On Sun, 25 Jan 2009, Spider wrote

"Amateur Gardener" wrote in message
...
I've just become aware of rats running up the bird table to get
the bread. The rats seem to live under the shed.

I've put down poison bait on tobacco tin lids under the shed,
and this gets taken, but so do the tin lids!

The rats ignore the spring traps and the squirrel trap (big square
wire frame)

How do I get rid of them and also know that I've got rid of them?

They're only 10 foot from the kitchen door which I now keep
resolutely closed.



If you only put bread on the bird table and not the ground, try using a
squirrel baffle (large plastic dome used umbrella-like on the leg of the
bird table) to stop the rats reaching the table surface. If you don't want
to buy one of these, a large tin lid usually does the same job. However, if
pigeons feed at the table, their messy eating habits will scatter food on
the ground anyway, which will still attract the rats.

The only remaining options are to a) stop putting out bread for the birds
:~( or b) to call in the council rat operative, who will probably tell you
to stop putting out bread anyway :~(

Also, there is a kind of pepper which you can buy to dust on bird food.
Squirrels can't stand it, but birds are still able to eat the food. Only
guessing, but since a squirrel is essentially a rat, it may deter rats too.
Alas, I can't remember the name .. it may be cayenne or paprika .. or
something else. Hopefully, someone else here will know ... or you could
google for the RSPB site.


No rats at our bird tray (on kitchen balcony) but a pesky squirrel who
is *completely* undeterred by cayenne pepper. Probably brought up on
takeaway vindaloo, this being Lewisham.....


--
Kate B

PS 'elvira' is spamtrapped - please reply to 'elviraspam' at cockaigne dot org dot uk if you
want to reply personally

Amateur Gardener wrote:
I've just become aware of rats running up the bird table to get
the bread. The rats seem to live under the shed.

I've put down poison bait on tobacco tin lids under the shed,
and this gets taken, but so do the tin lids!

The rats ignore the spring traps and the squirrel trap (big square
wire frame)

How do I get rid of them and also know that I've got rid of them?

They're only 10 foot from the kitchen door which I now keep
resolutely closed.


The best, safest and most legal way of dealing with rats around your
bird-feeders is to emplace a properly secured and filled rodent bait box
close to your bird feeding points. The kind that local authority pest
controllers use is very easily obtainable at any agricultural retailer
(like Countrywide Stores - ex West Midlands Farmers plc). Shouldn't cost
more than about £15 - £20 and you might be able to get one for nominal
cost from your local authority pest controller (Rat Control is a FREE
service). Fill the box, as instructed, with bait blocks, rather than
granular bat. This way there is much less chance of leaking out and
poisoning any other creatures. The method is very, very effective. The
rats simply disappear from your life. They wandered off and die lonely
and, probably painful deaths; you almost never actually find any of the
stiffs. You will probably do in any other small rodents in your garden
as well; but not squirrels or hedgehogs.

Hope this helps

rL

On 25 Jan, 14:00, "Amateur Gardener"
wrote:

How do I get rid of them and also know that I've got rid of them?

Get a Jack Russel Terrier, or if you can't bring yourself to own one
get someone else's.

On 25 Jan, 14:00, "Amateur Gardener"
wrote:
I've just become aware of rats running up the bird table to get
the bread. The rats seem to live under the shed.

I've put down poison bait on tobacco tin lids under the shed,
and this gets taken, but so do the tin lids!

The rats ignore the spring traps and the squirrel trap (big square
wire frame)

How do I get rid of them and also know that I've got rid of them?

They're only 10 foot from the kitchen door which I now keep
resolutely closed.

When we lived in Norfolk, we had big problems with rats. We tried
everything including shooting them. However, in the end we called in
the Pest Control people who put down bait in special pipes. They came
back and picked up bodies and rebaited until the bait was left and
there were no bodies, it worked. We actually had them in the attics
and they aused huge damage to wiring nd lagging of water pipes, again
the Pest Control man sorted it. He told me I was partly responsible
for the problem!!!! We lived surrounded by open farmland and had a
garden with lines of fruit trees. The ground was littered with fallen
fruit, I should have disposed of it.

In France where we now live, next to a farm, I often see vermin but
thankfully the house is clear although there is evidence of them in
the barns. I now keep bait down in a pipe and my husband disposes of
any 'bodies'

Judith

On 26/1/09 10:08, in article
,
"bobharvey" wrote:

On 25 Jan, 14:00, "Amateur Gardener"
wrote:

How do I get rid of them and also know that I've got rid of them?

Get a Jack Russel Terrier, or if you can't bring yourself to own one
get someone else's.

