We had a rat living in the shed in winter. When we realised it was there we removed dog food that we stored in shed, no longer leave a bowl of water out overnight anymore & OH secured shed so nothing can get in.

However we left shed out over the grid instead of moving it back to it's normal position.  We noticed over the last few weeks that dogs have been stiffing near the shed so decided to investigate tonight.

The rat is back, it can't get in the shed but has been living under it.

Does anyone know how to permanetly get rid of it.  We cemented all holes we found last time.

We have got a trap but can only put it down overnight & have to remove it each day before dogs go out.

Give your local Environmental Health a ring at the council offices and they will send Rentokil out who will bait the shed with proper bait boxes.  Keep an eye on the boxes and if they are emptied, get the council to send Rentokil back.  We were told that if the boxes remain full, you have no rats...........when emptied, they are back......temporarily.  :)

if you live near us we have an exceptionally competent ratting terrier and deerhound combination that religiously clear rat infestations for no fee

I assume the trap is non-poisonous so couldn't you leave it in a place that the dogs can't reach it?  I have mouse traps in my garage and I tuck them in places that my dog can't reach.  What about putting the rat trap inside another container that the dogs can't get into?

I also have a rat living under my shed... it ate the rabbit food!
But i cant bring myself to kill it so there it will live untill my killer cat gets hold of it...
Im sure he has already killed its babies.... and a young squirell (which was placed on my bath mat by my cat! )

Donna x
(and charliex)

OH has puts traps right under shed where dogs can't reach them.

Not sure if it's still there but one of the dogs keeps sniffing there.

All holes now fully cemented & round grid will get cemented tonight when OH gets home.

Are you sure it's just "A" Rat? I thought they lived in colonies,and where there was one there are always a dozen others :( Gawd i hope i'm wrong!

Ktee, I think you are right!!! :)

Ktee, for sure you are right..........see one rat and you can be sure there are many more about.

Council are the best bet, they will send someone out and put bait boxes down.

The one that was in our Yard appears to have definately gone.

It's likely there could be some nearby due to two empty house with rubbish in their yards & due to fly tipping not far from ours.

Apparently, there is a rat within 10 yards of all of us wherever we live!!!  :)

Yuck! Imagine living in New york where the rat population far outweighs the people

London can't be far behind NY can it?

Reminds me of a couple of call I received when working for an answering service.  One call from London wanted something done about a big bin (type that restaurants use with the lift up lids) near a tube station.  Someone disturbed the bin and "rats are pouring out"   Another call from London where a foreign man phoned in about a mouse in his kitchen. "There is a mouse in my kitchen....a big mouse ..... a very big mouse" Me - "Do you mean a rat?"  him - "Yes, yes, yes... a rat"   :D

a rat question....we caught a huge one in a fen trap last night, but it had tunnelled into a secure run (baby goslings day run, fully wired in) and after it had been caught, something opened it up  & removed its innards!!! Its a bikini-line tiny opening only about 1" so not like a large mammal or a bird did it (unless they crawled thru 2" rat tunnel & used precision scalpel to do it!!) So do you rekon another rat would do this...are they cannabilistic

Rats are cannibals, no idea what would have caused that kind of wound though.

Rats don't live 10 yards from me for very long, if one of the dogs don't get it, then my BSA  XLTactical will.