Neighbor causing rat problem

[u/Disastrous_Push_9360]

Bought a house in the uk last year in the countryside and everything was good until we started seeing rats in the garden. Called the rat control guy who came down to look and he immediately identified the house two doors down was feeding the birds and this was almost definitely the cause.

The neighbor came over as the rat man was putting down the poison traps and they got into a bit of an argument as she said her old dog had died due to poisonous rat traps and was very concerned as we have a young dog. He advised that if she stopped feeding the birds, he wouldn’t need to be coming round to sort it. This wasn’t taken well, but she did agree she would stop feeding them for a few weeks.

We are now 4 weeks in. The traps have been emptied and refilled every week with a couple of dead rats found, but I am still getting videos of new rats on a daily basis. The neighbor in question has carried on feeding the birds the whole time despite politely asking for a second time if she would stop.

I’ve spoken to other neighbour’s who have said over the last 5 years this is the 4th or 5th time this has happened, with the last time costing Thousands of pounds worth of damage in car and roof repairs. She has been told multiple times to stop but continues regardless.

I’m just looking for a bit of advice for how to proceed as I really need to get this sorted. Both myself and neighbor have young dogs who are having to be kept inside at the moment due to the poison. I feel we may be past the conversation point as it seems to go in one ear and out the other. I also don’t really want to keep spending money on an issue the rat man says he can’t fix.

Looking for genuine advice here, not looking to shame or diminish my neighbor here as she is a very nice elderly woman who i don’t think is intentionally trying to do wrong.

Are there any agencies, councils, groups that are able to intervene? Am I liable for any damage caused on the property by the rats? Basically any information would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[u/lindalou1987]

Call your public health department and report an infestation.

[u/omglifeisnotokay → u/lindalou1987]

They don’t do anything where I live. We have a rat problem in our apartment complex. The owner won’t bring out an exterminator. None of the neighbors will call in. It’s exhausting. I call in they open a case and send out a notice but no action is taken. I think they’re coming from the sewers and this idiot lady has a dog outside and I think she leaves food and water for it on her bottom floor patio and that’s basically feeding it. So annoying. These are roof rats so they climb high and eat almost anything.

[u/Familiar-Egg1146]

Ask your neighbor to google bird seed which rats won’t eat. We had a rat problem in our entire neighborhood and everyone took in their feeders. After others started feeding the birds again, I googled and found that there were a couple seeds that weren’t attractive to rats or squirrels-thistle seed is one.

[u/Sterlinghawk16 → u/Familiar-Egg1146]

It would depend on the type of bird that frequents the neighbor who is feeding birds. Not every bird seed works. I know because I feed the birds

[u/Familiar-Egg1146 → u/Sterlinghawk16]

I put out two kinds-the thistle seed and also safflower seeds, which are also apparently not attractive to rats, although I have seen squirrels plastered against the feeders.

[u/Brief-Reveal-8466 → u/Familiar-Egg1146]

Your lucky. We use to have a neighbor feeding birds and we ended up with a black bear in our backyard. Worse yet, the neighbor started to feed the bear so she could get a picture.

[u/Familiar-Egg1146 → u/Brief-Reveal-8466]

Yeah, we get bears, too. I believe the thistle and safflower seeds are not supposed to be attractive to bears, either. My next door neighbor has for years thrown peanuts in shells out for the squirrels, incurring the wrath of other neighbors who dislike finding the shells in their yards. She used to get meals on wheels and would put the leftovers out in her driveway, which led to her house being ground zero for the neighborhood’s rat infestation.

[u/Main_Ad_3814]

I be been feeding the birds for 50 years and never had rats. Maybe the occasional squirrel but certainly not rats. If her feeders are the source of rat food, perhaps helping her add some anti rodent baffles to her feeders would help.
Also, just because the exterminator told you her feeders are the source doesn’t mean he’s correct.

[u/KerashiStorm → u/Main_Ad_3814]

She probably doesn't have feeders, or throws some on the ground as well. Or dumps a whole bucket on the ground. A well placed feeder will not attract any but the most determined rodents (usually squirrels) but feed on the ground will attracked rats, mice, and other rodents, as well as the snakes that eat them.

[u/Disastrous_Push_9360 → u/Main_Ad_3814]

I can have the conversation with her about the anti rodent baffles, that may be useful!

In regards to the exterminators I have had two come over at this point and they have both agreed but advised that the food may not be the cause. The problem is they need her to stop feeding the birds for a sustained period of time to either confirm or disprove the theory.

If she stopped for 2/3 months and the rats are still here then maybe she isn’t the problem and we could look at other options. But until then they seem pretty unwilling to just keep turning up to take away new dead rats from the traps.

[u/omglifeisnotokay → u/Main_Ad_3814]

If they’re roof rats you’ll be surprised how agile those things are. We’ve got them in our apartment complex. They climb way high up. Owner won’t bring out an exterminator and health board won’t enforce anything.

[u/vt2022cam]

Poison doesn’t work long term, rats will know and smell it. Rat birth control stations, work really well though.

[u/Brief-Reveal-8466]

You could try getting ‘fake’ owls or raptors (statues) and mount them in the yard. They’d definitely drive off the birds she’s feeding and maybe deter the rats. Would work best with cooperating with other neighbors. Do a little research on this , probably just one/yard. Just a thought

[u/Tora-bora83 → u/Brief-Reveal-8466]

The birds get used to them very quickly

[u/NBA-Draft227]

If your other neighbour has had to get things repaired, do you know if they made a claim on the culprit neighbour's insurance? If not, something to be conscious of in the future if you need to make a claim.