We have JR Terrier's but we still use a company called Baroque which sends
someone along regularly during the 'rat season' to put down bait in safe
boxes.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

On 26 Jan, 11:45, Martin wrote:
On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:12:19 -0800 (PST), Judith in France

wrote:
In France where we now live, next to a farm, I often see vermin but
thankfully the house is clear although there is evidence of them in
the barns. *I now keep bait down in a pipe and my husband disposes of
any 'bodies'

You survived the gales too!
--

Martin

We did but some trees didn't such devatsation and we only got the tail
end of it. I'm in London now and the sun is shining, the shops are
calling and I want to buy some seeds to take back.

Judith

The message
from "graham" contains these words:

Can you see the hole? If so, connect a hose pipe to your car exhaust (or
petrol mower exhaust) and stick the other end down the rathole and run your
car engine for 20 minutes or so. Prairie farmers do this to get rid of
gophers and ground squirrels.

Rats tend to be brighter than gophers or ground sqrls.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 26 Jan, 15:05, Martin wrote:
On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:34:56 -0800 (PST), Judith in France





wrote:
On 26 Jan, 11:45, Martin wrote:
On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:12:19 -0800 (PST), Judith in France

wrote:
In France where we now live, next to a farm, I often see vermin but
thankfully the house is clear although there is evidence of them in
the barns. *I now keep bait down in a pipe and my husband disposes of
any 'bodies'

You survived the gales too!
--

Martin

We did but some trees didn't such devatsation and we only got the tail
end of it. *I'm in London now and the sun is shining, the shops are
calling and I want to buy some seeds to take back.

Don't buy any of those packets that only contain 3 cucumber seeds!
It's cheaper to buy the French packets that are empty.
--

Martin- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

LOL I think I bought my seeds last year in Gamn Verte or soemthing
like that, anyway out of about 30 packets, I think 3 were totally
empty, no foil inside, nothing!

Judith

In article ,
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from "graham" contains these words:

Can you see the hole? If so, connect a hose pipe to your car exhaust (or
petrol mower exhaust) and stick the other end down the rathole and run your
car engine for 20 minutes or so. Prairie farmers do this to get rid of
gophers and ground squirrels.

Rats tend to be brighter than gophers or ground sqrls.

A general rule for Old World versus New World animals!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...
The message
from "graham" contains these words:

Can you see the hole? If so, connect a hose pipe to your car exhaust (or
petrol mower exhaust) and stick the other end down the rathole and run
your
car engine for 20 minutes or so. Prairie farmers do this to get rid of
gophers and ground squirrels.

Rats tend to be brighter than gophers or ground sqrls.

Dont knock it until you've tried it!
Graham

The message
from "graham" contains these words:
"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...
The message
from "graham" contains these words:

Can you see the hole? If so, connect a hose pipe to your car exhaust (or
petrol mower exhaust) and stick the other end down the rathole and run
your
car engine for 20 minutes or so. Prairie farmers do this to get rid of
gophers and ground squirrels.

Rats tend to be brighter than gophers or ground sqrls.

Dont knock it until you've tried it!

Why not? Any rat worth its salt would be out of a hole you don't know
about and away the moment it got a whiff of it.

I've been killing rats (on and off) for fifty years or more, so I think
I have a good idea of their modus operandi.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from Martin contains these words:
On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:53:17 GMT, Rusty_Hinge

wrote:
The message
from "graham" contains these words:
"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...
The message
from "graham" contains these words:

Can you see the hole? If so, connect a hose pipe to your car
exhaust (or
petrol mower exhaust) and stick the other end down the rathole
and run
your
car engine for 20 minutes or so. Prairie farmers do this to get
rid of
gophers and ground squirrels.

Rats tend to be brighter than gophers or ground sqrls.

Dont knock it until you've tried it!

Why not? Any rat worth its salt would be out of a hole you don't know
about and away the moment it got a whiff of it.

I've been killing rats (on and off) for fifty years or more, so I think
I have a good idea of their modus operandi.

Starting to wonder if they are winning? )

Well, when you see one sitting up and cleaning its whiskers it looks
very winning. When it gets into your commestibles, it seems less so...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 27 Jan, 00:53, Rusty_Hinge
wrote:

I've been killing rats (on and off) for fifty years or more, so I think
I have a good idea of their modus operandi.

Blimey. It only took 6 years to polish off Hitler.

On Jan 28, 6:22*am, bobharvey wrote:
On 27 Jan, 00:53, Rusty_Hinge
wrote:

I've been killing rats (on and off) for fifty years or more, so I think
I have a good idea of their modus operandi.

Blimey. *It only took 6 years to polish off Hitler.

How long would it have taken had there been millions of him?
Remember that reassuring adage "You are never more than ten yards from
a rat!"

The message
from bobharvey contains these words:
On 27 Jan, 00:53, Rusty_Hinge
wrote:

I've been killing rats (on and off) for fifty years or more, so I think
I have a good idea of their modus operandi.

Blimey. It only took 6 years to polish off Hitler.

Well, six years or so of antiblitzkreig - he was undermining Yurp and
gnawing holes in the fabric of society a lot longer than that.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig