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Bird table feeder vs attracting rats

Masala

Would love to start a bird feeder / table / hangers etc... but am concerned at attracting rats to the seeds/ nuts etc that get tossed to the ground

I am meticulous in cleaning my garden in relation to closing bins, scrubbing BBQ area etc as I HATE rats!!!!!!!

Am I wrong in my assumption on this???? I would love to do more for the local bird life over the coming winter

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Chancer3001

Have 7 feeders for birds.

Have never seen a rat attracted there. I've a feeling the birds way whatever falls fairly sharpish.

Our big problem is from crows breaking the feeders open to get the food.

Or pigeons / doves arriving down to eat everything!

OpenYourEyes

There's plenty you can do to minimise the risk. One thing is to use food that won't be spilled or discarded. Peanuts won't cause any mess for a start. I find that there's very little mess with sunflower hearts - the birds readily eat them and there's no shell etc. Theres *a lot* of spillage with the mixed seed, so avoid that. Some seed feeders have a small tray at the bottom that will further avoid any spillage too so keep an eye out for them. Use a bird table too, and don't overfill it with food - just a small amount at a time, wait til it's gone and put out more etc.

New Home

The other suggestion I'd have is to use food aimed at birds that you know are there. For instance, once I bought a large sac of mixed seeds, but it contained lots of wheat. There are virtually no pigeons, doves or sparrow in my immedate area (i.e., birds who actually like it), and the other species would promptly discard it, to the point that it had started to grow on my lawn! So, at first, you could buy small bags to see what gets eaten the most, and when you've figured out which food is wasted the least, you could then splash out on the bigger bags.

I probably haven't been very clear...

[Deleted User]

I use peanuts, fat balls, mixed seed and niger seed. I’ve often noticed some birds eating what’s fallen to the ground. I’ve never seen any rats.

recedite

"Rat blindness" is a thing folks, plenty of people who "never see rats" are in fact living in a place that is crawling with them. If you really don't want to see them, you won't.

I've no answer to the actual issue. Rodents absolutely love peanuts and grains and fat that falls to the ground. I tried moving feeders out into the open where rodents would be exposed to predators, because we also have the odd kestrel and buzzard around. But then the small birds shunned the feeders. Maybe because we also have the odd sparrowhawk and the birds would be left dangerously exposed, if feeding out in the open.

Doctors room ghost

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Have 7 feeders for birds.

Have never seen a rat attracted there. I've a feeling the birds way whatever falls fairly sharpish.

Our big problem is from crows breaking the feeders open to get the food.

Or pigeons / doves arriving down to eat everything!

Could be a different story at night when your in bed.ive seen rats around here after dusk but never in daylight and any outside food sources will attract rats in my experience.try a couple of poison blocks secured in a bait box and you might get a surprise

Keplar240B

IN my experience its far more likely to attract mice.

uck51js9zml2yt

My problem is crows. Seen them hanging off feed baskets.

[Deleted User]

Maddox Rotten Symbolism wrote: »

My problem is crows. Seen them hanging off feed baskets.

I’ve watched crows open the peanut holder and upend it to spill the nuts onto the ground! I’ve resorted to using plastic cable ties to secure them!

Pretzill

I have feeders and bird table and I've had rats, and mice. No sign of mice this year for some reason. Bring the feeders in at night and don't overfill the table will keep them at bay but rats & mice are attracted to nut feeders.

dogmatix

I've had rats. I even spotted one inside the "squirrel-proof" cage happily munching on the seeds. My solution was to move the feeders from the tree to standalone metal garden poles which stopped them accessing the seeds as they could not shimmy up the pole. But place the pole well away from trees and bushes as one day in May I spotted one desperately trying to get to the feeder by anchoring itself to a branch using its tail. The little ba*tards.

corks finest

Night mare,I had to stop feeding my goldfinches etc cos of mice ,so I've Holly etc growing and lots of birds and bees feed off them,plus strawberry plants,gouseberry, blackcurrant, definitely for me had to get rid of my feeders

corks finest

dogmatix wrote: »

I've had rats. I even spotted one inside the "squirrel-proof" cage happily munching on the seeds. My solution was to move the feeders from the tree to standalone metal garden poles which stopped them accessing the seeds as they could not shimmy up the pole. But place the pole well away from trees and bushes as one day in May I spotted one desperately trying to get to the feeder by anchoring itself to a branch using its tail. The little ba*tards.