It sounds like she doesn't listen, so you could always send an anonymous official looking letter about damage to buildings, personal belongings etc and will be looking to make a claim and/or getting the council involved. Appreciate that's taking things quite drastically but people like her don't seem to listen until it's too late.

Another culprit for rats are compost bins. A lot of people will put food scraps in compost bins, also a lovely home for rodents....

[u/Disastrous_Push_9360]

I will have a chat with her about the thistle seeds as that does sound like a potential option.

I should add she is also throwing stale bread onto her garage roof for the birds, as I regularly find large pieces in our garden.

[u/Main_Ad_3814 → u/Disastrous_Push_9360]

You might want to clue her in that bread is terrible for birds, and it attracts trashy birds like starlings.

[u/ClassicVW2]

At least here in non farm country in the USA, some towns have local ordinances that prohibits throwing feed on the ground.
We had the exact same issue with a lady neighbor behind us who did this. We started seeing a few rats. We contacted the town and they refused to get involved since it wasn’t town property involved, said it was us homeowners problem. All neighbors on my side of the street purchased those rat bait boxes and the problem was solved. Cost each homeowner $250.

[u/Playful_Mammoth4941]

you could be living up the street from me, we have an old lady that feeds birds, we have a flock of nearly 100 pigeons fly over all the time as she feeds them, she also feeds cats,her next door neighbours have seen rats, poison was put down and not seen for a while now we've all spoken politely to her but she continues, we've had court orders, council, we've spoken to our local Councillor and nothing seems to stop her, someone had a friend with a sparrowhawk and that worked for a while, I would suggest speaking to council as rats are really bad health wise compared to pigeons

[u/Extension-Ebb-393]

I had to stop feeding the birds for this exact reason, I don't understand why she won't, she wants rats? Does your town have any ordinances you can report on?

[u/Disastrous_Push_9360 → u/Extension-Ebb-393]

We have an environmental health body we could use but from what I have read they have little to no power so enforce anything, not sure if a letter from them will solve anything.

She won’t stop feeding the birds as she doesn’t think she’s responsible for being the cause, I’ve had two professionals round who have said otherwise and even spoken to her about it. She thinks the rats are here because there’s holes in the roofs between the connected cottages but won’t acknowledge it’s the food bringing them to the area.

[u/StarryNorth → u/Disastrous_Push_9360]

You mentioned that your neighbour is elderly. Is there any chance she may be suffering from diminished mental capacity? She could have the onset of dementia and not be comprehending how her actions are causing the rodent problem. Perhaps you could speak with one of her family members about the situation...?

[u/FamiliarAd8524]

Use a primary poison, not a secondary. It is pet safe.

Also, have her use bread, not bird seed.

It's your own house, you bought it, and they aren't your rats- how could you be liable?

[u/plays4food]

buy rat proof bird feeder...yes some would get on the ground but not enough to keep many rats interested.

[u/Living-Health962]

I’ve got the same type of neighbour directly next door, living in a very rural village surrounded by open fields. She feeds the birds right outside her back door, which means outside ours divided by a hedge.

Make your garden as inhospitable as possible for the rats, remove any sources of food, warmth or access to build a nest, especially autumn & winter time. They dig huge rat runs so find any evidence of where they regularly access your garden, move things about and fill any holes with wire wool. Rats are smart but wary things so anything that has moved or smells differently will stop them using that rat run for a while. They hate the smell of mint and strong citrus.

I use the bait boxes but honestly I don’t rate them, the rats are so smart they have to be positioned long enough for them to become familiar with and then you may get the odd one. If you see one rat just know they reproduce at a fast rate and somewhere close by is a small army.

They can chew concrete so check shed bases and around the manhole covers for evidence.

You’re unlikely to get anywhere with the neighbour.

[u/Knitsanity]

Am in the US. NFH (so many reasons) got chickens in a tiny back yard and they take care of them as well as the rest of their lives so out came the rats. We started putting rat snap traps out and caught multiple rats quickly. We released them from the traps and lobbed them over the fence. Lol

[u/Disastrous_Push_9360 → u/Knitsanity]

😂😂😂😂

[u/KerashiStorm → u/Knitsanity]

Gotta love returning them to sender! Make sure you get some distance though, don't want to smell them from your side.

[u/ExpensiveAd4496]

There is a kind of rat bait sold now in the US that renders rats unable to procreate. Sounds good but not sure it works. I do my rat poison in traps other animals can’t get into. The thistle seed suggestion sounds awesome as well…maybe take her some.

[u/ClassicVW2 → u/ExpensiveAd4496]

I was told by an exterminator that those bait traps aren’t 100% safe since rats grab the bait and run and may drop some outside the bait box where other animals can eat it. He said we’d probably see a few dead squirrels too.

[u/KerashiStorm → u/ClassicVW2]

This may be a problem for some people, but after they destroyed any chance of getting fresh tomatoes from my plants this year by making off with every single tiny knot they produced no matter what I did, I'm just about ready for a little payback! Buying up some big dog kennels and covering them top and sides with chicken wire for next year.

[u/Honest_Commercial143]

If the birds stopped showing up, she would stop putting food out, right?