There's a rat in me compost, what am I gonna do?

[Arch]

one female = up to 18 babies every 5 to 6 weeks.
each baby = sexual maturity by 5 weeks. each can have up to 18 babies
each "grandchild" = sexual maturity by 5 weeks and so on.

But they all burn the same, right? FLAME ON.

And of course, it's highly unlikely that they'll all survive, even without the flamethrower ation. Having large litters generally presupposes a large attrition rate due to predation, starvation etc... Otherwise the whole world would be covered in rats 8 foot deep...

 

[Arch]

one female = up to 18 babies every 5 to 6 weeks.
each baby = sexual maturity by 5 weeks. each can have up to 18 babies
each "grandchild" = sexual maturity by 5 weeks and so on.

But they all burn the same, right? FLAME ON.

And of course, it's highly unlikely that they'll all survive, even without the flamethrower ation. Having large litters generally presupposes a large attrition rate due to predation, starvation etc... Otherwise the whole world would be covered in rats 8 foot deep...

 

[Tetedelacourse]

And of course, it's highly unlikely that they'll all survive, even without the flamethrower ation. Having large litters generally presupposes a large attrition rate due to predation, starvation etc... Otherwise the whole world would be covered in rats 8 foot deep...

best not to take any chances though. Spray them with GT85, put on Bombtrack, see them begin to enjoy the feeling of having water displaced, and then

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFF

YOU CAN'T RUN FROM YOUR OWN FUR, LOSERS

 

[Tetedelacourse]

And of course, it's highly unlikely that they'll all survive, even without the flamethrower ation. Having large litters generally presupposes a large attrition rate due to predation, starvation etc... Otherwise the whole world would be covered in rats 8 foot deep...

best not to take any chances though. Spray them with GT85, put on Bombtrack, see them begin to enjoy the feeling of having water displaced, and then

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFF

YOU CAN'T RUN FROM YOUR OWN FUR, LOSERS

 

[Fnaar]

Hey look, other people hae had rats in their compost too, and have thought of the UB40 song! And there's me thinking I was being original!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/01/theres_a_rat_in_me_compost.html

 

[Fnaar]

Hey look, other people hae had rats in their compost too, and have thought of the UB40 song! And there's me thinking I was being original!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/01/theres_a_rat_in_me_compost.html

 

[simon l& and a half]

I'm surprised nobody's voted for the rat trap. Like a mousetrap but bigger. . Keep the cat indoors. Bait with cheese. Wait. Bang - rat's head is crushed, but it bounces around for a couple of minutes. Post vid on youtube.

 

[Wobbly John]

If you decide to dig them out of the compost - beware, they can 'go for you'!










... even when you have just stuck a fork right through them!
I speak from experience - In the end I managed to get the pair, and the nest of babies with either the fork of spade when I dug the heap out last year.

 

[HJ]

Try one of those ultrasonic rodent scarers? No idea if they work, but I see them in gardening catalogues.

They don't work, don't waste your money...

 

[Dayvo]

Spray some strong domestic bleach on the buggers, that should do.
Or, failing that, grab your misses' hairspray and ignite the spray and you've a ready-made flame thrower.

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

....who get Weil's disease.

Anyway, Canoeists are quite difficult to set alight, an airgun might be better.

There's a lot of canoeists where I live. There're a nice lot, but they all have a lot of upper body strength and might not take kindly to being shot with an airgun. I suggest you use something that finishes the job.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Oi, leave the canoeists alone... we hardly ever sleep in other people's compost.

 

[Danny]

Funnily enough I say three dead rats on the road while I was on a short 15 mile ride yesterday, which implies that there must have been a lot more around that I didn't see.

Maybe there's a rat population boom going on.

 

[littlered]

TBH, it doesn't bother me that much, it's the missus.... she saw one on the bird table snaffling the nuts (oo'er) and is worried they'll find their way to the house etc. Like I said before, we're next to a river, so pretty much bound to have the occasional incursion. Various neighbours cats use our garden as a toilet, thoroughfare, and my yappy dog prob'ly scares them off too....
was just wondering how to discourage them, really, make it less attractive to them....

The problem is feeding the birds. Most people I know (I am the manager for a petshop) end up having rat problems in their garden if they feed the birds.

You have to make sure the birds eat all the food, or you clean up the seed on the ground everyday.

Stop feeding the birds and they should go away.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

The problem is feeding the birds. Most people I know (I am the manager for a petshop) end up having rat problems in their garden if they feed the birds.

You have to make sure the birds eat all the food, or you clean up the seed on the ground everyday.

Stop feeding the birds and they should go away.

Or get birds that eat rats - like Tawny Owls