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Rats and Rabbits.....

Fee

Wise Old Thumper
Help, i truly am struggling....

I live next to a watercourse, a burn in Glasgow.

The buns over the past fortnight have been spooked and when I have gone out in the morning , they are very nervous... Willow was thumping and wouldnt come to me,.

I couldnt understand why as the run was intact, no damage that I could see but when I went into the shed,I discovered why......

Eeekkkkkkk, 2 Rats... big ones.... they scarpered and i squealed.. I reckon the bunnies are having a problem with the rats and given I have previously had to have environmental services out,,, i am really at the end of my tether... Bunnies are gorgeous and lovely but sadly according to my husband not at any cost,,,,, I have been told if theres 2, theres likely to be many more and given my proximity to the burn... Loads more!!

He is unwilling to continue to encourage the rats.. I have told him that theres no food lying about, all pellets are gobbled up and rats only nest in hay.. they dont eat it.. he simply wont allow this to continue....

I hate rats,, sorry ratty folks, they totally freak me out... I dont know what to do.. if this continues, my hubby is insisting on rehoming the bunnies....

Nooooooooooooo:cry:... Advice please urgent
 
:( oh no...there must be a deterrent to put down? My mil has birds and often had rat problems living in the country... Hmm... If memory serves me well, there is a deterrent using sound. But I don't know if it effects bunnies.. It was effective in keeping the ratites at bay though...

I hope you don't have to rehome. :(

ps. Not to sound argumentative, just a thought that popped in my head, if the bunnies go, surely rats will still be present given where you are situated? I just mean, that by the bunnies relocating, it might not solve the ratty problem?
 
I had a similar problem. I didn't actually 'see' the rats (thank god) but saw poo just outside the run.

My dad installed humane traps - and some normal traps (sorry). I did feel bad but unfortunately they just needed to go. It seemed to do the trick.

The humane traps were not as successful as the normal traps. I absolutely hate the thought of it but unfortunately we were at the end of our tether.
 
Have you considered pest control? Also, please remember that rats may vector Weils' Disease via their urine. I'm not sure whether this would affect rabbits, although I would think it well might, but it certainly causes severe kidney damage in humans.
 
your not alone, we had this problem few years back, and my rabbits aren't kept n the shed, but the rats will make there way into anywhere they can for shelter especially now weather turning, even if no food in your shed, my dad put metal all around where they where gaining access, and we think they live under next doors decking, so where burrows came under fences, we put metal down their too with mesh

id avoid using poisons as they could then transport this to your bunnies and be fatal to them too
 
I had a similar problem. I didn't actually 'see' the rats (thank god) but saw poo just outside the run.

My dad installed humane traps - and some normal traps (sorry). I did feel bad but unfortunately they just needed to go. It seemed to do the trick.

The humane traps were not as successful as the normal traps. I absolutely hate the thought of it but unfortunately we were at the end of our tether.

we had to do the same they where to clever one stood at patio door looking in as mum screamed, the humane traps they knew how to get out when it got caught, we had to in the end resort to using the normal traps, not on own as again to clever and got away, we had to put the normal traps inside humane trap, that way it got them, was awful but we had no options left
 
Hi we live accross the road from fields and theirs some big rats on their! We had 1 and ended up putting normal traps down but every day the trap would still be set and the cheese would be gone :shock: my oh was getting mad :lol: it was a big expensive trap from B&Q i think!

Anyway we blocked off under the sheds hutches etc to keep them away from anything they might like to eat or snuggle in and to cut the story short we have a big black cat called harry who left me a huge brown "gift" on my back door step a few weeks after the problem started. Not nice i know but the the rat had to go 1 way or another.

Ever thought of getting a good ratter if its going to be a constant problem which it probably will be given your location, bunnies or no bunnies.
If you have an out buliding or a shed i think the cats protection or i think it was them were looking for people to take on more feril cats that wouldnt be suited to a normal family life. I imagine flea worming and vaccinaion times would be fun but even feril cats ive know do warm slightly to who evers offering them their tea! Just an idea lol and not guranteed to work :?
 
Our garden was almost all paved and rats were getting under the shed in the only part that wasnt oaved, the shed sits on blocks but around them is mud, we cemented all round and block paved the rest of the garden and now we have no sign of rats however one of our neighbours recengly offered to give me the rat mans number as she has rats in her garden and I could tell from the way she was talking she was suggesting they are otiginating from mine and she was quite shocked when I said we had none and could see no evidence of any, she proceeded to tell me to check my hay shed for them, I only get one bale at a time and clean the shed before replacing each one, it really bugs me that people point the council in my direction each time we have rats just because I have bunnies, thing is I know if the rat man comes here he will moan at me for having 10 rabbits and 5 piggys and will probably blame me.
 
We had the same problem and I could not handle it.

The rabbits moved indoors and I will never have rabbits outside again. At the time we had 8 rabbits in 3 sheds so it was a struggle finding room for them but with a bit of shuffling (and the hallway taken over as a rabbit run) we managed to get them all settled.

I hope you can find a solution.
 
How are they getting in? I'd make sure any holes in the shed are sealed and see if that works..or if they're coming in through the run, mesh the run.

Like you said, there are probably more around since you live near a watercourse. When they passed through your yard they probably thought the shed seemed like a nice dry, warm place to sleep. As long as you don't give them a reason to stay in your yard they'll prbably only pass through and you won't even know it :) I'd definitely give it time and not rush out to kill them. They're just innocent animals after all.
 
:( oh no...there must be a deterrent to put down? My mil has birds and often had rat problems living in the country... Hmm... If memory serves me well, there is a deterrent using sound. But I don't know if it effects bunnies.. It was effective in keeping the ratites at bay though...

