I know the statistic that you are never more than 10 feet from a rat in city streets.

I've lived in towns and cities most of my life and I have only ever seen a rat about 5 times.

I know they are very smal and have lots of places to hide, but witha lot of rubbish around in quite a few places wouldn't you expect to see them more often?

I've always doubted the logic of that statement.

Never more than ten feet from a rat?

How can that be?

The only places I've seen rats in Sheffield is in Millhouses Park, near the cafe, and on the patio outside the Beauchief Hotel. I think they come out of the river.

I think the 10 feet thing related to London, where everything is more crowded.

Well I guess if you are standing in the middle of a road you could probably get more than 10 feet away.

But yes, I have always wondered how accurate that stastic is even allowing for that.

Only places I've seen rats in Sheffield is one the General Cemetry (cemetry Road) and one running along a pavement in a residential area.

Well, if you ever stand at the bus stop at Hillsborough Corner, I'd say you were no more than 1 foot from 10 rats. There's a whole colony living on the river back feeding off the bread scraps that old dears throw in for the ducks. Nice.

Adult rats are nocturnal by nature so you will rarely see them in the day time, the ones you see in the day are normally young rats and they are smaller than the fully grown adults, to be honest they arent that small and will fight back when cornered.

In the day if you want to see some rats you should look on rivers as that is were they play alot.

Think about it.... you're probably never more than 10 feet from a sewer in a city like Sheffield.... rats live in sewers....

To be fair to the rats though, it's us dumping rubbish that lures them into the city they didn't just decide to come and live amongst us for the fun of it.

Wheeley bins have decimated rat populations, because people used to put lots of bin bags out and they used to be able to get into metal bins which were so full that their lids didn't close properly.
Now we have wheeley bins, rats can't chew through them and the scraps of food are now not available in every back yard. You are always going to get rats where people dump fast food scraps, like flowerbeds on main roads etc..

"You are no more than 10 feet from a rat" is one of those myths like the war of the worlds myth and toilets flushing one way in the nothern hemisphere myth, which are peddled constantly until half the world's population believe them.

Its really relating to how many (approx) rats there are in the world vs people = if we were all evenly spread out we would be no more than 10 feet away from one.

Think this is mainly true in larger cities like London and especially New York where rats are the size of your head.

I've lived in Sheffield for three years now and have only ever seen one opposite the norwich union building outside a DWP office. Frightened the bloody life out of me!

When my Dad had a farm we used to see loads of the blighters, always attracted by the cattle cake, pig nuts, grain and whatever else they could chew their way through.
There was massive colonies of them in the banks of our silage clamp, probably nested there for the food and warmth.

I've only ever seen one rat in Sheffield and that was on Cricket Inn rd. By country standards it was only a tiddler at about 8" - we used to get massive ones that were evil looking sods.

They've gotta be the nastiest little s**ts in the animal kingdom, viscious, disease spreading vermin.

Originally posted by Swan_Vesta
They've gotta be the nastiest little s**ts in the animal kingdom, viscious, disease spreading vermin.

But they make very good pets.

I used to see rats in the subways at the end of bramhall lane and the one near waitrose. Big rats too! Normally saw them in the morning on the way to uni when i was a student.

Now a work (school) i have seen a rat run across the playground and apparently they have been seen running up the corridors in the last week. It is understandable with the amount of rubbish and food that is thrown on the floors by the kids! Plenty of food and warmth for the rats.

Originally posted by Evei
It is understandable with the amount of rubbish and food that is thrown on the floors by the kids! Plenty of food and warmth for the rats.

Plenty of danger too... The kids at my school are fond of throwing rocks at them, and generally making the rats' lives a misery.

We always put seed out for the birds in the garden. Just recently we have had a rat putting in an appearance a few times during the day to eat up the bits they are dropping.

I don't mind one rat, he will keep the little field mouse company that also is a regular visitor, but my worry is that one little rat will find a little friend and then we will have a plague on our hands. A little exageration I know, but they do breed quite fast.

So, as I refuse to put posion down to kill it, we have decided to not put any bird seed out for a while and see if little ratty moves on to somewhere else of his own accord.

Hope so, because I really don't like the alternative.......

Anybody got any humane 'go away little ratty' ideas ??
:confused: :confused:

Originally posted by LoopyLou

Anybody got any humane 'go away little ratty' ideas ??
:confused: :confused:

A kitty cat!:clap:

Originally posted by LoopyLou
Anybody got any humane 'go away little ratty' ideas ??
:confused: :confused:

A 2.2 air rifle usually does the trick.

Originally posted by Swan_Vesta
When my Dad had a farm we used to see loads of the blighters, always attracted by the cattle cake, pig nuts, grain and whatever else they could chew their way through.
There was massive colonies of them in the banks of our silage clamp, probably nested there for the food and warmth.

I've only ever seen one rat in Sheffield and that was on Cricket Inn rd. By country standards it was only a tiddler at about 8" - we used to get massive ones that were evil looking sods.

They've gotta be the nastiest little s**ts in the animal kingdom, viscious, disease spreading vermin.

There used to be rats on Cricket Inn Rd that made you go the other way to avoid them when the old Abattoir was open, but of course they had all they needed to live on, animals, dead flesh, and loads and loads of fresh blood. :o

There is hundreds of the buggers in ecclesall road cemetary.

A kitty cat!

Wouldn't get on too well with my doggie....


A 2.2 air rifle usually does the trick.

That is not humane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:loopy:

About three or four years ago we had a rat at our front door at work, which was breathing but not very vigourous, probably ill or something.
Anyway a woman who worked with us at the time was nearly sick with the stress at the thought of a rat being there, but after seeing it, and that was a cute big mouse thing, she was of a different view.

