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Gardening

Seeker_UK said:
A cat is a bad idea. Unless the cat is a feral tom, it won't go near it. If the rat has Toxoplasmosis, it loses its fear of cats anyway and passes that nasty on to cats.

If you want animal-based control, what you want is a dog, like a Plummer, Jack Russel or Cairn Terrier.

If you don't, I agree with @Darren L, poison boxes are what you need, but even then keep an eye on them to make sure there's no rat poison brought out by the rat and leaving a hazard to other animals. You also need to remove any places they might be nesting.

On the plus side, it means you don't have mice :)
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??? My current cat, a neutered male, is an accomplished ratter. I’ve known him to bring in several in a night. A friend’s spayed female cat catches rats, rabbits, mice; even a stoat once.

AIUI most cats have toxo anyway. And if you’ve lived with cats, you’re likely to have it too.
 
 
AudioAl said:
A couple of images of the back garden

BF31F7F8-63E7-4D0F-B6B5-903C9B047C81 by , on Flickr
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E27F6AD9-C9DC-4D30-A0E2-B8B282497709 by , on Flickr
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8688DE33-FD9F-4029-BACC-DE853FC657A4 by , on Flickr
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F59FC1CB-EAE3-4740-B193-3EABA13BDCBA by , on Flickr

And a small strip at the front

B71F82B6-6BE0-4724-B938-759ED4FB1B49 by , on Flickr
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That looks to me as though it’s potentially a very nice garden indeed, and those low brick retaining walls around the borders indicate that one of the previous owners took some pride in it - you could have all sorts of nice things in there already.
 
Durmbo said:
??? My current cat, a neutered male, is an accomplished ratter. I’ve known him to bring in several in a night. A friend’s spayed female cat catches rats, rabbits, mice; even a stoat once.
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My comment was also based on personal experience and that of a couple of friends.

Cats eh? Never behaving as they should. ;)
 
Looks pretty good @AudioAl certainly got potential, I like the little walled planter, there could be bulbs planted I guess you'll need to see what comes up in Spring .

@Seeker_UK my cats a female and she killed the rat within a few seconds of seeing it, top kitcat :)
 
AudioAl said:
Dares a rat in the garden watchu gonner do ?
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Buy an air rifle?
I borrowed one from my neighbour when we had a load of young rats coming into the garden. I discovered that I was not a sharp shooter, but it was entertaining for a couple of weeks. It was when I found myself sitting on a chair at the end of the garden with a glass of whisky in one hand and a rifle in the other that I decided it was probably time to stop :D I probably shot at a rat maybe 7 or 8 times, and took one out fairly instantly and winged another.

Eventually some semi-feral cats moved into the gardens around us and the rats have disappeared from ours. The bloke who runs the pub down the road says he has lots still, probably as he piles pub rubbish behind the pub.
 
Nothing.
AudioAl said:
Dares a rat in the garden watchu gonner do ?
79BB36B4-80D5-4292-A004-6B5D8E4B805F by , on Flickr
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Has the house been empty for a while? If so, no-one has been in the garden and so the rats feel confident to show up in the daytime. Your garden is, for them, a piece of wild land. I would still say you should do nothing apart from be in the garden, move things around etc. And make sure that there are no holes which give them access to the house, and that none of the drains are blocked.
 
Get yourself the right sort of terrier like my Tinkerbell - see my avatar - amd they make excellent ratters and mousers. Tinkerbell is nearly 16 years old but still catches rats, mice, squirrels and the occasional rabbit and lines them up by the back door for my inspection. Very entertaining.

Your garden looks like it has great potential.
 
Seeker_UK said:
A cat is a bad idea. Unless the cat is a feral tom, it won't go near it. If the rat has Toxoplasmosis, it loses its fear of cats anyway and passes that nasty on to cats.

If you want animal-based control, what you want is a dog, like a Plummer, Jack Russel or Cairn Terrier.

If you don't, I agree with @Darren L, poison boxes are what you need, but even then keep an eye on them to make sure there's no rat poison brought out by the rat and leaving a hazard to other animals. You also need to remove any places they might be nesting.

On the plus side, it means you don't have mice :)
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Rat poisons divide into two types - indoor and outdoor. It is illegal to use indoor poisons outdoors because they are what is known as single take toxins. One dose and you are dead. This is fine indoors because nothing will eat the dead bodies. However outdoors you get secondary poisoning where a bird of prey, carrion feeder or neighbours pet eats the corpse and is poisoned. Bad news. As a result outdoor baits are multi take. The target animal goes back regularly for the free food,and dies. If a scavenger eats it then it's a safe bet that they are not living on wobbly rats so they won't die. You need to eat the poison 3-4 days running to get a fatal dose.
 
Which way does the back garden face? That doesn't take years to sort out. Just look where the sun rises and sets. If, like me, you like catching a few rays.. identify the sun trap bit of the garden and protect it at all costs!!

Otherwise, I'm with the 'don't do too much yet' school of thought. That garden has obviously been a considered and cared for space at some point.. then presumably it got beyond the occupant to keep it up..

I think I would concentrate on getting the grass cut and the existing borders weeded, before the depths of winter. Also try to identify all shrubs/trees and see which need pruning and when. I can see numerous border perennials which again.. may just need trimming back a bit, or will die back anyway and bounce back next year.

