Rats in Emma Cons Gardens

JazzyQ wrote:

Wow, eD WooD this is high testosterone stuff going for them with clubs, catapults and ball bearings with your trouser legs sellotaped up.
We are a bit boring round here with little green boxes for them to go into, presumably with poison snacks and treats for them to eat or take back to their offspring. We did have them capering around in our car park, but then their holes were concreted over and they could not come out to play round the recycling bins.

The door to my room had a gap and sometimes when I forgo to close it properly one of the rats would come in. We hated them so much and the landlord for not doing anything that we put all our anger (and fear!) into battering them. Still hate rats to the day.

Although I am someone that loves rats I do accept we can't have infestations of wild ones around. Poisoning is cruel and not even very effective. I would say eDWaRD WooDWaRD's method is actually the most humane (and effective) there is.

beetroot wrote:

Although I am someone that loves rats I do accept we can't have infestations of wild ones around. Poisoning is cruel and not even very effective. I would say eDWaRD WooDWaRD's method is actually the most humane (and effective) there is.

Well, it was definitely effective.

Hi I bought this matter up with Lambeth Parks on 26th July after it was mentioned at SNT Panel meeting, Emma Cons is a Lambeth Park. They have assured me that Poison has been laid .It not helping that Restaurants are leaving there rubbish there as well as the Road sweepers. There needs to be a more permanent solution to the dumping of rubbish in this spot and the restaurants should contribute to the cost, I am awaiting a call back from my contact in Lambeth Parks and will post an update

It's quite simple, if there's nothing for them to eat, they will go.

A friend and I worked empty building security in the Regent's Park Diorama building sometime around '93, for about a year:

http://www.midley.co.uk/diorama/Diorama_Wood_3.htm

Always a struggle to make comfortable with no heating; in the winter the walls used to run with water with the temperature difference inside and out. We made the best of it, converting two adjacent rooms with huge ceiling heights into living spaces, including a rescued pool table from the local pub that was closing down. Then, as now, with me being a collector/hoarder of interesting furniture and collected objects from my travels it always looked nice, but we suspected we had a rat issue after watching them dive in and out of holes in the garden outside similar to what I read here.

We knew for certain one night when my mate, sleeping in the room which had the kitchen awoke to the sound of the sturdy Victorian era door rattling back and forth. In the morning with saw the teeth marks of the rats trying to break through it.

We put in an immediate request for an inspection. A week later a tall, haunted looking chap turned up who spoke very little and from what we could deduce did little more than merely walk around the building, we never found sign of traps or poison. Following his visit, all the rats disappeared!

A fascinating building and time to live in London as so much high end property remained empty.

Tolstoy wrote:

A week later a tall, haunted looking chap turned up who spoke very little and from what we could deduce did little more than merely walk around the building, we never found sign of traps or poison. Following his visit, all the rats disappeared!

Did he have a flute with him?

Tolstoy wrote:

A week later a tall, haunted looking chap turned up who spoke very little and from what we could deduce did little more than merely walk around the building, we never found sign of traps or poison. Following his visit, all the rats disappeared!

Now that is an intriguing little anecdote that sent my amateur short story writer senses buzzing! There's the pied piper and the anti-pied piper!

Be very careful! Don't pick up any dead rats unless you have rubber gloves and disinfect properly. They are riddled with all sorts of nasty diseases, e.g, Weil's

Clubs and catapults are somewhat crude :-) The most humane way is to use something designed for the job, i.e. high powered air gun (see YouTube if you are not easily upset). Of course, this solution is very much limited by suitability of the location for reasons of legality and safety, i.e. it must be private and well enclosed to avoid any risk to public.

If any of the infested areas fit those criteria, I know of a syndicate of experienced, insured air gun hunters who will be happy to offer a free service. Main guy is ex-military, gun club sec, firearms training assessor etc. PM me.

They have now removed half of the garden, I rescued 18 plants and trees being thrown in the skip, result! I did check for rats before re planting. Apparently Lambeth Council has sold that part now.