People expect rats to be evil looking 3 ft long things with pointy sharp noises and hooped slimy tails. The'yr not really just mousy things. :loopy:

Originally posted by LoopyLou

That is not humane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:loopy:

Of course it's humane, you kill the beastie there and then, at least its not in pain from poisen for three days before dying.

I would say that shooting a rat is more humane than a cat, after all there is a good chance the cat will lose against a rat, I've seen dogs run from rats, and cats run from dogs.

An air rifle is most definately the most humane way to do it, although a 9 mil would do more damage, just make sure you get a good head shot and there shouldn't be any humaity problems.

Originally posted by LoopyLou
We always put seed out for the birds in the garden. Just recently we have had a rat putting in an appearance a few times during the day to eat up the bits they are dropping.

I don't mind one rat, he will keep the little field mouse company that also is a regular visitor, but my worry is that one little rat will find a little friend and then we will have a plague on our hands. A little exageration I know, but they do breed quite fast.

So, as I refuse to put posion down to kill it, we have decided to not put any bird seed out for a while and see if little ratty moves on to somewhere else of his own accord.

Hope so, because I really don't like the alternative.......

Anybody got any humane 'go away little ratty' ideas ??
:confused: :confused:

Whats wrong with your dog? Is it a wimp? He should like nothing better than tearing the rat to pieces.

However you decide to deal with this vermin you should deal with it now! If it cannot find food in your garden it will look for it elsewhere, this may just end up being your kitchen, then i very much doubt you'll be calling it anything cute like 'little ratty'.

As someone has stated you are nearly always near a sewer and there's plenty of them down there. Go lift a few inspection covers, it won't take you long to see 'em :)

Have just got rid of a rat in the garden pinching from the bird feeders, and last Saturday about 9pm I was driving down Fitzwilliam St when one the size of a small cat (no exageration!) ran across the road in front of me.

Reply to Loopylou

Any method of killing rats is a good method, they carry Leptospirosis and Weils desease which is a bacterial infection in the urine.
This can cause kidney damage,inflammation of the membrane round the brain and spinal cord,liver failure and sometimes death.

Originally posted by LoopyLou
.....So, as I refuse to put posion down to kill it, we have decided to not put any bird seed out for a while and see if little ratty moves on to somewhere else of his own accord.

Hope so, because I really don't like the alternative.......

Anybody got any humane 'go away little ratty' ideas ??
:confused: :confused:

That is SUCH a pathetic, girly attitude. Just because you choose to think of rats in childish, Wind In The Willows terms, doesn't mean they are not disease carrying vermin that pose a serious health risk.

Originally posted by mojoworking
That is SUCH a pathetic, girly attitude. Just because you choose to think of rats in childish, Wind In The Willows terms, doesn't mean they are not disease carrying vermin that pose a serious health risk.

You are talking perfect sense, there. Sometimes you have to live in the real world, I'm afraid.

Near a river or open water is a place where rats will be and there's lots of rivers, brooks, streams etc in Sheffield. As well as the sewers ......

It's horrible to have to kill another living creature, but mice and rats do carry quite a few nasties ... if they're in your house or garden ... you just have to steel yourself and do the evil deed.

I've seen rats in the litter bins at Hunter's Bar. on the bank of the river at Heeley Bottom, and dead ones in the road in the City Centre too ... and a lot of people tell me they've had problems with mice and rats lately ... they seem to be all over the place ... but they mostly only seem to come out after dark (cue spooky music)

Originally posted by Methuselah
Reply to Loopylou

Any method of killing rats is a good method, they carry Leptospirosis and Weils desease which is a bacterial infection in the urine.
This can cause kidney damage,inflammation of the membrane round the brain and spinal cord,liver failure and sometimes death.

Weils disease is so easy to catch that even putting a hand that has a small cut on it onto a patch of grass or river bank where a rat has urinated can allow this disease to get into your body.

Try reading this article and see if you still think they are lovely little brown things.

http://www.le.ac.uk/biology/gat/virtualfc/weil.html

Originally posted by Methuselah
they carry Leptospirosis and Weils desease which is a bacterial infection in the urine.


They don't just carry it. They are constantly dribbling urine as a marking process.
Remember this next time you drink from the neck of a bottle or direct from a can!!

We have loads of cats on this street and the street below it, I'd say two cats for every three houses and on occasion I have seen the cats legging it with large rodents in thier mouths. I have a cat myself and she is a good deterent for vermin of all kinds. There certainly is a much bigger vermin problem than there used to be.
Was'nt some huge plauge spread by rats in the 18th century or roundabouts ? :gag:

What that scary website doesn't tell you is how many people get Weil's disease every year, and how many die of it. Judging from the tone of that article and by the rat population, everybody in the country should be dropping like flies with it, but I don't think that's the case.

Having said that, I'm of the same opinion as everyone else - rats are wholly undesirable and all possible steps should be taken to get rid of one in your vicinity.

Originally posted by honeyplanet
Was'nt some huge plauge spread by rats in the 18th century or roundabouts ? :gag:

Rats have been causing plague and disease right across the centuries, but I suspect you're thinking of the several major outbreaks during the 17th century, culminating in the great plague of London in 1665

Originally posted by mojoworking
Rats have been causing plague and disease right across the centuries, but I suspect you're thinking of the several major outbreaks during the 17th century, culminating in the great plague of London in 1665

I think we're about to have another severe outbreak as the election is coming up. There is a BNP thread abit further down which is never too far away . . . :gag: