# Rat in garden - should I be worried? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 8, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641 "2011-09-08T18:46:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/1 "2011-09-08T18:46:36Z")
We have an outdoor cat\* who caught a pretty good sized rat (6 to 7 inches plus tail) outside yesterday. We don’t know where she caught it, but she left it in the garden, maybe 20-25’ from the house. Usually she brings her kills and leaves them on the patio. My concern is whether we might be at risk of ending up with rats in the house. I don’t know of any obvious modes of entry, but who knows? The house is in San Francisco. Weather has been cool most of the summer; yesterday was a little warmer. Opinions? \*Semi-feral and mostly afraid of people (except my partner, who feeds her most of the time); we feed her twice a day, but she doesn’t always eat. She’s a fighter if necessary to defend her turf from predators. She has caught 3 or 4 gophers and a few mice before, that we know about. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/2 "2011-09-08T20:35:02Z")
Is the rat dead? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/3 "2011-09-08T20:43:58Z")
I wouldn’t be worried. All cities have rats. Apparently you have an outdoor cat that’s adept at catching things patrolling the yard. I don’t think you have to worry until she starts catching and presenting you with one (or more) every day. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/4 "2011-09-08T20:53:00Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > Is the rat dead? Good point, I should have said “caught and killed”. Thanks, **DCnDC** , that is also a good perspective. The size of that thing is really what freaked me out a little. I’d sure like to know where it came from. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/5 "2011-09-08T20:55:58Z")
I saw a rat in our backyard once. I don’t know if my cats got it or not, but I never saw it again. Nor have I had rats in the house. I don’t think you need to worry. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/6 "2011-09-08T21:07:22Z")
All cities have rats. They’ve been around (and possibly in) your house all along, but now you have proof. I see them scurrying across the road sometimes when I drive home late in the evening and hope the neighborhood cats are doing their job. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/7 "2011-09-08T22:07:43Z")
We had a serious rat problem starting in Dearborn Heights a few years ago. I found a little feral kitty in the park. When he got older ,he cleaned then all out. He was a killer cat like I have never seen. He would drop their bodies all along the driveway . When I went to work in the morning, I had to clean them up. He also left mice bodies all over . ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/8 "2011-09-09T21:56:30Z")
Look for droppings here & there. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/9 "2011-09-10T00:11:59Z")
I had a rat problem a couple of years ago. They were gnawing at my deck and burrowing underneath it. My next-door neighbor, who also has a wooden deck, found the same evidence and started setting rat traps. He caught 1-2 every day for a week or so; big, nasty suckers. At that time I decided to tear my deck down and have a concrete deck poured. Since then, no signs of rats. If you’re concerned, I’ve learned a few things: Do not have a garden. Do not throw bread or other food out for birds. Do not keep piles of wood around. Look for places they may like to burrow (warm & dark). If you see a line of birds regularly congregating on an electrical wire above a specific area, that may indicate a rat population. Be aware that rats are able to squeeze into an opening the size of a quarter (mice, the size of a dime). Good luck. mmm ETA: I forgot to mention, we called the city for assistance. They basically said it is our problem to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/10 "2011-09-10T04:11:58Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > If you see a line of birds regularly congregating on an electrical wire above a specific area, that may indicate a rat population. Really? Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/11 "2011-09-10T05:54:45Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Really? Why is that? Same question. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/12 "2011-09-10T06:51:53Z")
Rat voyeurs, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/13 "2011-09-10T07:10:10Z")
If your wife sets out food and the cat doesn’t take it, don’t leave it out. You’ll be feeding the rats. There isn’t a lab for the **N** ational **I** nstitute of **M** ental **H** ealth nearby is there? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/14 "2011-09-10T13:21:25Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > If you see a line of birds regularly congregating on an electrical wire above a specific area, that may indicate a rat population. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Really? Why is that? The pest control guy from the city told me this; he didn’t explain it further and I didn’t ask. I assume it’s because the birds gather in areas where ample food opportunities exist, and rats do the same. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/15 "2011-09-10T13:38:21Z")
Most, not all, cities have rats. Alberta has had a rat elimination program since the 1950s, and my city does not have rats. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-in-garden-should-i-be-worried/595641/16 "2011-09-10T13:46:33Z")
As MMM has said, rats will get into your house if they wish to. They can squeeze through small holes. One dead rat doesn’t mean much. If you have an infestation in the ceiling - and you will know- get a professional in.