I have no hesitation in shooting them.
Black or ships rats are quite a rarity in the uk
All rodents are looking for 3 things …food, harbourage and clean water - take one away and they move on
A mouse can squeeze through a hole as small as a pencil …and I’ve seen them do it …..if you have mice etc proofing is the only way to stop re infestationThere is no legislation preventing quick dispatch, quite the opposite in fact, it must be carried out quickly and humanely (Animal Welfare Act 2006).
Reportedly there's been a sizeable increase in rat population since Covid with alegedly a 90% increase in London and other urban areas.
Apart from disease and other damage they, (and mice) have a liking for plastic pipes and the insulation around electrical wires with obvious consequences.
They can enter and travel though spaces as small as a 50p and easily climb up the inside of a cavity wall, they can also climb smooth plastic drainage pipes even into a WC bowl. I saw one example where in an unocupied 1st floor flat they had done exactly that, couldn't get out of the bowl as the seat lid was down so chewed through the plastic outlet adapter. In the space of a week they wreaked havoc.
BTW brown rats originated from central asia in the 1700s carried here on ships so naturalised, not strictly native. But then what is? Including humans.
...........So.......... I'll continue to shoot the little bu**ers through the head whenever the occasion arises, humanely and perfectly legal. I don't much care what others do with them as long as they release on their own property and they don't pass the problem on to someone else.
If you Google "Can rats fart?" that myth is debunked. It would have been quite amusing if true (albeit not a humane way to deal with the problem).
Kentucky fried rear legs of grey squirrel is absolutely delicious! I shoot all of them I can, the little blighters do a lot of damage to trees and nesting birds. I dragged one out a nest box that a squirrel had set up home in once, by chewing the entrance hole a lot bigger (the squirrel did the chewing, not me!). After dispatching the parent, I found three half-eaten young inside, which I can only guess had been cannibalised by their mum, so they must agree with me about it being good food...
An airgun pellet would be much kinder - imagine the agony, nothing deserves that.
We don't have many here so only see the occasional grey in our garden or field but I would definitely shoot them if the missus would let me. The same goes for damned pigeons which are like flying rats anyway and are multiplying rapidly around here.
Didn't I read somewhere - on here, maybe?! - that much of the cable shielding these days is made with soya? Tastier than plastic, presumably. I know I went through a spell where my garden solar lights were getting blitzed night after night, and that was listed as a possible reason.
Well grey squirrels have been here since 1876. How long do they need to become native? For humans, it seems to be a few years.
I think it depends how they get here - if they make it under their own steam, they can be defined as native (Collared Doves in 1956 for example) whereas if they were introduced my man, they're not considered native.
i planted a beech hedge, the local council official came to visit soon after and informed me that it was not a native species, i agreed but said its only been here 1000 years will it ever qualify as native. no answer
