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Re: Rats

Nick Day wrote:-

>Our garden backs onto fields and hills in Gloucestershire, UK, and we have
>been visited by one or two rats several times in the last week. A
neighbour
>arranged for the local pest control officer to visit; he thought they were
>using the local gardens as runs, foraging for food. Can anyone please tell
>me...

>If a neighbour uses a poison, is it likely to transfer to our veg?

Rat poison is usually put down as a bait in small piles near runs and
places that they frequent. The rats will eat it and die. It shouldn't come
in contact with your plants.
But I would find out how it is going to be used and where. If you have any
pet cats or dogs they might come in contact with it.

>Are the rats likely to pass diseases on to us through the veg?

What like bubonic plague?
These are probably just common or garden brown rats. Not plague carrying
black rats. The odd rat is not a particular hazard and unless your garden
and surrounding area is full of rotting rubbish it is unlikely that many
rats will be able to make a living there.
Rats can pass on diseases through water via their urine, but it is not
likely to be a problem in a garden environment.
I guess in theory if a rat gnawed some vegetables and you ate them without
cooking or washing them you might get something, but I think you would
probably notice the teeth marks. 

>How quickly do they multiply?

They are able to breed at three to four months and can produce up to seven
litters a year, each containing 6 to 22 young.
That's a lot of rats, but of course it is only theoretical and under
absolutely perfect "ratty" conditions. They have to eat and that many rats
would be unable to survive in a small area. They are also hunted by cats,
foxes etc. So they don't all live to breed.

>Are they likely to colonise the compost heap? (we will avoid putting
cooked
>food in the heap, and have stopped putting bread out for the birds).

Poor birds! Cooked or uncooked food, the rat isn't that bothered. I had a
rat in my heap two winters ago. It stayed for the winter and then left when
I dug the heap out. It did no harm, just ate some of my kitchen waste
vegetables. Bits or raw carrot, parsnip etc.
I had another the year before and one of the local cats on our allotment
site got it. The cats owner was a bit peeved, as puss took the prize home,
alive. :)

>Will they limit most of their visits to night-time?

Mainly but they do come out in the daytime if it is quiet. I saw "my" rat
one afternoon while I was weeding quietly on the plot. It came out  of the
compost heap for a look around. It shot back again as soon as it saw me
move. That was the one that puss got. She sat on the top of my compost heap
and staked it out for about a week. Patience was rewarded in the end.

I do think people overreact a bit to rats. Large numbers can be a hazard
but there are a lot more around that we are aware of. 
They are an economic hazard in that they eat stored grain. The main problem
being that they contaminate food stores with their droppings more than they
destroy by eating.

Sounds to me like you just have the odd "country" rat or two passing
through. Personally I wouldn't worry.

Regards
Stephen

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Stephen Griffiths, 
34 Fernwood Crescent, London, N20 0RN. UK.
e-mail:- stephen.griffiths@dial.pipex.com
URL:- http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/close/xpz05
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