Hi
My neighbours(the ones that moan a lot!)have chickens,which I’m sure they are attracting vermin,mostly rats, and I think a fox,as there’s always a dead animal down the bottom of my garden.
Anyway he’s trying to blame me for the rats,as he’s seen somehow over a 7ft wooden fence,a rat running behind my garden shed.there is a hole between my garden and theirs under that fence.
1,Do dogs attract vermin?
2,Has he got authority to be looking into my garden? I feel like they’re always watching me and my dogs.
I can’t prove how he’s seeing into the garden,whether he’s standing on something or has a camera somewhere.
It’s getting me quite stressed.
Thanks

I would say dogs dont attract vermin unless dog food or bones etc are left outside. I know from my own experience we dont get rats on the patio but as soon as I start filling the bird feeders the rats start coming. The feeders are hung from a bird table and no food is put on the ground but they come for scraps. So I would say its the chickens bringing the rats around.

He may not even be looking in your garden he could have seen the rat coming through to his garden from yours through the hole and trying to place the blame. Try blocking it off with something solid burying it into the ground.

We only get rats when we fill the bird feeders, so I can only think it’s the chickens that are attracting them. Why he should think it’s your dogs and not his chickens is beyond me apart from expecting you to deal with it ie. pay for it.

We had rats this year and had to call in a company to deal with it . Dogs don't attract rats as schnauzer says but any food or water source may do.
As I learned its not what attracts them that has to be dealt with althoigh that helps but where their nests are. That's why chickens often attract rats . As for foxes no idea we have loads around us  in the Gardens although they do catch and dispose of rats 
Ours came from next door and once the area they lived in was removed off went the rats.
Rats are creatures of habit so if u can remove anything that might attract them and block their access u might be lucky and they don't come into your garden any more otherwise its using a company and it can be done without risks to dogs .ours were
In our case we agreed that costs would be split but I dont know how I would of dealt with that if we dint get on with our neighbours

Chicken feed will attract rats and any food in a garden. Chickens as a rule with food out for them will attract rats and foxes clearly are attracted to chickens too.
Bird feed will attract them, dog or cat food left out will do also

Highly unlikely it's your dogs.
I'd say your dogs know their about though if they're anything like mine.
Chickens attract them he can say whatever he likes.

> My neighbours(the ones that moan a lot!)have chickens

If they have chickens, that's where the rats come from!!   We had neighbours who kept chickens and we saw tons of them on their property which thankfully wasn't adjacent to ours.

Dogs won't attract rats - unless YOU are leaving dog food (including partly eaten bones) around.

However, if he's seen rats because of HIS hens, then you will have them around your property too.  I hope your dogs' Lepto boosters are utd.  I had to get my then two in for Lepto boosters a few years ago when we started seeing increasing numbers of rats around.  Rat bait, in two boxes, sorted that out.  We had no standing water around out there, although we do now, having seen a hedgehog around. 

If there are knot-holes in your fencing, he may be able to look into your garden - and if he has a second storey to his property, ditto.

If this amounts to harrassment, so you might have a quiet word with your local police, on a non-emergency number.

Yes, if the food for the birds drops on the ground, that may well attract rats unless your ground feeding birds clear up any dropped seed as ours do.  The pigeons prance round the feeders, waiting for seed to be dropped.

I have Brittanys and Bracco Italiano so they would soon chase any vermin off.
And I never leave any food outside,if I did it’d soon be gone by my greedy beasts.

Yes all boosters are upto date as I show them abroad.And the fence is solid wood with no holes.

We use the words/saying Rat runs for a reason rats are creatures of habit and follow their own scent if you block their way or any holes you may stop them.

I would say from personal experience that  chickens do encourage rat's.
We have our own little chickens and we do get rat nests beneath their houses. I have never seen a rat in our garden.
However we have hanging bird feeders for the wild birds  and both of our next door neighbors feed the wild birds too. One side especially feeds on the ground loads of winter grain. I have seen this lady put bird food out in the evening so that the birds have food as early the next day as they require. This obviously feeds the rat's overnight.

We frequently put out rat bate in safe places as a precaution,
I am sure though that we are treating everyone else's rats too.
I am sure we get the blame as we have the chickens but our hens are caged and fed inside, none of their food spills out and there are no rat holes into their cages.

Chickens will defernatly attract rats after their food. Unless you keep food in the shed its likely the rats have set up a nest under your shed and have been going after the chicken food.

Rats are just potentially everywhere, no one's fault necessarily. Getting rid of them can be trial and error in my experience!