Yep,but they will keep coming for they'll feed off the scraps

dogmatix

corks finest wrote: »

Yep,but they will keep coming for they'll feed off the scraps

I suppose it's a trade off - but I get a lot of enjoyment watching them (the birds) breakfasting at the feeders. As long as the four legged devils stay out of my attic i'm happy.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I have fed garden birds for over fifty years and, apart from about 30 years ago, have not had a problem with rats as a result and even then it was unlikely that the bird feeding was the attraction to the rats. Just make sure food is provided in feeders and that loose seed is put out sparingly. Don't load bird tables with cooked foods, or fats. If spillage is an issue then have a look at what type of feeders or seed you are using.

vistafinder

I have been using just peanuts with a couple of seasons now because of the mess other feeds make.

I caught 4 rats in the last 3 weeks with concealed snap traps and peanut butter.

Was out taking some pictures of the birds this morning and saw another one right under the feeder.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

vistafinder wrote: »

I have been using just peanuts with a couple of seasons now because of the mess other feeds make.

I caught 4 rats in the last 3 weeks with concealed snap traps and peanut butter.

Was out taking some pictures of the birds this morning and saw another one right under the feeder.

You'd have to question what the attraction is for the rats. It's improbable that peanut feeders for birds would be enough of a draw for several rats.

Pretzill

Jared Substantial Rebel wrote: »

You'd have to question what the attraction is for the rats. It's improbable that peanut feeders for birds would be enough of a draw for several rats.

I don't think it's improbable but then we had a rat hole dug below where our feeders hung. Rats love the free food

but I've also seen them jump at the ground feeding birds - attacking or scaring them off - I'm not sure - we also have had to trap the rats as the problem grew - poison is out of the question.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Pretzill wrote: »

I don't think it's improbable but then we had a rat hole dug below where our feeders hung. Rats love the free food but I've also seen them jump at the ground feeding birds - attacking or scaring them off - I'm not sure - we also have had to trap the rats as the problem grew - poison is out of the question.

The point is, with proper feeders for peanuts, there should not be sufficient scraps to attract a rat, let alone encourage a nest of them. Done properly garden bird feeding should not result in scraps for vermin.

Pretzill

Jared Substantial Rebel wrote: »

The point is, with proper feeders for peanuts, there should not be sufficient scraps to attract a rat, let alone encourage a nest of them. Done properly garden bird feeding should not result in scraps for vermin.

I have good peanut feeders - I still get bits dropped not becaise the feeder is badly designed but because most garden birds aren't neat eaters - I really don't know what you mean by 'done properly'. I've been feeding birds for decades - I live in a rural location and rats and mice are part of the landscape.

recedite

I've seen horses wearing nappies, but I've never seen a garden bird trained to wear a bib

Strawberry1975

Jam jars

Vicarious Function

I have a selection of feeders on poles. Sure! Birds are messy eaters and drop a lot of scraps on the ground. With the large selection of birds that visit, some eat from the raised feeders while others prefer to eat what falls to the ground. In that way, they keep the ground fairly clear. Especially pigeons like to patrol the ground, picking up bits and pieces.

Re rats - they're more or less unavoidable. I know my neighbours have rats, so that means I have them too, more than likely.

Strawberry1975

Storm works a treat on them or lead poisoning works well either
More like the latter on the 2 legged ones
It's like Drug Driving completely irresponsible behaviour ain't it

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

recedite wrote: »

I've seen horses wearing nappies, but I've never seen a garden bird trained to wear a bib

You're hilarious.
Of course some spillage occurs but it's hardly enough for the ground feeding birds let alone encouragement for rats. If there are rats around it's unlikely the primary cause is a well managed bird feeding station.

corks finest

Strawberry1975 wrote: »

Jam jars

Strawberry1975

Wrong forum
Looking for jam jars for jam marking
Distilling
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Harry Palmr

Every garden has rats, the only question is whether they are passing through or at least semi-resident.

recedite

Strawberry1975 wrote: »

Distilling
��

Just stick to the magic mushrooms Strawberry, and you'll be fine. I wouldn't go poking around too much.