Allotments 4 All

Three times in the last week I've found a dead (and decomposing) rat on my plot. I assume someone is putting poison down, but don't rats crawl away and hide to die? I'm close to a paddock and a hedgerow and there's plenty of bramble infested ground nearby.

We do have a couple of feral cats on site (I assume they're not the murderers), plus visiting foxes and a kestrel.

Silly question, but is this normal? I've seen live rats before, but never dead ones.

Trevor

if someone has poisoned rats they could be making for water.
take precautions when moving - i prefer the end of my fork and straight onto the bonfire

Well, there's plenty of water around!

I was starting a new compost heap, so my three got buried deep down.

Think I'll enquire at the stables to see if they've been making free with the rats-bane.

I couldn't put a rat on my compost heap, no matter how deep. Burning has to be my way of getting rid of the critters. ;)

dead (and decomposing) rat

A rat would be fair game for F cats foxes and anything else unless after the kill and they sence the poison.
Has one of the F. cats taking a liking to you and bringing pressents for you. Our old farm cats years ago would leave dead mice and moles on mums frount door step as pressys.
As for the compost bin well natural blood fish and bone meal ? recycle I have put mice in ours.
One thing a live rat wont go near you CB it will smell the rats decomposing.
Perhaps the skeleton would be of some interst to local school to show the kids. After its been cleansed?

Dead wild rats should be burned or buried very deep in a lime slaked hole. They carry diseases passable to humans. Don't pick them up with your hands, use a stick or spade. I certainly wouldn't put one in my compost, especially if it's possibly been poisened.

Don't put 'em on the Barbee either!  :o

Don't worry, Kenkew - I used a spade! (I'm a coward!) And, yes, I did bury them deep (below ground level on a clean heap which won't be touched for a year or two). And plenty of lime.

I'll let you know when the heap is cleared, Teresa, and you can come & collect the bones.  But thanks for the advice.

Trevor

Hee me and my bright ideas,
but seroursly we dont know what goes into our compost heap even to die.
As long as you scrub your hands well and make sure your tetenus injections are up to date you stand a good chance.
Lime, organic fert, man made fert even pest sprays are dangerous to humans even a lick from a cat or dog.
According to our rat man years ago. A rat was the most intellegent and clean animal he had come across. He was having to change his poisoning tactics because he reconed they had worked it out.
I bought B+Q'a own brand and got them. Yes I saw them healthy B eating the bird food with the birds. Should have taken a photo.