Those raised beds need looking at. One against a brick wall of neighbours house? Garage? Is the soil above the DPC? Same with the ones above fences. If there are concrete base panels.. fine.. but otherwise fence panels will rot.
Tree in pic with yellow bucket looks dead. There's a climber of some sort on the trunk. Clematis? May or may not be dead. Early flowering Clematis will look dead now but come back next year.

If you want to grow stuff..stick with planting bulbs in containers for now..there may be all kinds already in the beds and borders. I plant tulips and 'fancy' daffs/narcissus in pots around this time of year for early spring colour. Also Anemone De Caen, which are very colourful and great value for money. All cheap as chips from B&Q/Wilko etc.

Maybe also identify a small plot for veggies and dig it over before winter sets in, so it can be quickly and easily brought into use next spring. Even that isn't critical. I have been overrun with tomatoes, this year..all container grown in bucket sized, or bigger pots. You could also use grow bags. Only secret is big enough pot/container, regular feeding and watering, and a decent summer. A warm wall to plant against is good. I've also had outdoor cucumbers, container grown, and masses of runner beans from a trench, but they also do well in containers. Radishes and beetroot are easy in a little plot. Carrots I find unpredictable and best grown in containers kept above ground level to discourage Carrot Fly, which can only fly about 18" above ground. Herbs are easy/ I grow coriander every year.

That red 'patio' makes mine look good...and mine really isn't good. Grim, but could maybe be rescued.

Front looks OK. Just needs tidying and depending on your idea of privacy, maybe prune back those shrubs which I assume constitute the front boundary of your plot.

I wouldn't worry too much about a rat. We see the odd one along the back fence. We also see squirrels and the occasional Stoat. We also frequently get hawks tearing garden birds to bits on the back grass. 'Nature, red in tooth and claw'..as they say. Better seen than not...

Good luck!!
 
Mullardman said:
Which way does the back garden face? That doesn't take years to sort out. Just look where the sun rises and sets. If, like me, you like catching a few rays.. identify the sun trap bit of the garden and protect it at all costs!! The sun arrived in the back garden about 1.30pm

Otherwise, I'm with the 'don't do too much yet' school of thought. That garden has obviously been a considered and cared for space at some point.. then presumably it got beyond the occupant to keep it up.. Yes the previous Owner passed away

I think I would concentrate on getting the grass cut and the existing borders weeded, before the depths of winter. Good advice , Will do that soon , Also try to identify all shrubs/trees and see which need pruning and when. I can see numerous border perennials which again.. may just need trimming back a bit, or will die back anyway and bounce back next year. I'm not good on tree and plant ID's

Those raised beds need looking at. One against a brick wall of neighbours house? Garage? Is the soil above the DPC? Same with the ones above fences. If there are concrete base panels.. fine.. but otherwise fence panels will rot.
Tree in pic with yellow bucket looks dead. Indeed it is , When I find a saw its coming down , It's not massive There's a climber of some sort on the trunk. Clematis? May or may not be dead. Early flowering Clematis will look dead now but come back next year. OK will look that up

If you want to grow stuff..stick with planting bulbs in containers for now..there may be all kinds already in the beds and borders. I plant tulips and 'fancy' daffs/narcissus in pots around this time of year for early spring colour. Also Anemone De Caen, which are very colourful and great value for money. All cheap as chips from B&Q/Wilko etc.OK on my shopping list

Maybe also identify a small plot for veggies and dig it over before winter sets in, so it can be quickly and easily brought into use next spring. Even that isn't critical. I have been overrun with tomatoes, this year..all container grown in bucket sized, or bigger pots. You could also use grow bags. Only secret is big enough pot/container, regular feeding and watering, and a decent summer. A warm wall to plant against is good. I've also had outdoor cucumbers, container grown, and masses of runner beans from a trench, but they also do well in containers. Radishes and beetroot are easy in a little plot. Carrots I find unpredictable and best grown in containers kept above ground level to discourage Carrot Fly, which can only fly about 18" above ground. Herbs are easy/ I grow coriander every year. I may buy a greenhouse

That red 'patio' makes mine look good...and mine really isn't good. Grim, but could maybe be rescued. I intend sorting that out with cleaner and my Nilfisk jet wash then re grout

Front looks OK. Just needs tidying and depending on your idea of privacy, maybe prune back those shrubs which I assume constitute the front boundary of your plot. The boundry has a wall , The bigger shrubs are outside that wall

I wouldn't worry too much about a rat. We see the odd one along the back fence. We also see squirrels and the occasional Stoat. We also frequently get hawks tearing garden birds to bits on the back grass. 'Nature, red in tooth and claw'..as they say. Better seen than not...

Good luck!!
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How do I know if it is one rat , it may be lots of rats , They all look the same

Thanks for your input :)
 
As others have said, that garden looks basically OK, I'd just tidy up and see how you go. Winter soon anyway, so not a good time for planting. Get some weedkiller around the patio, mow the lawn, tidy the edges, see how you go. You may come across local gardeners who will give you surplus plants, this is a winner. In my case it's my parents. I do very little in my garden but it's tidy and a pleasant place to be.
 
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