease the poles, and some people do this, but it is a lot of bother. Wooden supports and poles are the easiest for rats to climb.
Beware of the methods the Council Pest Controllers use - some use poison, which is awful and put all sorts of other animals at risk, including birds, dogs, cats. The rats don't die immediately, and scuttle off somewhere, weakened and ill. This is when dogs and cats can catch them, then they also get poisoned. I have also seen one on a TV programme take a live rat by the tail, drop it on the ground and stamp on it.
NEVER use chilli powder in the garden. Imagine the agony for any wild creature that gets chilli in their eye.
We have catnip Alan and it works a treat - 4 large catnip plants in the garden - spread around. Over 12 bird feeders and you should see the mess that our birdies leave behind, particularly the doves and the starlings. 4 bird feeders for song birds hung from the cherry tree, another four from different bushes, three squirrel feeders around, 6 bird feeders from the house and another 6 bird feeders (including trays) in the bird feeding station. We get some field mice activity but NO RATS. And we have the cats loving the plants (I cut off branches and bring them in for them).
We are generally in favour of a more 'organic' approach to control. For instance: http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8383745_herbs-plants-repel-rats.html. From the list cited there we have oregano (4 large plants), mint, wild garlic, lavender, daffodils and marigolds. All these repel the rats (I am sure it's no co-incidence there are none in our garden with all the food lying around) but I doubt they will be effective against a serious infestation.