Are you more than 6 feet away from a rat?

I know that the maths is largely guesswork, and so seems to have about as much basis as multiplying a unicorn by a rainbow and dividing by your favourite colour, but nonetheless I would have thought that there would be more rats occupying sewers than the baseline used, and also more "urban" rats given the amount of discarded junk food, etc lying around these days.
 
I have been a Public Health Pestie for 37 years and I am finding more and more rats in the drains as well as the sewers, than ever before.
Around about 1984 when the Water Authorities were privatised the annual sum of money given to local authorities to treat rats in sewers more or less stopped,I have to assume to pay the share holders better returns. I wrote a paper that was published in various public health publications about my thoughts and fears if the sewers were not treated. My proffesional opinion based on what I am finding at the present is that every manhole cover I lift has evidence of rats in it .So I would conclude that when you are near a sewer!! there is a fair chance there is a rat down there. This is a ticking time bomb which nobody seems to be taking very seriously. Even the water authorities who will certainly not talk to my Council to discuss funding. When the rats are on the surface they become the local autorities problem and the council tax payer. Wf1
 
try lifting a manhole cover off and put some food down next to it... you'll soon find out
 
Was shooting them off the bird table in the garden last winter. I first thought that it was grey squirrels doing the thieving, which I set up to shoot anyway.
Wingy
 
"Never more than 6 feet away from a rat"? I think it's evidence that rats are evolving ever more sophisticated survival mechanisms. From the rat's point of view they're never more than 6 feet from a human being and they've obviously worked out that it's very easy to miss over the top at that distance?
 
I've worked on properties in London for years, I was told years ago by a facilities manager of a vast prestigious hotel portfolio that your never more than 10ft from a rat or 6ft from a mouse in any of their London sites!!

T
 
I have about 70 Budgies and some parrakeets in my 5 aviaries and the breeding units in my garage.
I always have one or two blue sachets of rat poison placed nearby.
If they disappear I know that I have a visitor.
Recently there has been no activity.

HWH.
 
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4 or 2 legged variety?

Seriously though my farmer friend has a pig farm next too him, was inundated with rats, then he got a couple of cats, no more rats but now he has a load of feral cats!

Cheers

Richard
 
I have about 70 Budgies and some parrakeets in my 5 aviaries and the breeding units in my garage.
I always have one or two blue sachets of rat poison placed nearby.
If they disappear I know that I have a visitor.
Recently there has been no activity.

Be careful using sachets outside ,you dont know where they are likely to drop them. My advice would be to split them or use loose bait. Wf1
 
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