[Spinosa]

They said the rats were probably attracted by our neighbour who is an avid bird feeder. The rats scavenge what falls down apparently.

They do, or if you have a particularly cheeky * - as my parents did - it'll climb up the bird feeder to help itself...  :evil:

If you get them in the garden and you have decking, it's always worth checking around the sides of that for any holes. Apparently it's another favourite nesting place for them.

[Johnny Norfolk]

You will find your agricultural merchant will sell you rat poison. They are in plastic bags that you put out unopened. There is a warning printed on the outside so you need to make sure your rats cannot read.

You will find that they will eat the bait, so keep putting them out untill they are uneaten. Presto no more rats. It will kill them all.

[willnbirdie]

Hi

We have one of those Dalek shaped bins too.  Earlier in the season Mr and Mrs Rat were looking for a nest, we also don't put cooked food into our bin.

We removed the compost and placed wire netting underneath the bin with about an inch showing all the way around on the outside - the rats were then unable to burrow under the bottom of the bin and up and in.  Have had no problems since and have not even seen Mr and Mrs since then.

willnbirdie

[lincspoacher]

You're very unlikely to get Weil's. Think how many rats are about. If it was easy to catch, there'd be far more cases. However, I wouldn't use the compost on the veggies after rats have been nesting in it just to be on the safe side-even though the man on the RHS helpline said it would be ok :shock:
We have 3 main bins and had a big problem with rats last year. We got the council in and they charged a 1 off payment then kept coming back until all the rats were gone. It took weeks. They said the rats were probably attracted by our neighbour who is an avid bird feeder. The rats scavenge what falls down apparently. They just picked our bins to nest in. We have put wire mesh on the bottom of the bins and folded it up the sides so the lovely worms can do their stuff but Mr Rat can't get in.
Best of luck!

Its is  fairly easy to catch, you just never get to hear about it because its not news.

Theres three main groups of people that get it:

1. Sewage workers, from rat urine
2. Farmers, from cow urine
3. people, from swimming  in dirty rivers

Firemen have also been known to get it from water runoff from fires, where theres a significant rat infestation, and lots of dead rats.

[She'sinthegarden]

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733756346?p=1191942172956

Look at Leptospirosis (Weil's Disease). It's a notifiable disease. Yes it's a horrible disease but  the evidence is clear that considering the rat population in this country, confirmed cases of infection are rare. Wearing gloves when you handle the compost would be sensible - and you do need to get rid of the rat.