No rats

[millikins]

Just musing really. I've been on my yard for nearly 8 years and in all that time have never had a confirmed rat population. Every Autumn I find a few droppings and they chewed under the doors one year but then they vanish. I've never seen a live one but I take no measures to keep them away. Yard is reasonably clean, but not immaculate, couple of domestic cats wander in but aren't resident. Only deterrent I can think of is a large number of squirrels which are perhaps bigger and more aggressive than your average rat? Could I have found a useful role for the verminous grey Americans?

 

[stencilface]

Oddly we have fewer rats since our stable cat died. Mainly because he used to leave his food then they used to finish it!!

 

[ElleSkywalker]

We find the odd dead one and did used to have them in attic until we chopped the ivy down. We do have 7 cats though and added with next doors 16 dogs.........

Also we live opposite a dairy farm so imagine most of the rat population are hanging about there. Friend who lives down the village further away from the farm has loads of rats!

 

[Rowreach]

I've been here 14 years and never seen any rat droppings. I did meet a rat once in the barn, but he was en route to somewhere else given the way he glared at me as he trotted past. I have quite a lot of mice though. And two rather useless farm cats.

 

[Annagain]

We're inundated at the moment. We lost our (useless) mouser Mr Mouse a month or two back - either he wasn't as useless as we thought or his mere presence was enough for them to stay away. We can't have another cat as the yard Jack Russell who despite clearly not being able to kill a rat has a dubious history with cats. Mr Mouse was bigger than her and was totally unfazed by her but if one ran, she'd be after it.