Encouraging rats.

[stantheman]

My wife loves to put bread, left over cheese and bits of bacon rind out for the birds but the elderly woman across the road just told her that she shouldn't do it because it encourages the rats. We live in a wooded area in the country so there are bound to be rats and mice, as well as their predators, so what's the problem?

[jimbrown]

Do as you please. I had a similar complaint when I lived in town from a neighbor who complained that her dog was eating my bird scraps. My answer Keep your dog out of my yard. I loved to feed the crows and ravens they are much fun to watch.

I still do it here in the middle of nowhere and if the rats come I ain't seen any the dogs or whatever will eat them.

[Pumpkin]

I always get "scolded" for throwing out bread for the squirrels and the birds, but we have so many of them, that it doesn't stay there for very long, so what's the harm?

[Peppercorn]

I would agree that there is no harm in it. People where I live actually buy bird seed and fat balls to put in their gardens. I'm sure that other creatures come and eat them too but that's just Nature.

[Robertbrown]

My wife loves to put bread, left over cheese and bits of bacon rind out for the birds but the elderly woman across the road just told her that she shouldn't do it because it encourages the rats. We live in a wooded area in the country so there are bound to be rats and mice, as well as their predators, so what's the problem?

Occasionally placing scraps well away from the house will, in my opinion, get consumed by rodents. I don't think it will impact the population anywhere near as much as if you keep a bird feeder full. Birds eat about a fifth of what they spill on the ground. Fresh bird seed constantly on the ground will definetly increase the rodent population. That in it's self is not as big as the probelm you will have when you realize you are infested and you stop feeding the birds. Then the rats will be forced to try and enter your home or starve. Getting rid of them is difficult. Better not to place food where it is easy for them to get to. Put the food some place wher birds can get it and rats can't. Keep the food in an open area where rats have to run a gauntlet of predatory raptors to get to it. This way your not only feeding songbirds but your feeding hawks and owls as well.

[Pat]

AMEN Mr. Brown!!!!!!!!!!!

Rats can carry disease and definitely carry ticks so you are creating a problem when you feed the rats near the house. Rat/squirrel proof bird feeders are not too hard to construct but the seed on the ground is still a problem. One of my "things to get around to" is building rat and squirrel proof bird feeding stations. This will include electric fencing around the base of the bird feeder and an electric spiral wrap part way up the central feeder support. I have some small solar powered fence chargers that will do this nicely.

Please don't flame me regarding NOT FEEDING SQUIRRELS. I don't shoot them and I let them harvest pecans from dozens of my trees so they don't need to rob the birds.

Wrapping a bird feeder in a chicken wire enclosure will keep out rats and squirrels but admit most birds (choose the wire hole size appropriately.) This leaves the spillage on the ground problem, hence my electric fence for little critters.

We have oodles of rats and mice in the fields and that is fine, I just don't like to encourage a bunch of them to hang out around the house. Hanta virus, bubonic plague, ticks, fleas, and on and on...

Pat