In article o.uk,
"Dave Liquorice" wrote:

On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:50:32 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:

Our Council does not have a "Rat Catcher" any more you have to...
1. employ Rentokil or similar yourself at £120+

I thought councils had a statutary requirement to provide a vermin
(rat/mouse) service? Rats and mice are an enviromental health issue.
They might not offer services to deal with wasps or other "pests".

As for the OP not seeing a rat before, he's just not been looking...
They are every where but mostly keep out of sight.

Thanks Dave -- though I didn't say I'd never seen a rat -- I said I'd
never seen one in such "flagrant proximity".

I don't mind 'em living nearby if I never see them -- because that
usually means that the population is "in balance". When they're running
round the garden in broad daylight it implies (to me) that the
population has become unacceptably large and bold.

I blame fatballs: perfect birdfood, but *even more* perfect rat-food:
swipe one of those and run back to the nest with it: you've got a day's
food! We may have to give them up. (I mean: give up putting them out
for the birds!)

John