I hope you don't have to rehome. :(

ps. Not to sound argumentative, just a thought that popped in my head, if the bunnies go, surely rats will still be present given where you are situated? I just mean, that by the bunnies relocating, it might not solve the ratty problem?


Not at all. I have to be honest, rats were always on my mind when we bought the house but none were seen till I got the bunnies. I questioned the neighbours at length....The bunnies seems to have attracted them and made them more of an issue. The biggest issue to my hubby and I is the proximity of bunny shed and shed to the house. if we had a bigger garden, we could relocate the sheds away but we cant.

i had a sonic thing for foxes which has been put in the garden but that hasnt helped... We had rat bait from Environmental health too but they keep on coming back...

I am obviously concerned about the turning weather making it an even greater issue,,, i dont want to lock the bunnies in the shed as i am concerned about the rats gnawing through.Should i just give the bunnies hay hay and only hay to see if the issue resolves....

my neighbours are fine and have commented that I keep the bunnies clean so I hope they continue to be as supportive if the pest issue continues,,,

I am sooooo scared they migrate from ypthe bunny shed to the hay shed and to our home....
 
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How are they getting in? I'd make sure any holes in the shed are sealed and see if that works..or if they're coming in through the run, mesh the run.

Like you said, there are probably more around since you live near a watercourse. When they passed through your yard they probably thought the shed seemed like a nice dry, warm place to sleep. As long as you don't give them a reason to stay in your yard they'll prbably only pass through and you won't even know it :) I'd definitely give it time and not rush out to kill them. They're just innocent animals after all.

They appear to be getting in via the run... i had previously meshed the run but they chewed it making jaggy edges so i removed the mesh,,,

I really dont want to kill the rats but they freak me out and are making it so scary to go out and see the bunnies.... I havent said to my son as he would have a fit if he saw another rat and It would terrify him... The bunnies are stressed at times too.. its just not fair..
 
I just thought I'd let you know as I do keep rats as pets, along side rabbits. The ultrasonic sounds do not work as rodents "tune out" to them after a while of exposure as we would if we lived near somewhere new that had a lot of sound (IE train station, near an airport etc) NOT all wild rats carry weils disease. Rabbits should only be eating hay and pellets really + the added veg, perhaps you can stay on hand while they're eating their pellets/veg? Unfortunately the commercial rabbit muslei is actually great in a rats diet (if you add a bit more protien in it) They also do have an interest in hay when i've shown them it before now. If you can keep the hay from easy access (IE edges of the run and the likes) this may also help deter them. I know you said you'd already meshed it, is there any better quality mesh you can get?
 
We also live near a stream and there are rats (next door but ones cat catches them) but I've never seen anything other than a mouse round the rabbit run. We deliberately used 1 x 1 mesh not just for foxproofing but to stop rodents getting in. They also can't get under the shed as it's all blocked off and the bunny shed is very close to the house.
We also have a cat and there are quite a lot of cats about.
Peanut butter is what pest controllers use to bait traps, rats love it.
I have rats, but I wouldn't want wild rats in with my buns.
 
thing with rats is its not a kill them and then its over thing. if the envirament near you encourages them then its a perminent thing to have to keep baiting/trapping etc to keep them under control as the overspill population will keep trying to move in. and thats regardless of whether you have rabbits or not. rabbits make them more obvious as clearly they fancy living in a shed with food and will try and get in but the rabbits did not cause the rats to ping into existance- the rats were already there.. sheds, decking, nice shrubs all look like good homes to a rat. can't blame them but can't tolerate them either as the wild ones do a lot of damage and do carry disease.
i keep poultry-and live in a 'ratty' area. had rats try to move into garden and neighbours houses/sheds long before i had poultry but i am aware we will get blame if numbers climb. so i have a year-round policy of having bait stations and traps arround garden(in suitable wildlife/pet safe boxes) and kill any daft enough to try and move in.

other things i do is clad the underneath of floors of wooden houseing with weldmesh to stop them chewing in and extend that weldmesh up the sides and backs of housing that is hard to inspect as against fence etc. metal edges on doors stops them getting in that way too. best bait for traps I've found is peanut butter smeared on underside of the plate-not topside. but generally get far more with poison. you can get pet/bird friendly poison if worried over secondary poisoning but its expensive and not as effective.
 
I generally dont give my buns veg, purely to discourage any left over foods. i give them pellets but they are eaten up without any being left over.

I have had environmental health out but am under so much pressure from hubby who hates rats and feels the bunnies are the catalyst,,,, :cry:

i feel so sorry for the bunnies.... With Smudge being deaf, he wouldnt hear anything....If a rat crept up, he would have to rely on Willow moving first...
 
They appear to be getting in via the run... i had previously meshed the run but they chewed it making jaggy edges so i removed the mesh,,,

I really dont want to kill the rats but they freak me out and are making it so scary to go out and see the bunnies.... I havent said to my son as he would have a fit if he saw another rat and It would terrify him... The bunnies are stressed at times too.. its just not fair..

Try hardware cloth, it's so strong even foxes shouldn't be able to chew through it, so rats shouldn't be able to either.

I can understand the concern for the buns being stressed:( I had a similar problem once with my ducks and rats getting into the pen. Hopefully you're able to deter them!

I have a lake and woods in my yard which attracts rats and mice but luckily me and my family and pets are ok with them! I love them really so it's a bit difficult for me to understand the fear/dislike of them. Predators keep the population in check which in turn helps form the little ecosystem I have in my yard so it's a win win situation for me. Hopefully you can work something out so that you can coexist as well. as posters above have said, the rats will always be around because of the watercourse so I guess you'll have to actively discourage them from making a home in your yard.
 
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