# Wild rat poisons been put down, worried about my dogs



## *H* (Jun 17, 2007)

Hi Guys,

Over the last couple of months me and my next door neighbour have been seeing rats come from another neighbours garden, and run through ours to get to bird fat balls that another neighbour has been putting out for the birds. I did initially phone up the council about this, but they refused point blank to do anything, as the rats wasn't living in my garden, only running through, and told me the person who had the rat problem would need to phone up. Well there was no chance of her ever doing that...

Fast forward a few weeks ago, the rats have increased, as they will and we're seeing lots on a daily basis. The other neighbour has stopped putting out food for the birds, but the rats are still running over the back gardens to check, as there was once food in that area. I think they have now been using an area under the concrete path bit at the back of my house (nothing but mud under there). 
So the other half gets back on the phone to the council, tells them this has been going on for months, had they sorted it at first the situation wouldn't be as bad as it is.. He tells them he is collecting the rats he's been catching in traps(4/5 a day), and intends on getting the local paper round for a photo shoot.. Oh , now they're coming out to see us the next morning, brilliant.

So Mr rat man comes to our house, has a really good look around, thinks there is a chance they are using the concrete bit as a go between hide, but doubts they are nesting in there.. Has a quick nosey over the hedge at the garden where we said they was coming from, and agreed that the raised full size decking, complete with waist high weeds + grass is the perfect habitat for them, and that would be where they are nesting. (Also mentioned that someone over the road opposite has a rat problem too...)

So the plan of action...
He would like to put down poisons in our garden, under the concrete, just incase they are using that. OH voices his concerns about the fact we have 2 dogs, the neighbour has a dog. He assures us, he would put it where the dogs won't be able to reach it, which is fine, now our other concern. What about if a rat dies in the garden after eating poison and the dogs find it?.. He then assures us that rats will not die out in the open, nope, they will go back to their nest to die, there isn't the slightest chance of one of the dogs getting hold of a poisoned rat.. So we allow him to put the poison right under the concrete, and we pile enough bolder sized rocks in front, that the dogs don't stand a chance of getting near the poison.
He then promises he will try to gain entry to the neighbours garden, and now we've made a complaint 'officially', he can keep coming back to see her, and if she refuses, the council can make her. So off he went with an appointment for next week to come back to us (I have no idea what's happening with the neighbour).

So, I have been going out with the dogs everytime they go out for a wee. Just to make sure they don't start digging.. Rain, wind, you name it, I've been standing there like a tit.. Good job I did, as last night, 3 guesses what was dead on the garden? A rat. Ears, eyes + nose had been bleeding, looked intact apart from that and I have no cats, so I doubt very much it met it's death another way. Lucky enough I got to it before the dogs did! But now I'm panicking that they're all going to start falling down dead in the garden, so my question is this (after the long rant, sorry, just needed to get that out of my system, feel better now)...

Are the dogs are risk, if they should find a dead poisoned rat in the garden and try to eat/wash it?

Thankyous if you read to the end of that :flrt:


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

Yes.... That's one of the reasons I hate that putting poison down seems to be the first port of call for those that deal with the problem. It's not only the intended victims that are affected. Anything that gets to the poison either directly or by eating an animal that has eaten it can die from it.


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## *H* (Jun 17, 2007)

Amalthea said:


> Yes.... That's one of the reasons I hate that putting poison down seems to be the first port of call for those that deal with the problem. It's not only the intended victims that are affected. Anything that gets to the poison either directly or by eating an animal that has eaten it can die from it.


.. see thats what I thought, and what was said to the rat man. He laughed it off and said the amount of poison in the rat wouldn't be enough to do any harm, but I did think otherwise. 
Lucky enough our garden doesn't get any other visitors apart from the rats (and that strange cat which I've not seen since) so it's unlikely that another animal will come into contact with it. But even if I remove all the poison from my garden, then the rats could still come and die in mine from the poison in hers. 
I was against doing anything drastic at first too, but for us to be seeing lots during the day, even more at night, then there is a huge problem and it's got out of control as it is.
Is there any other way of wiping out a large nest without using poisons do you know? (No point asking him, as he obviously isn't interested in using any other method)


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## Daisyy (Jan 15, 2010)

My mums puppy died from people throwing rat poison in peoples gardens (only people with pets too..) Dx Keep watching themm!


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

All I can think is traps.... If you use humane ones, it's illegal to release them (although, I did "loose" a rat I handreared out in the middle of nowhere *whoops*)....


