How to prevent rats under garden shed?

n1st

Last winter we had what we suspect was rats, nesting under our garden shed.
They dug the soil under the shed.
This year I hope to prevent recurrence, but how?

I have recently stuffed mesh wire in holes at the bottom of shed and laid poison in bait box.
Now I am thinking I should lay something under the shed itself in order to prevent digging, the sheds cannot be moved however.
I'm thinking of pouring very water cement under the sheds and hope it sets and deters.

Any suggestions?

Harry Palmr

This is why sheds should be on a raised surface, are you sure it can't be lifted and a wire mesh or better still slabs put under it. Most sheds are very light without the contents.

n1st

Lifting is not an option now. Shelving and benches have been installed, also a lean to attached.

Lumen

The standard approach to determined digging critters (e.g. foxes around chicken runs) is vertical weldmesh with a horizontal skirt. The idea is that the animal starts digging at the base of the vertical part, but can't go down because of the skirt. They don't retreat a bit and try again, they just give up. Idiots!

So you could just staple the vertical part of this L-shaped mesh profile to the perimeter of the shed floor and bury the skirt.

For rats you want 1/2 inch weldmesh, for mice 1/4 inch. I don't think rats can get through mouse mesh even though it's quite thin.

If you use mesh that's too wide, e.g. 1 inch mesh, then it will become even more popular because the rats/mice can get in but no predator can follow. It'll become a sort of 18/30 holiday camp for rodents.

Do not use chicken wire as it can be eaten through.

steamsey

Also - you could also think about whether there is a food source nearby that's attracting them in the first place - maybe a compost bin? Remove food source and they might move on but I would do this in tandem with baiting them.

loyatemu

get a cat?

n1st

Yes there was a food source last year, dog food, I remedied that at the time.
Do rats return to previous nest site?

steamsey

I don't think they work like that. I think if they have shelter, water and food, they'll make a nest near those things as opposed to returning to a nest regularly like certain birds, for example. So make sure there is no food - water is harder to control. Depending on where you live, could be a neighbour's food supply / compost bin / chickens/ aviary etc attracting them in so consider that if they come back.