[Hey Jude]

Hello Lovely People. I've had a look through various posts here but can't find exactly what I'm looking for so here goes - my Dad is convinced that rats are nibbling into our potatoes which are still underground (we harvest them as we want them). Now, having suffered damage from more wildlife than I care to mention I wouldn't be suprised at all if he's right, but what I really want to know is, knowing that rats are disease carriers are the untouched potatoes safe to eat? (The thought of of rats piddling near my spuds is gross!) Many thanks as always, Jude.

[JayG]

Assuming you're thinking about Weil's disease, although it can potentially be very dangerous, it is caused by a bacterium and as such will not be a problem unless you have an unusual fondness for eating raw spuds!   

I think you should also put the risk in context - how many farms are rat-free I wonder, and I'm sure we'd have heard about it if many people were getting really ill as a result of gardening and home growing, despite I suspect many not taking much in the way of even basic precautions?

(It's also quite possible that the damage isn't being caused by rats at all - voles or squirrels are only two other possible culprits.)

[davejg]

years ago developers knocked some old outbuidings down behind our plots. we had a small plague of rats on the site for a while and they burrowed down between the potatoes and nibbled the ends of a lot so it might be rats. the good thing with weil's bacteria is it needs  water it can't survive on a dry surface.

[Hey Jude]

Many thanks for your help. Jude.

[sunshineband]

We do get rats eating potatoes before they are harvested, but these tend to be the ones where part is sticking up from the soil slightly

The ones underground are nibbled by (my favourite, not, as some know from their love of strawberries too) voles

The only way out is to dig them and store them, as once they have found a food source, they are there for the duration I'm afraid

[mrpotatohead]

y tatties underground were nibbled on too-i've voles in my garden for sure, but rats are nearby too. stood watching a clump of shallots moving to and fro recently as something moved under them. i once turned round just in time to see a mole poke its head through the ground beside me. i just figure in the inevitable losses to wildlife before i plant.