Topic: rat problems

[Mr Smith]

A quick way to get rid of rats from compost heaps under sheds etc is to put block up the holes that the rats use but leave a couple open, put a rubber hose that is attached to an exhaust pipe into another hole and just watch them bolt out when the fumes hit them at this point stand over the hole and whack them when they come running out, a  Rotovator, chain saw etc will serve this purpose.  ;)

[Borlotti]

I'm glad I'm not a rat.  Don't think I like you very much.

[freeman263]

Thanks for the help, but i think i was save gassing the rats as a last resort...do you have any advice on voles?

[ceres]

Back on/off topic on the anti-tet jabs.  I asked my GP to renew mine recently and she said they no longer give them routinely.  You only get one if you are considered high risk for getting tetanus.  I explained my allotment exploits and she agreed I could have one.

[DAVIESFOZZIE]

I went to my GP surgery and also asked for a booster for my anti-tetanus but my surgery nurse explained that as i was 50 years old i would be protected as i received all the shots when i was younger. I still am not convinced at this as she said i would have received a booster in my 20,s. I exlained that i handled horse manure etc but she was adamant that i am protected.

[betula]

I would ask to see your GP.I had a booster ,no problem.The nurse just said do not let anyone give you another one within the next ten years.

When I was at college doing a Horticulture course we had to sign a form to say we had had an up to date jab. :)

[lewic]

Friend of a friend got Weils disease after a canoeing trip.. But it does help if you fall in and drink the water. Not heard of anyone getting it through gardening.

Surely rats will bugger off if there is not much food in their area? I reckon there will always be one or two around snaffling the odd vegetable but they only seem to congregate en-masse when there is a really smellly bin or compost heap nearby. And they are a delight to watch on the telly, so intelligent!

Thus said, I am new to this and have never ventured onto the allotment at night. I may eat my words and end up one of those weirdos who sleeps in their shed with a black widow catapult under the pillow, having laid weedkiller flapjack next to the beetroots...

[ceres]

I went to my GP surgery and also asked for a booster for my anti-tetanus but my surgery nurse explained that as i was 50 years old i would be protected as i received all the shots when i was younger. I still am not convinced at this as she said i would have received a booster in my 20,s. I exlained that i handled horse manure etc but she was adamant that i am protected.

Just been reading up on this - "......... current UK guidelines state that a total of five doses of the vaccine are considered to give lifelong immunity -- the exception is in the case of a tetanus prone wound when a booster is given as required."

[freeman263]

Back on/off topic on the anti-tet jabs.  I asked my GP to renew mine recently and she said they no longer give them routinely.  You only get one if you are considered high risk for getting tetanus.  I explained my allotment exploits and she agreed I could have one.

back Off topic  ::) What did you do for your rats/have you ever had rat problems?

[ceres]

back Off topic  ::) What did you do for your rats/have you ever had rat problems?
[/quote]

Yes, we have rats on our site, there are always rats on allotments.  There's an all-year-round food supply and nice places to live so you will never get rid of them.  We live with them, there are worse pests.

[Mr Smith]

How many times have people said that they take on allotments so they can take their kids down the lotty and get them interested in gardening? I'm all for it, but when there is a known rat problem on allotments I would be keeping children well away, they are disease carrying vermin not fluffy over sized mice :)

[Ishard]

The whole country has a rat problem, made worse by the current idea of fortnightly rubbish clearance so allotments are no different. (OK wrong forum for a rant)

We are never more than 6 feet away from a rat, so the environmentalists tell us and we have managed to survive up till now.

I had some rats using my garden as a run, despite having 3 dogs and 3 cats and 1 rat chewed through a brick and got into my kitchen. He died!

Respect the rats lifestyle (so you dont get bitten) and don't prod or poke them, bait for those that are in inappropriate places, like houses, and live with the rest because we really have no choice but to do that.

[Green_Gooseberry]

Actually it was worked out to be that we are never 247 feet from a  rat or something like that and I don't mind the fortnightly collection of rubbish, unless we miss it...

[Mr Smith]

Ishard,
          And what also contributes to the rat  problem in our backwater is the amount of food take aways we have in town, well not so much the take aways but the idle gits who don't dispose  their half eaten kebabs  into the waste  bins (the ones on lamposts and not fortnightly) :)

[OllieC]

Ishard,
          And what also contributes to the rat  problem in our backwater is the amount of food take aways we have in town, well not so much the take aways but the idle gits who don't dispose  their half eaten kebabs  into the waste  bins (the ones on lamposts and not fortnightly) :)

Sounds about right! Jonny foreigner, coming over here, with his half eaten kebabs and rats!

[Mr Smith]

OC,
       I think you will find that a Kebab is  popular with many people in this country along with burgers and hot dogs from the States plus Chinese food and many other take out foods which in my town do end up on the streets on a weekend , I can't understand why you have to imply a racist overtone in your post which I presume is directed at me when the posts are about  Rat problems, :)

[OllieC]

OC,
       I think you will find that a Kebab is  popular with many people in this country along with burgers and hot dogs from the States plus Chinese food and many other take out foods which in my town do end up on the streets on a weekend , I can't understand why you have to imply a racist overtone in your post which I presume is directed at me when the posts are about  Rat problems, :)

No, I was just having a joke because I'm in such a good mood that nobody, not even you, can put a dampener on it. Since you raise the topic of race, I notice that you don't mention British fish & chips as being a problem.

Again, I am making a whimsical observation.

[valmarg]

Ishard,
          And what also contributes to the rat  problem in our backwater is the amount of food take aways we have in town, well not so much the take aways but the idle gits who don't dispose  their half eaten kebabs  into the waste  bins (the ones on lamposts and not fortnightly) :)

Having seen the revolting looking, mechanically recovered blobs of meat that is a donner kebab, rat food is about all that it is fit for. ;D

We don't buy takeaways or pre-prepared food.  Certainly do not litter the streets.

valmarg

[Robert_Brenchley]

[No, I was just having a joke because I'm in such a good mood that nobody, not even you, can put a dampener on it. Since you raise the topic of race, I notice that you don't mention British fish & chips as being a problem.

Again, I am making a whimsical observation.

It ain't funny. I've seen loads of white people with British accents chucking food on the floor, same as everyone else. Why try to attach it to specific groups of people when they all do it? I've seen fish and chips on the floor as well, but not so often as there aren't so many chippies round here.

[Mr Smith]

RB,
        totally agree but OC always comes with a whimsical dig, the only thing I mentioned was half eaten kebabs and then he goes on about Johnny Foreigner whoever that is? and I thought this string was about rat problems :)