Thought it was - but wanted to make sure before I dispose of it. There's a bird feeder on the fence above the spot where the pic was taken.
Would love to get an air rifle but unfortunately wife not keen, so it's got to be another way.
Being more numerous in cold weather is just perception I think. The food has gone from the fields where they have been breeding all summer and so they appear round farms/houses looking for food.That's a young rat.
There's no single, effective way of controlling them, partly because they learn quickly, partly because they breed even more quickly.
We have a small farm in North Yorkshire and have been told by pest controllers that the rat problem is worse this year than ever before. We use an air rifle in and around the barns (can't use a shotgun or cartridge rifle there because of the risk of damage and richochet) and also use both kill traps and poison, but the poison has to be sited very carefully because it's just as lethal to dogs. And due to a change in regulations, the poison currently available is nowhere near as effective as it used to be, but there's a workaround to this - buy it on Ebay from Northern Irish sellers, they're allowed better stuff there. Rats are always present but are much more numerous in cold weather, they seem to like their comfort..
A few years ago we were infested with rats on another piece of land, we had free range hens there and the rats completely took over, killing the chicks and even some of the hens, and became very bold due to their numbers. The females are constantly pregnant and perpetually hungry and at one point there were 11 rats eating from the chicken feeder at the same time, with a few hens cowering in a corner. I got 115 in one day with a shotgun, but gave up because I couldn't spend all my time doing it, and resorted to massive quantities of poison - I didn't want to do that because shooting is humane and poison isn't, but there was no choice, and after another week or so there were none left. That problem arose because my other half thought that it was OK to have a few rats around and didn't want them killed, basically she thought that they have as much right to life as we do - she now has a very different attitude - so learn from our mistake and deal with them before they take over!
You may be right, @Cobra is our resident expert on this . . .Being more numerous in cold weather is just perception I think. The food has gone from the fields where they have been breeding all summer and so they appear round farms/houses looking for food.
I’m on the edge of farmland here so dog walking in the summer you can see the rat trails coming out of the cereal fields and into the hedgerows. Rats don’t hibernate so they have to travel into nearby gardens, farm buildings etc for food.You may be right, @Cobra is our resident expert on this . . .
That iswhat they do from my neighbours to get under my shed without being in the openOThe little buggers have opened up a tunnel from next door, through the soft old mortar in the wall to gain access to the bird food on our side!
Commonly used in US for prairie dog control, one example https://www.rodentblaster.com/
8 WeeksYoung rats are sexually mature at 5 weeks.
Being more numerous in cold weather is just perception I think. The food has gone from the fields where they have been breeding all summer and so they appear round farms/houses looking for food.
Indeed he isYou may be right,
It’s not just here either, my niece in a very small ‘town’ (they call it a town I’d call it a hamlet) Western Australia gets rats coming into the house every Winter to keep the spiders company .8 Weeks
Indeed he is
Plus of course they are looking for warmth aka the radiated heat from occupied dwellings.
Plus of course they are looking for warmth aka the radiated heat from occupied dwellings.
Yes they are still around. Nowhere near as common as norvegicus certianly these days. I've not seen one in a few years, but some of my fellow pesties have.Does the black rat (rattus rattus) still occur in the UK? I'm just curious.
Yes they are still around. Nowhere near as common as norvegicus certianly these days. I've not seen one in a few years, but some of my fellow pesties have.
Particularly in London
They (traditionally) tend to be around dock area's They prefer to climb and get up "high" rather than live at ground level.
To that end they tend to seek out high rise buildings.
AbsolutelyAlso known as ship's rat and roof rat in the past,
They always were the guilty party. However there does seem to be evidence that suggests that it wasn't the fleas on the Rats, but the fleas on the giant gerbil from central Asia ...I think they're the rats that are usually blamed for spreading plague too...
Absolutely
They always were the guilty party. However there does seem to be evidence that suggests that it wasn't the fleas on the Rats, but the fleas on the giant gerbil from central Asia ...
So who knows for sure?
Plague’s been around for much longer than people realise, at least from Neolithic times so maybe rats then gerbils now or whatever. Interesting pair of programmes partly about plague but mostly DNA:Absolutely
They always were the guilty party. However there does seem to be evidence that suggests that it wasn't the fleas on the Rats, but the fleas on the giant gerbil from central Asia ...
So who knows for sure?
If I dig deep enough I'm sure I could find a linkAt least no one's blamed hamsters. View attachment 264824
That has been the general consensus for years, but as above .. It may not have been the rat.I thought that it came over the channel in fleas on rats
In truth I guess we will never know, but rats being the most hated of (Small) mammals, were bound to get the blame.I've come across the giant gerbil theory, and there are others that implicate rats, marmots, ground squirrels, prairie dogs and other burrowing rodents as hosts in various places.
You’ve left out one obvious mammalian carrier — Homo notverysapiens, particularly resistant individuals, could have transported it. Customs and immigration was even more ramshackle back in Neolithic days than it is now.If I dig deep enough I'm sure I could find a link
That has been the general consensus for years, but as above .. It may not have been the rat.
In truth I guess we will never know, but rats being the most hated of (Small) mammals, were bound to get the blame.
Of course any warm blooded animal is capable of carrying fleas. Not forgetting the traditional ships cat, that would have been hunting rats and mice in galley etc.