Strange hole in flower bed - rodent??

[Protea]

Hi Protea,

I would look during the daytime for further signs. Rodents are incontinent and leave urine and faecese everywhere. If it is a rat, the the stools would be about one inch long by about 1/4 inch diameter ( ok 25.4mm x 6.35mm ) and black in colour.

If it is a rat, then I am afraid it wants shifting as they can breed quickly and cause problems for you and your neighbours in no time.

But be careful, don't just put down poison ( or traps ) without knowing exactly what you are hunting. It's just not fair on other wildlife.

I fish and shoot regularly and a big part of hunting is respect for the quarry. If you must clear them, and I would if they are Rats, take advice (or pm me) for the best ways of being selective and humane.

Finally, wash your hands religeousley, as rat urine can be very dangerous as it may contain Weils disease.

Now, have a cup of tea, think things over and just hope that you have a nice little bunny set up residence rather than a rodent.

Darren

Thanks Darren,

As soon as i noticed the hole i looked for poo and other identification signs! i can't see any anywhere, and i mowed the lawn at the weekend too so i should 'techincally' be able to see anything a bit more clearly (grass was nearly knee high!) There's definately no poo the size you stated for rats, if there is any at all, its so small so as to be indistinguishable from the bird seed husks

Don't worry - i won't put down poison, if its rats then i'll get the council in or whoever, if its not, and they're not causing damage i may just leave them be and hope that the increased activity over the spring and summer encourages it to move on to quieter accomodation!

I've attached a picture of the hole so you can see more what i mean, the other picture is of the hole in context with the flower border/fence

[Snadger]

Stick a brick in his hole!! ........Cor!! That sounds painful!!!

[dwrudd]

Hi Protea,

I would look during the daytime for further signs. Rodents are incontinent and leave urine and faecese everywhere. If it is a rat, the the stools would be about one inch long by about 1/4 inch diameter ( ok 25.4mm x 6.35mm ) and black in colour.

If it is a rat, then I am afraid it wants shifting as they can breed quickly and cause problems for you and your neighbours in no time.

But be careful, don't just put down poison ( or traps ) without knowing exactly what you are hunting. It's just not fair on other wildlife.

I fish and shoot regularly and a big part of hunting is respect for the quarry. If you must clear them, and I would if they are Rats, take advice (or pm me) for the best ways of being selective and humane.

Finally, wash your hands religeousley, as rat urine can be very dangerous as it may contain Weils disease.

Now, have a cup of tea, think things over and just hope that you have a nice little bunny set up residence rather than a rodent.

Darren

[Protea]

You could stand there in the middle of the night (which is probably when it comes out) and try to identify it. Once identified you can research ways to deal with it. On the other hand, if there is no real damage done, you could just decide to leave it alone.

Yes, i had thought about that, but i'm a bit of a scardy cat and i don't like going out to the greenhouse to light the heater when its dark - letalone look for animals <read: monsters> I suppose i could send Mr Protea but i doubt he'd do it

If i shone a torch on the spot from the back door would it run away or would i be able to identify it (about 6 metres away)?

[Benacre]

That sounds like RATS to me, put some slug pellets in a sausage that should do him well and good.

[rustylady]

You could stand there in the middle of the night (which is probably when it comes out) and try to identify it. Once identified you can research ways to deal with it. On the other hand, if there is no real damage done, you could just decide to leave it alone.

[Protea]

I noticed last week there was a strange hole by the fence behind the rose in my flower bed, there is an animal trial going from it to the bird feeder which is quite close. you can see that whatever it is has been eating the dropped bird seed (which doesn't bother me). the hole is quite large (10-15 cm diameter?) so i'm wondering what it could be....mouse or rat or something else? and what should i do about it (if anything) once it's been identified!