New permission in Surrey

The team attended a new permission in Surrey on the 21st November to a private bird sanctuary, where there were signs of plenty of rat activity but difficult to get to. The owner had suffered a high number of deaths to their chicken and turkey chicks of recent where family members had been out shooting the rats during the day but the rate was nowhere near the breeding rate with the rat numbers growing.

There was an old static caravan that had accumulated a large nest of rats but it had a big void underneath it for the rats to escape to and from. We were asked to remove all the rotten decking at the one end which we did and capturing around 5 rats from the one corner where they all squeezed into. We estimated that about ten rats escaped into the voids.

We then moved into the open coups within some woods, where there were plenty of holes throughout the area but came away with a couple more to add to the tally.

With a little assistance from one of the owners 360 machines fitted with a grab, we stayed close as the remaining decking and fencing was ripped out. Some of the guys went into a narrow space between the the caravan and pens where one was caught but again, so many holes, the others again escaped.

We captured about ten in total and losing about ten. We have plans to attend shortly with the air guns and night vision to establish where they are all coming in from. Next year, most of the hay and straw should be gone from the barn, so we are hoping to get back there as that looks to be a favorable area for nesting.