Rats in Charlesland Wood

FirstIn

Folks,
Just an alert re rats in CW, I was enjoying breakfast the other day (scrambled eggs for anyone interested) when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a damn big rat walking across my decking with a lump of bone in its mouth, it looked like a small lamb chop!!

Closer examination of the decking showed that there has been some excavation work done by the rats at the edges where the decking meets the gravel and a rat run is obviously in place.

Now this surprises me as the place is full of cats, I would have thought that they would keep things under control. But while enjoying a pint with my friend Fat Tony who is knowledgeable on these matters he informed me that a cat will not tackle a rat, what one needs is a terrier type dog.

Anyways, someone pointed out we don't have many mice because of the number of cats we have but we certainly have rats and they are of a much greater concern, and while I am at it we also have damn all song birds because of the cats, but that is another debate!

Could people please ensure that their rubbish is kept in proper bins and take a close look at the corners where the decking meets the gravel to see if there is evidence of a rat run and then either trap or poison this spot.

NarkyBoots

Also make sure if you have a compost bin in your garden that there is absolutely no meat or cooked food in it. This also encourages rats.

Your friend is correct - it takes one bloody fit and healthy supercat to catch & kill a rat!

loyatemu

we'll send you over the yappy dog from the grove. If he kills the rat, you'll be happy. if the rat kills him, I'll be happy.

mikedragon32

One of my two cats is a fantastic mouser. He caught a rat last year and brought him (still breathing, but barely alive) into the house. Needless to say Wifey nearly died!

I was away for work, so she just left them to it and got her dad to clear up!

In general Fat Tony is correct wrt the terriers.

eleMental

ah loyatemu thats the best spontaneous laugh ive had in a while
Yipper the Rat Catcher - i love it.

matti

yeah that was a good one!


But now I am terrified! I have the biggest fear of anything smaller than a cat! Do you think I am safe in the Grove? It has taken me the guts of two years to go into my shed cos we got a mouse in there when we moved in first and left a bin bag in there (then we got a bin!). After two years of no 'evidence' I can just about put the rubbish out! Can you rat proof houses? I do have one of those pest control plug in things, but what if it doesn't work? Please let me know if anyone else sees them around...

Hammiepeters

FirstIn, Because the gardens in the estate are sparse enough, I would wager that the rat has a nest under your deck and you will have to put a trap or poison under there(or borrow a ferret). Otherwise you will get more rats in a short time.There are lots of rats in the stream adjacent to Burnaby Lawns, so its no surprise a few of them make their way over now and again.

The Yipper

eleMental wrote:

ah loyatemu thats the best spontaneous laugh ive had in a while
Yipper the Rat Catcher - i love it.

Laugh away...but rats scare the holy bejaysus outta me!

Make sure that if you do set traps, they're left baited but UNset for the first few days....give the little b@st@rds a chance to get used to them...then set on maximum kill setting with lots of chocolate

Maisy

There there Yipper, you can always hook up with my Teddy the Terrier and Yorkie Jack - they have been known to corner and catch a rat when out walking, for a little added amusement to the proceedings ....