Graves Park Rats

[bassett one 450]

i tried with scc to obtain through there grant schemes a few years ago as sec of the local tara,before i retired to put up bat boxes with a wildlife group,but unsuccessfull,i used to fish the ponds like many kids in the 60s and line fish naughty lad to increase the pond fish ,from the boating lake fish stock,and i never saw a rat,even though the ducks were fed with bread even in those days,the park was clean and tidy and there was or seemed to be more pride and respect,but this rodent infestation is huge.

[Organgrinder 1,946]

It used to be a lovely Park, as did all the Parks in Sheffield and all the flower displays in the City Centre were out of this world.

It's probably all to do with lack of manpower and budget cuts as usual.

There used to be a lot of us in the old days but nowadays whenever we go in the Park we never ever see a Parkie and have remarked about it.

Everyone talks about moving on and modernisation but all the progress is backwards.

[Padders 2,863]

Strange thing is, birds, butterflies, bees, and just about every other species is in sharp decline, some in danger of becoming extinct.

Doesn't seem to matter what we do about rats, they just keep multiplying and multiplying..

[katekate 15]

2 hours ago, bassett one said:

its not that,its they are running out in front of you at graves park and seem to be very visible,unlike other places,i have no doubt they are at many other parks ect,but at least they have not been visible and running riot,saw a programe the other day on london ,but the man went out and killed the lot in 2 weeks with his poision boxs,swept up and left.

I totally agree with Bassett one.  Its the fact that they are so visible.  Yes they are everywhere, but on recent visits to Graves Park I have witnessed rats running out in front of me only a couple of inches from my feet.  This  is not pleasant when you don't like them.  We have also been in the playground when it has been full of kids and we have seen rats just scurrying around in there whilst the kids are playing.  It's just not nice seeing them in the kids play area.   We've seen them for years in Graves Park but they are certainly more visible now.

[Padders 2,863]

13 minutes ago, katekate said:

I totally agree with Bassett one.  Its the fact that they are so visible.  Yes they are everywhere, but on recent visits to Graves Park I have witnessed rats running out in front of me only a couple of inches from my feet.  This  is not pleasant when you don't like them.  We have also been in the playground when it has been full of kids and we have seen rats just scurrying around in there whilst the kids are playing.  It's just not nice seeing them in the kids play area.   We've seen them for years in Graves Park but they are certainly more visible now.

I always thought rats were nocturnal ?

[katekate 15]

1 hour ago, Padders said:

I always thought rats were nocturnal ?

I wish they were!  Good point about the birds, butterflies etc though.  

[tinfoilhat 11]

4 hours ago, Padders said:

Strange thing is, birds, butterflies, bees, and just about every other species is in sharp decline, some in danger of becoming extinct.

Doesn't seem to matter what we do about rats, they just keep multiplying and multiplying..

They thrive on waste and filth, and humans provide that and plenty of it. The other species need less of it.

[bassett one 450]

i agree with you ,that mr rat catcher cannot do the job alone,but something needs sorting sooner rather than later,or before we end up with a dead child or worse.

[melv 16]

I would like to see a section of the park fenced off like the bird reserve in Ecclesall woods. This would be beneficial to all wildlife, obviously birds. Ground nesters would benefit as the multitude of dogs being walked would be excluded. 

[bassett one 450]

that would be a great idea,so easy to do in graves and many other parks,it would lower the cost of upkeep and the fencing could be paid for by various  donations via lottery ect and we could even include hides and small wetland areas,and then leave some cash to sort out the rat problem ect.

[crookesjoe 10]

Why is there so much fear about rats?  

 

What creates the hysteria people seem to have when they see a rat?

 

A squirrel or a mouse is just as filthy as a rat.

[Beechwood_S6 101]

39 minutes ago, crookesjoe said:

Why is there so much fear about rats?  

 

What creates the hysteria people seem to have when they see a rat?

 

A squirrel or a mouse is just as filthy as a rat.

Not forgetting, those calling for action negate to think that the use of more poisons in our parks , will also threaten  smaller animals and birds of prey such as an array of Hawks and owls etc, where rats are part of their food chain.

 

dont feed rats and they move on, numbers only increase when food is plentiful when it's not they decrease in numbers as they'll  eat each other.