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## exoticsadmirer (Oct 22, 2009)

i don't think licking a dead rat will do anything but eating might make them ill. Luckily i only have to worry about dead shrews lucky me!.


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## *H* (Jun 17, 2007)

Daisyy said:


> My mums puppy died from people throwing rat poison in peoples gardens (only people with pets too..) Dx Keep watching themm!


I'm sorry to hear that  I'll definately go out with them everytime they go outside and check before I let them out.




Amalthea said:


> All I can think is traps.... If you use humane ones, it's illegal to release them (although, I did "loose" a rat I handreared out in the middle of nowhere *whoops*)....


That make take a while. Do you think the council offices count as releasing them in the wild? :whistling2:
I do feel really guilty it's had to come to this. We even had a family of field mice move into the house last winter. They were under the floorboards. I left them alone though, they was't hurting anyone under there, and they moved out as soon as the weather got warmer. Everyone kept saying "ew you can't have mice living in your house! put down traps!" But they wasn't technically_ in_ the house, just under the floor, and they never ventured into the house itself.



exoticsadmirer said:


> i don't think licking a dead rat will do anything but eating might make them ill. Luckily i only have to worry about dead shrews lucky me!.


Shrews? :gasp: Why do you have dead shrews?


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

i have a live catch rat trap, and if you try to release a wild rat from one you must be mental, they will shred you to bits through the bars.

i thought the newer poisons were supposed to not pass up through the food chain? or is that just a marketing gimmick?

there are other options, 

you can get traps that are either sticky so the rat sticks to the trap, 
or ones that are run with a battery so they electrocute the rat, they attract slugs for some reason.
or an old fashioned airrifle:whistling2:


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## exoticsadmirer (Oct 22, 2009)

The cats like to bring them back here alot of the time once when they younger the blighting thing was still alive and was brought in the house all i got was bitten for helping it!


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## pippainnit (Feb 20, 2009)

The electrocution ones are meant to be good, but are pretty pricey. My parents bought one recently as they too have been having trouble with rats and are concerned that the other neighbours will just put poison down as a cheap alternative. One rat actually went into their conservatory the other day and as much as it pains my mother to think of killing them, there really is no other option when it's to the extent that it can get to. If her and my dad didn't intervene then the other neighbours would do something that could potentially harm my dog when he visits and any other pets/wildlife in the area.

My mum's bought an electrocution trap which cost £54.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

cats dont eat shrew becaus ethey are bitter to taste, so they just murder them.

thats propper pricey for a rat toaster, i`m sure i`ve seen them cheaper.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

here you go, 30 squids delivered 

ELECTRONIC RAT RODENTS KILLER ZAPPER TRAP PEST CONTROL on eBay (end time 11-Oct-10 12:41:41 BST)


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

pigglywiggly said:


> cats dont eat shrew becaus ethey are bitter to taste, so they just murder them.
> 
> thats propper pricey for a rat toaster, i`m sure i`ve seen them cheaper.


 
Yeah, when we had an indoor/outdoor cat, he'd run from me if he had something that was still alive, cuz he knew I'd take it off him (if it was dead, there was no point and he'd happily trot up to me). But one day he caught a pygmy shrew. He actually just walked up to me and dropped the little thing in my hand like "here!! Take it!" :lol2: I let him/her calm down a bit and gave him/her some mealies... Then released that evening.


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## pippainnit (Feb 20, 2009)

I think the 50-odd quid one was that expensive as it was fully weather-proof and could be used outdoors whereas a lot of the ones I found online could only be used indoors.


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## Lizard Loft (Mar 1, 2008)

My aunties dog ate a poisoned rat/mouse and it died within a day or 2, the poison is brutal stuff, stops the rats blood from clotting by thinning it out so they just bleed internally to death i think, *so if anything eats a rat with that in its sytem its not good*, and rats are usually so determined to carry on going and looking for food they will do so while this is happening to them and just drop dead! hence why one was in you garden

coinsedentally enough ive been told often the best way to kill rats is to smoke out their nest and let terriers kill them all as they run out, the rats die from one shake of the dogs jaw usually, and its alot quicker and more humane for the rat, and the dogs will often sniff the nest out if you dont know where it is, then just place a few traps down afterwards,

*but i wouldnt aside this method now poison has been used!!!!!*


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

think i`ll stick to rat bait, live traps and shooting `em.

my cat once bought me a live mole, blinking thing was not impressed at being saved, tried to rip me head off while screaming its head off! 
ungrateful bugger!


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