Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Rat

Saw a rat casually trotting out of the Passage at Cavendish Road.

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Permalink Reply by somefriendly on November 4, 2017 at 12:20

Just to bump this discussion -I wonder if there is anything we can collectively do to get the council to take this problem seriously - or do others feel that it’s futile?

We have had a regular issue with rats under the floorboards and have spent quite a bit trying to solve the problem-, checking the drains, repairing holes etc. and have had haringey pest control round who basically put £5 of poison down, charged £100, and said ‘it’s London mate, there’s rats everywhere’.

At the moment we seem rat-free in our place but it surely won’t last and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do about it as we can’t possibly know where they come from or how they get in.

I also suspect part of the problem is people are embarrased to talk about it (I know I am) which means that the sort of collective action that might get the council to take notice on rubbish collection or parking doesn’t happen.

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Permalink Reply by vaneska on November 4, 2017 at 12:35

Get a cat. Seriously. Mine earned my undying gratitude earlier this year when he caught 7 (at least that's as many as I saw but he may have nabbed a few more at night and taken them outside) baby rats in my kitchen within a period of 36 hours earlier this year. I guess whatever hole they were coming through (I suspect where the dishwasher drainage pipe goes into the floor at the back of a bank of units) wasn't big enough for the parents to follow. He saved me from a major infestation problem. Another great advantage is that he acts as a highly efficient early warning system: he susses them out almost before they arrive and shows wild excitement until they've all gone. It happened once more a couple of months ago but this time there was only one baby rat.

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Permalink Reply by Mr Wodjacallim on November 5, 2017 at 16:09

I guess you don't want rats near your house, they are cute but very destructive. A friend living in a terraced house go them - and so did the neighbouring houses. It took ten years to get rid of them.

A lot of rats live in green space like Ally Pally, the Railway Line and New River during the day and forage round houses at night.

One thing to look at is food supply -so no rubbish which includes compost heaps and garden fruit trees which rats love. Another good think to look at is cover. No long grass or places to hide.

A few years ago I got a plastic compost bin from Haringey. I put it in a corner bounded by a fence and shed. Big mistake because rats got in the narrow space behind it and they could feast merrily while foxes and cats could not get near them. I got rid of the bin and then no rats.

I will never buy a bin form Haringey again!

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Permalink Reply by Madeline on November 5, 2017 at 16:17

We have rats, or rather our neighbours do. But they complain to us because ours is the only garden with a cut lawn, all the others are overgrown meaning that the rats are only seen when they venture into our garden and we get the blame. The council came and put down poison for them but they didn't go near it. This convinced the pest guy and woman that we didn't have any rats at all. After they'd gone we reverted to using our humane trap, (in case we caught an unwanted species) and could catch three or four rats an evening. We now have to keep our back door and windows closed as they will (and have) invade given the chance.

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Permalink Reply by tigha on December 3, 2017 at 15:48

I hope the rat poison is cat friendly, as an awful lot of cats round here, whiom might catch one of the poisoned rats before it dies. Only for the cat to also die.

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Permalink Reply by Lauren on December 3, 2017 at 18:06

Pemberton Rd. Bins haven’t been emptied for weeks so they are just piling up their rubbish in the front garden. Then people wonder why there’s a rat problem.

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