A garden bird feeding expert has warned there may be a mistake you’re making when it comes to feeding the birds in your green space – and it may be attracting rats
You may be accidentally attracting rodents into your garden (Stock Image)(Image: Sergio Amiti via Getty Images)
The last thing you want in your garden as temperatures rise are rodents. But if you’re putting out bird feed to help local wildlife, you might inadvertently be drawing them in with your choice of feed. According to the British Trust for Ornithology, feeding birds bolsters their survival by offering dependable nutrition during brutal winters or hectic breeding periods, particularly as their natural habitats vanish.
It helps sustain bird populations, enables weaker birds to pull through, and delivers natural pest control, while providing educational and therapeutic benefits for people. There’s something rewarding about lending the birds a hand, and people are often urged on social media to give it a go.
Yet the seeds you leave out for birds can also lure unwelcome rats. But with some straightforward swaps and clever feeding practices, you can support wildlife through the cold without laying out a feast for rodents.
The brown rat, also called the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread, prevalent species of rat.
They can cause significant damage, transmit diseases and multiply at a frightening pace.
Garden bird feeding specialist Lucy Taylor of Vine House Farm Bird Foods revealed “there are simple steps you can take to help ensure that rats don’t set up home in your garden, with an absolute key one being to remove their key requirement of a source of food – and in this case, bird food”.
Never put out cheap bird food mixes
It might not be the first thing that springs to mind, but cheap bird food seed mixes can actually be a major culprit in attracting rats to gardens (while also being a waste of money from a bird’s perspective).
The issue is that bird food mixes filled with inexpensive fillers like wheat and pulses aren’t favoured by most birds and end up being discarded from feeders, falling to the ground as birds like Blue tits and Greenfinches sift through the mix for the occasional tasty bit.
The uneaten food then lingers on the ground beneath the feeder, and although some species like Wood pigeon and Jackdaw might consume some of it, there’s a good chance it will stay put and become a midnight snack for a passing rat (given that rats are primarily nocturnal creatures).
Instead, it’s wiser to invest in high-quality seed mixes, or just straightforward foods like sunflower hearts, as both options will reduce the amount of food that ends up on the ground.
Use a metal feeder pole or feeding station
While rats are capable climbers and could easily scale a feeder suspended from a fence post or tree branch, they’ll find it far tougher to navigate a sleek metal feeder pole or one mounted on a metal feeding station.
For added protection, you can fit a plastic baffle onto the steel pole beneath any feeders – these are typically marketed to keep Grey squirrels away from the food, but they’re equally effective at deterring rats.
Bring in ground trays at night
Species like Blackbirds and Robins naturally prefer ground trays or dishes for feeding (being ground-feeding birds, they find hanging feeders awkward), so leaving this style of feeder out after dark could essentially roll out the welcome mat for rats.
Simply bring it indoors and store it somewhere secure like a garage overnight, then return it to your garden come morning – problem solved.
In summary, this is the perfect time of year to step up both the quantity and variety of food you’re offering wild birds in your garden.
Rats are typically only drawn to gardens by bird food when proper precautions haven’t been taken, with the most crucial one being to steer clear of cheap seed mixes and stick exclusively to high-quality bird food, which cuts down on waste.
