rats

hi

i have discovered i have some unwelcome visitors coming into the garden,my 4 buns are in a shed but do have free range time in the garden,would they harm the rabbits and what about diseases they carry,can put poison down at the bottom of the garden where the rabbits cant get but no where else help:?

Please don't use poison anywhere that your pets might go. Make sure the rats can't get access to any food.

When it comes to rats you need to remove ALL food sources (so any bird food, rabbit food etc) which they can get to in the garden. When the cold weather sets in rats aren't fussy. An infestation locally here one year and they literally ate ALL the worms from our compost bags/bins and all the garden frogs too Is there anything that could be attracting them into your garden? A sealed compost bin works best (one with a base and lid and only compost uncooked/raw vegetarian food)

If you're going to use poison then PLEASE use a bait box so that other wildlife isn't at risk and wear gloves and store/handle the bait well away from your rabbits - it is lethal stuff.

An alternative are traps - this is what we used, but you will have to clean up the rats that are caught, it is however instant and we felt more humane but sometimes bait is more effective.

The key is to keep the garden tidy. Rats nest in/under patios/sheds/compost bins/rubbish/junk etc. Look for any large amounts of soil that might have been shifted/moved and fill them back in.

Above all, keep your bunnies safe and well away from any bait/traps. Yes wild rats do sadly carry disease/fleas etc

unfortuately my next door neighbour is feeding them and seem to be under her shed i have spoken to her about my concerns but she told me they are all gods creatures,i dont really want to kill them myself but the rabbits are my main concern

i wouldn;t use poison with your rabbits and other wildlife being at risk, can you phone the environmental health to deal with it, if you rneighbour
keeps encouraging them

Don't use poison ever! Clear away all bedding and food. Buy peppermint oil, soak rags in peppermint oil and place them around where the rats are going. I had rats for several months, until I used peppermint oil, now been rat-free since the summer.

If anyone does want to use poison (there are circumstances when it is a reasonable response because of the speed at which rodents breed) then there is now a rodent-specific poison available. In my opinion, that doesn't mean other animals can eat it safely! but it means that if a cat or bird of prey eats a rodent that has eaten poison, the cat, dog or bird does is not at risk from the poison - it does not enter the food chain. That's not the case with the older poisons: if other animals ate enough poisoned rodents they would die a slow and unpleasant death.

So, that said, I would still be very careful where I placed the poison but I am confident that with care, it is safe to use.

It's called Eradibait and there are plenty of stockists around the country now:

http://www.eradibait.com/

Prevention is better than cure, of course, but we can't always control other people's attitudes to rubbish management, what they put on their compost heaps or what wildlife benefits from food put out for birds, say.