Monday, June 15, 2009

N.I.M.B.Y

Not in my back yard! All of you know that I am friend to wildlife and that I encourage it in my small garden but I draw the line on RATS. I know they are God’s creatures and everything but there is no way I can live with this guy coming to feed in my bird feeder.


He had no fear of my dog or me; he simply continued to eat while we stood there taking his picture and in the meantime the poor birds watched from the fence.
I need advice on how to put an end to this freeloader. Poison is out of the question and an old- fashioned mousetrap won’t work because it could hurt my dog. Any suggestions???

13 comments:

AnnF said...

How high from the ground is the feeder? Do you have a baffle?

Randy Emmitt said...

Guess you'll need a live trap, then release it somewhere. Poisoning them is really gross.

Just last week I installed a rain barrel at the school in town, two days later after the rain the barrel almost fell over. The rats had made the ground like swiss cheese coming up from the storm drain. I had to double the size of the barrels footing to steady it. You think one rat is a problem?

My Little Family: said...

There's never just one rat. Around here the only way to get rid of them is to remove all the citrus trees for about a block radius.

Cheryl said...

Dear Rusty....I have had a problem this year with rats. It is extremely difficult to rid your garden of these creatures if they have no preditors. My terriers does kill them....the one reason that I got her. I must be honest I hate to see her do this but if rats get out of control, the consequences are horrendous. Have you thought about buying a humane trap and relocating them as you catch them??They are used here and said to be successful......

I love my wildlife ....I garden for that one reason but as you so rightly say rats are a different issue......

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Good Grief Rusty !! Is there some kind of service you can use that will trap them for you ? .. Is there a local goverment control service ? .. that is a nasty problem

Jeanette said...

Yikees Rats! Call a pest controller or your lolcal council they will bait the area,.were animals or children cant get to bait. a new area in Melb had rats council baited drains, undernewly constructed homes and in ceilings out of harms way..animals and small children..

Unknown said...

Oh heck no!! Get that rodent out of your yard, you will have so many more if you don't. Great score at Home Depot and what a night bloomer!!!

Anonymous said...

Rats are virtually impossible to get rid off in South florida. Even if you rid your property of all fruit, seeds, etc , there's no way of controlling what grows in your neighbor's yard. I had this problem for many years and also live in Miami but near the coast. After hurricane Wilma toppled all my mango trees the rats seemed to move on. I still see some at sunset scurrying along on the power lines. I suspect many people use poison but that is very dangerous for domestic pets. Trappers could work but its a lengthy and expensive route, especially when its a problem that you are trying to control outside the house instead of inside.
-mario

Randy said...

Maybe you could tape the trap to the pole near the top so it would be out of harms way. He must be climbing the post to get to the food. I would use more than one. It kept the squirrels out of our attic. They were climbing a pipe to get in.--Randy

Unknown said...

Myself,I'd get a big a-- cat!

Anonymous said...

Add 1 kitty cat... He will take care of your problem

Advisor said...

A nice rat snake or a black racer snake will kill and eat the rats. The snakes are non-poisonous and do not attack humans or pets.

David said...

aww, he looks so cute.