NSS Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Delicatedave said: I have a question, the used to be hogs in our garden so I'm told - we've not long moved in - Bloke next door used to enjoy feeding the baby hogs as the came though the fence on to his lawn. So I would like to encourage them back if possible. The fear I have is rats, we live in open country but with a trainline running along the garden. We have at least one rat as I've seen it on the lawn and some day I could even have a conversation with the bugger at the back door. So would putting these boxes down be homes to the rats too? As Jeremy says, rats are pretty much everywhere, but our camera has been triggered by motion literally hundreds of times (probably thousands) by hedgehog, mice, badger, fox, squirrel, cats and a variety of different birds, but only once has it been a rat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 11 hours ago, Delicatedave said: The fear I have is rats, we live in open country but with a trainline running along the garden. We have at least one rat as I've seen it on the lawn and some day I could even have a conversation with the bugger at the back door. So would putting these boxes down be homes to the rats too? I have seen a rat in our garden but they tend to stay only if there is a food supply such as bird food left overnight on the ground. We have a camera watching the hedgehog box and the only thing that has gone in other than the hedgehog is a woodmouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 This old BBC News article tries to check the old (and false) adage about "never being more than 6ft away from a rat": https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20716625 That suggests that there are a fair number of rats in rural areas, mainly associated with farming activities. That fits with my experience; we always had loads of rats around the farm, and even more around my uncle's farm, as being a mixed farm he always had grain around, as well as cattle feed and chickens. Chickens seem to attract rats more than anything else; whenever we went on a rat population reduction spree we always focussed on the chicken sheds, as we knew that's where most of them would be. We have a big shooting estate a mile or so away, so we're practically inundated with pheasants, and there seems to be a fair few rats around, probably attracted by the feed put out in the pheasant pens. The rats seems to follow the stream, or at least we only seem to see them around the lane alongside the stream. Not sure why, though. The presence of rats doesn't seem to cause any serious harm, although it seems I've once been infected with Weil's disease (leptospirosis), so I have reason to not particularly like them. I gave a voluntary blood sample at a cave research association conference years ago, as part of a project to see how widespread this was in cavers, and it turned out I had antibodies to it. Thinking back I recall being a bit unwell after a caving trip in the Mendips, and as all three of us from that trip tested positive, it seems likely we picked it up there, most probably in a cave called Goatchurch, which is known to have water run off from the farms on the top of the Mendip plateau. Weil's disease is often transmitted from rat urine getting into scratches in the skin, apparently. The interesting thing was that the majority of cavers that tested positive didn't have any recollection of being seriously ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpd Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I am very fortunate to live on an island where there are NO Rats. Probably pretty unusual. No hedgehogs either or snakes or various other things but no rats is a blessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 It’s easy to encourage rats if you leave a food source outside. The neighbours one side have ducks and the other side chickens and both report that they see rats where they put the food out. I never ever leave any sort of food outside (mostly because I have a phobia of rats) and I’ve never seen one here. There are a few mice from the fields but I’m ok with those as long as they stay outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 5 minutes ago, Cpd said: I am very fortunate to live on an island where there are NO Rats. Probably pretty unusual. No hedgehogs either or snakes or various other things but no rats is a blessing. When can I move in? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delicatedave Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 1 hour ago, PeterStarck said: I have seen a rat in our garden but they tend to stay only if there is a food supply such as bird food left overnight on the ground. We have a camera watching the hedgehog box and the only thing that has gone in other than the hedgehog is a woodmouse. This one I have conversation with though the patio doors, he's a sweet little bugger more like a squirrel than a rat as he climbs the tree along the branches looking for the bird feeders, but I keep moving them ? Going have to trap him when I have time and take him away from the house. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I was working in a farm cottage last summer and at the back were some Dutch barns. I counted 6 rats just running around the floor of the barns, empty at that time of year. I pointed it out to the tenant of the house who did not even know they were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I find rats quite fascinating. A schoolfriend kept pet rats, and they don't deserve their bad reputation, in my view. They seem to be pretty intelligent, and care for their young carefully. I suspect we only think badly of them because they happened to be the host for the fleas that carried plague, or may be because they often live in big sewers. Their reputation probably wasn't helped by the super-intelligent rats in the series Doomwatch on TV, years ago. I remember thinking about rats getting into the house by swimming around the trap in the toilet after watching that programme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 We put food scraps on the lawn ostensibly for the birds/badger/fox so we can hardly blame the numerous rats for helping themselves. Doesn't have to be under cover of darkness either they're bold enough to come out in daylight. Then it's back under my suspended floors or into the loft to sleep it off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Weils desease probably doesn't help their reputation much either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 13 minutes ago, Construction Channel said: Weils desease probably doesn't help their reputation much either. True, but as above, it seems I've had it without being aware of the fact, so it may not always be a serious disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Jeremy Harris said: True, but as above, it seems I've had it without being aware of the fact, so it may not always be a serious disease. I have a natural immunity to tuberculosis from when I was a child, without feeling unwell, but I think it would be classed as a serious disease as would Weils disease as they are both potentially life threatening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Construction Channel said: Weils desease probably doesn't help their reputation much either. You can get that from cows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delicatedave Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Jeremy Harris said: I find rats quite fascinating. A schoolfriend kept pet rats, and they don't deserve their bad reputation, in my view. They seem to be pretty intelligent, and care for their young carefully. I suspect we only think badly of them because they happened to be the host for the fleas that carried plague, or may be because they often live in big sewers. Their reputation probably wasn't helped by the super-intelligent rats in the series Doomwatch on TV, years ago. I remember thinking about rats getting into the house by swimming around the trap in the toilet after watching that programme. This one is cleaver enough to clime up a fence and knock a bird feeder full of nuts of the end of the frame. First few times I thought it was the wind so I kept pushing it further on the pole but then I saw Boris do it. Oh yes I named him Boris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSS Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) Update: We've suspected for a while that we may have more than 1 hedgehog in residence, but have never seen them both in the same image, until tonight. Maybe the patter of tiny feet will entertain us over the next 12 weeks. Note: second one can just be seen in the entrance to Hog House. Cabin_20200323_205035.mp4 Edited March 23, 2020 by NSS 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 On 23/03/2020 at 21:26, NSS said: We've suspected for a while that we may have more than 1 hedgehog in residence, but have never seen them both in the same image, until tonight. We've definitely got two hedgehogs although not all the time. Sometimes it's just a one night stand. Hog hump short.mp4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSS Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 5 hours ago, PeterStarck said: We've definitely got two hedgehogs although not all the time. Sometimes it's just a one night stand. Hog hump short.mp4 8.74 MB · 0 downloads LOL, talk about a prickly relationship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiking Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Had a hedgehog turn up in the garden today at midday. I’ve never seen one here. Obviously it wasn’t well and despite taking it to a wildlife hospital, they put it down. My son was quite attached to it so we may have to build a box for them. No idea where I’d put it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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