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Colditz escape!

Just checked the greenhouse as it's been shut for about 3 weeks without me looking in it, and discovered a very neat 3 inch hole down and under the side of it and out into the garden. A creature obviously got trapped in there and had seen the film, so decided to tunnel under the perimeter like Charles Bronson! No wonder my  Jack Russell has been paying a lot of interest to that end of the garden. I just wish I knew what had made the hole.

Posts

  • I don't think anything was tunnelling in as there was only a pile of soil by the hole inside the GH, nothing to show on the outside other than a nice round hole!

  • Hello Doris - Some of my neighbours have chickens and a few people have said they've seen a rat since the chickens arrived.  I haven't seen one, they're probably wandering about in my garden when I'm not looking.  

    I'd block up the hole and see if it keeps happening, it's probably a rat or mice, and you'll have to take whatever kind of action you find appropriate.  Hope it doesn't become too much of a problem. image

  • Mel MMel M Posts: 347

    I once had a sloping garden which was long and fairly narrow. I extended the lawn area by 5 foot, making it level by dumping old bricks and general garden rubbish then topping with soil and turf I had removed to put down slabs for a patio. One day I was down the lower end of the garden and saw a HUGE dead rat under my freestanding bird table. Then I saw a pile of earth, then two good size holes either end of the lawn extention! Rats had discovered that I had made a perfect home for them and had moved in. Although I do not like killing any creature, as they were right next to the house, a couple of handful's of bait into the holes then blocking with rocks solved the problem.

  • Yes we had a rat a few years ago , sitting in the compost bin when I lifted the lid. Frightened the life out of me! But we found it later that year, dead and floating in one of the water butts. But no doubt there's more than one around. A neighbour does up old cars and has a pile of junk the other side of our 7ft fence, so maybe that's their home. We'll keep an eye on the situation.

  • I found a dead rat by one of the compost bins last week, so I guess he was the one that had been trapped in the greenhouse. My Jack Russell may have killed it as he's been nosing around near there for weeks now. Trouble is I'm worried they may be nesting in one of the bins(I've got 3 dalek ones) but with a cat and dog I don't want the council putting poison down. Any ideas?

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    I would tip out the compost bins with the Jack Russell on standby. Working dogs love a bit of exercise.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    That sounds like a great plan Fidget! image

    A bit like when we were very young on the farm, at threshing time all the village children and their dogs would gather in the rickyard as the men broke open the stacks - we were armed with stout sticks and the dogs (mainly terriers) knew their jobs.  Not many rats escaped image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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