rat problem:(

hi all!! we live on a terrace of 19 houses at the moment we seem to be overrun with rats 2 of the houses on the terrace are dormant and gardens are very overgrown and 1 house near mine has a pigeon shed (ugly looking thing that was just threw up with bits of galvanised sheeting n old timber) also the garden on this house is full of bits and bobs of everything frome copperwire to bikes!!

my question is can the council do anything for us? only 1 house on the terrace is a council house (the 1 with the pigeon shed)!! everybody know where the rats are originating (the 3 houses mentioned) but we dont know where to go about this, we have contacted council but because our houses arent council houses they wont do anything, the person in the council house doesnt think the state of their garden is the problem he says its the 2 abandant houses(((

any1 any ideas i have 2 small children and cant let them out in back garden to play and i cant go out 2 washing line as im terrified of rats so have 2 dry all my clothes inside (electricity bill sky high because of it

Would this not be a serious health issue as rats carry diseases? Maybe you should contact some local organisation like this one in Waterford? [broken link removed]

I'm sure the health service or Enviromental protection agency would be interested????

If you want to poison the rats let me know.

tanx upthedeise!!!

I would love to poison them but there's alot of pets and children on terrace and i'm terrified of 1 of them getting near the poison

Is there anything i can spray around my back garden incase of rat wee on lawn? just in case children get out there?

tanx

mise

miseagustusa said:

tanx upthedeise!!!

I would love to poison them but there's alot of pets and children on terrace and i'm terrified of 1 of them getting near the poison

Is there anything i can spray around my back garden incase of rat wee on lawn? just in case children get out there?

tanx

mise

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Maybe you could spread some Jays fluid around? Why don't you pop into a store like Woodies and ask them for some advice? I'm sure they could help.

You can get child and pet safe poison boxes for mice and and bigger ones for rats (you can do it yourself or get an expert in). You could also get a terrier or some cats. There are rats everywhere so I wouldn't worry too much about your lawn once you've got rid of them. I know it's a horrible thought but there's probably rats wee in the local park, town streets and almost certainly fields and hedgerows. You can't detol everything and if they're anything like my kids they'll be licking snails and eating mud soon enough.

Lay Storm.

Careful to place away from pets and children. Note the rat runs and lay in dry covered area.

Not an expert on this but I do know that rats go where there is food, so one way of keeping them away is to make sure there is nothing there for them - so if you have a compost heap make sure there is never cooked food on it, make sure all your bins have the lids closed tight all the time (and aren't over-filled so the lids are pushed ajar), and do not put rubbish out in just plastic bags.

I would not assume the rats are coming from any of the three houses you mentioned, especially if the problem has just started recently. Has there been any construction work done in the area in the last while? Apparently large-scale construction work can disturb rats that normally live out of sight, so an area can appear to be overrun with them when in fact they are just "displaced" until the disturbing work is finished, whereupon they will go back where they came from.

Talk to the environment section of the county council, they cannot allow an area to be overrun with rats. Let them lay the bait, they will have plenty of experience of it.

If you put the poison into piping so that birds or pets can't get at it where you see the rat runs, put a large stone or something on the piping to make sure its solid.
Definitely a terrier would be fantastic. As already stated there are rats in probably everybodys gardens but we have to control them. I have twice seen a rat up a tree near our house eating the haws off it.

Unfortunately I know a lot more about rats than I'd like after having rats in the garden for a year or so before a problem with our drains was resolved.

Basically, call the county council - they will send the rat catcher out to lay poison and he'll keep coming back and will be able to tell when they stop taking the poison and thus are probably gone. If they can't be gotten rid of then theres obviously a bigger problem like a drain issue or as you've mentioned potential sources of food attracting them.

You can also talk to him about the underlying cause of the rats and they will look into it or recommend that you get a drain survey done or something.

I didn't use our garden for a year so I know how awful it is and well worth sorting out.

Also make very good use of the politicans that are currently knocking at your door looking for votes. Tell them all that they will only get your vote if the problem is resolved straight away no matter what way you intend to vote. You only have a window of 3 weeks to use this advice as they will all be close to impossible to contact after the election on June 6th. It is a horrible problem to have, hopefully it will be resolved soon for you. LS.

I think there is a procees you can go through with the Council to serve a derelict sites notice on the owners of the vacant houses.

It says a lot for the state they're in that nobody has tried to squat in them.

Keep your eye on them in case kids or the homeless get in and light fires.

Fires in an old terrace can spread quickly if the party walls are unsealed.

Other posters have mentioned health issues and again I think this is the Council Environmental Health Officer you need to speak to not the Health and Safety Authority.