Neighbourhood rat problem and grumpy neighbour

[Saie609]

Here is a great mouse trap :

...Very easy to make!

Thank you for this, this is the sort of thing I’m after.

 

[Saie609]

Hi.



You actually are wrong.

Maybe there exist countries allowing birds' owners to be responsible of a rise in a rat population and, thus, make their neighbours' life miserable... but United Kingdom is not such a country.

There are regulations.
Thanksfully, because some people really don't know what they are doing when they decide to adopt chickens, ducks, or whatever they want to own...
(I am NOT telling @Saie609 is such a person, huh...!)



I did some research, and here is what I found you could want to read :
- https://keeping-chickens.me.uk/gett...ations/the-prevention-of-damage-by-pests-act/
- https://nuisanceneighbours.co.uk/neighbours-chickens-attracting-rats-what-you-need-to-know/

Again, good luck...

Thank you for linking these as they are a good and informative read. I think some people may be misunderstanding me though (not necessarily you) because I’ve been trying to deal with them in my property since I found out we have a problem with them, but they’re a neighbourhood issue, so they run through gardens even if they aren’t staying in that garden. 3 houses down the guy refuses to do anything with his garden so he has what we refer to as jumanji growing, shrubs, tall grass, and even trees. I’m sure they’re nesting there. His neighbour has been trying to get a fence up, but has no legal rights to get him to chop it back and the council won’t do anything either. It’s all a big mess. Thank you for the links, I’ll have my husband read through them too.

 

[Saie609]

For anyone following this ridiculousness, I have spoken to a few neighbours who have confirmed that the house 3 houses down from me is harbouring the rats, as every summer they come out in troves from his garden towards my garden, but the local authority is doing nothing because they can’t see to make sure that’s where they’re coming from, 3 of my neighbours complaining about the rats coming from his garden isn’t enough for them to have him clear his overgrowth.

Yet, we receive a letter today from the same local authority about an ‘increase in rat activity’ reported from our address!! I have since responded informing them they’re not coming from our garden, but instead use ours as a throughway and that we’ve done everything they suggested in the letter they sent to us several months ago.

I have written a letter to our neighbour to explain the situation and suggest he store his seeds in a sealed container as to not attract the rats (that aren’t living in our garden) to his property. This isn’t stopping us from taking steps needed to reduce traffic *through* our garden, but the boundary fences between his garden all the way to the overgrown property are incomplete so the rats have little burrowing to do to get from point A to B. My neighbour 2 houses down said that when it warms up the rats scurry out of her neighbours overgrown garden in the masses and she has 3 young kids! Can someone please explain the logic behind us getting a letter with no proof and only 1 complaint and mr overgrown garden not getting a letter after over 6 complaints from multiple different people on the street?!

 

[skeeeter]

The explaination is: You are in the UK. Why do you think so many people have left to colonize the world? To be free of UK's contrary to common sense laws. Perhaps you should take the French member's advice and invite the inspectors to come to your house.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Geeze, those colonists in the 1600's, what would they think of what we deal with these days? At least the government wasn't coming in and killing their chickens like happened in California a few years back. Tain't no new world to run to these days.

 

[Saie609]

The explaination is: You are in the UK. Why do you think so many people have left to colonize the world? To be free of UK's contrary to common sense laws. Perhaps you should take the French member's advice and invite the inspectors to come to your house.

Please explain where in my question I posted anything political? I chose to move to the UK from the US to get away from many of the disgusting practices that the US government sweep under the rug, among a lot of other reasons. For crying out loud, look at the current ‘leadership’! I’ve no reason to invite anyone to my property to figure it out, but why would I follow French rules and regulations when I don’t live in France? My post was asking for suggestions on humanely getting rid of the rats. Nothing more. Thanks for your ridiculous views on the entirety of the UK though, the ignorance is shining brightly

 

[CharlotteBEe]

Have you looked into the ratinator? https://www.amazon.com/RUGGED-RANCH...nzvYnAxfWV4euSjaEFMBRBIgKAp8fXxBoCguAQAvD_BwE


A neighboring township was doing sewer work on our street and drove a ton of them out into our neighborhood. I caught so many it was disgusting!! I watched videos to trouble shoot the trap. I didn’t kill them but drove them out pretty far into the wild. I found sunflower seeds work best. Hope this helps! Oh and used kitty litter helped as deterrent. Rats are pretty gross and a health hazard so I hope you get control of it asap.


Has anyone offered to help your neighbor with the overgrown yard? Nobody is obligated obviously but you mentioned in your post that they are older- so maybe they have mobility or health issues. I understand you have a lot of work on your plate and don’t need anything more but maybe as a group effect the problem could be solved in a couple ours and traps put in place to completely remedy the problem.


Side note most municipalities as a whole can be asinine. I’m in the us and my mom got letters and fines for harboring deer and a groundhog (was told the neighbor kept catching him and releasing him only to have the same one come back… like what?? And how do you even Harbor deers ? Just because they are walking in your yard doesn’t mean you’re keeping them) and down trees… this was all her neighbors yard of overgrown wilderness which for the most part was enclosed with a broken down fence… so you could clearly see the boundary. We of course took it to court but it was a pain. And the man behind it all was an unhinged retired health inspector who didn’t live on her street. We later got this man taking photos of her bedroom window.


It honestly sounds like you have a wonderful yard. If I were you I’d use the a few ratinators and if you can stick the the traps in you neighbors yard (with the overgrown garden).

Best of luck!

 

[Penpal]

I think I would borrow a Bedlington terrier, or Jack Russell, or similar and bait your yard.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Never drop poison around. Use a bait station. I use two and buy the chunx bait by the pail.

 

[DLA]

I don't know if you can get this in the UK but we can buy it here in US from several different hardware/garden stores and online from Amazon.