Have you heard that bird feeders can attract rodent like

[wishesuponastar]

Rats?

I am going to re-think getting a bird feeder as the seed that falls to the ground can attract them. I sure don’t want a rat in the house.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Our feeders do attract squirrels, chipmunks and even wild turkeys, but I have never seen any rats around! (We do have what we call a little rat in the house but he's harmless, and actually a hamster!)

 

[easyas123]

I actually just heard this for the first time a short while ago, my folks bought a place on the gulf coast of FL, in a community where the homes are close and don't have large yards. Dad thought he'd put something out in the tree for the squirrel that hung out there. For weeks he thought it was enjoying the feeder until the gardener told him he was feeding the rats! Palm rats I think they were? Can't recall. Called the exterminator!!!
And ever since we've been teasing Dad about his pet rat!
Up here, we may have a rat or two in the barn, although haven't seen any and we've got barn cats.

 

[Katie Dawn]

I listened to an interview with someone who owns a pest removal business. He said the leading cause of having snakes in/near your home is bird feeders. The birds drop the seeds, the rodents come eat the seed, the snakes come to eat the rodents. And yes, I definitely see benefits of having some snakes around, but I don't necessarily want to be surprised by them on my property.

We switched from birdseed to suet, I clean the suet off the ground when I occasionally see it on the ground, and we don't put it out as regularly as we used to. I don't know if it actually helps but it makes me feel better!

 

[PollyannaMom]

We've only ever had squirrels (maybe an occasional chipmunk) but we do use the little suet baskets. The current "resident" squirrel is actually really funny hanging upside down trying to share some!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We have suet, too. And hummingbird feeders in the summer.

Scary about the snakes and rats! Yikes

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

We got rid of the bird feeders. I didn't mind the squirrels and we have woods and rock walls that attract the snakes. But after having mice chew threw the central air unit wires, we stopped. I can't be sure that's why it happened, but we haven't had a problem since.

 

[L&Lfan]

I don’t deliberately feed anything. The wild life is on its own. Survival of the fittest and all that. I can’t be bothered.

 

[Hikergirl]

If you have rats near where you live it isn't surprising it would attract them. It's food.

 

[wishesuponastar]

If you have rats near where you live it isn't surprising it would attract them. It's food.

I don’t know for sure if there are rats in our neighborhood, never saw one.

 

[disneydreamer781]

Yeah, suet is a better option. Avoid the waste that way although I've never ever had a problem with rats when I have put seed out. I put some peanuts out in the woods at times. Keeps the squirrels away although they have to fight for them with the bluejays. I always think of the wildlife this time of year.

 

[DuskKodesh]

There's very little difference between most species of rodents. If it attracts squirrels it will attract mice and rats but but even if they come in so long as your kitchen is tidy and food is sealed away they'll find nothing and leave. Things only stay if they find unsecured food sources.

If you don't enjoy watching rodents then possums are good to have around. They'll also eat ticks so it's a win win. <3

 

[Hikergirl]

I don’t know for sure if there are rats in our neighborhood, never saw one.

Hopefully not, but you never know where they are. If you don't give them a food source then they should stay away. I don't think putting feeders out means you'll definitely draw them, it's just a possibility since it's food.
I don't put seed or suet feeders out but my IL's do, and they have TONS of them (feeders not rats LOL). They get the occasional bear but they have never had an issue with attracting rats. It's possible they have been there, but they bring their feeders in at night and between all the birds and the squirrels that come during the day there isn't much lying on the ground for any of the nocturnal visitors.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Yes, they do attract pests, but I still enjoy watching the birds. For 16 years I lived on a farm with a cornfield a football field away from my back door and a horse barn 50 yards from the kitchen door, so in addition to birdfeeders we also had a few of these decorating the foundation of the house:

 

[tvguy]

We stopped using our bird feeders after we saw a rat eating from it. Really was a squirrel feeder though, they chased the birds away.

 

[VandVsmama]

Yep. In our neck of the woods in AZ, a lot of the rats are pack rats, which are a royal pain in the neck. A pack rat once took up residence in the engine of my MIL's car and chewed through the wires. We don't do bird feeders here.

 

[BritneyBelle]

I live in Oregon and love my bird feeders, never had a rat problem, but we also have a seed catcher (a mesh tray thing that goes under the feeders) which takes care of the food being dropped on the ground problem. Plus I’ve lived in the country my whole life, a rat or mouse doesn't even phase me.

 

[BritneyBelle]

Another thought is I know my local bird store sells “no mess bird feed” which is specifically formulated to be all things the birds eat and no fillers. Since switching to that it’s cut down a lot on the amount of dropped food, and what does end up in the seed tray gets gobbled up too.

 

[Squirlz]

We feed the birds and the squirrels too. We see dozens of species and varieties of both. They make us happy. We only had one rat and it appeared to be a pet turned loose. It was winter so we took it in, but it didn't want to be a pet. So we turned it loose in a wildlife preserve when it got warm again.

 

[lorenae]

Birds make a mess- dropping seed on the ground. That attracts raccoons, skunks, and, yes, rats and mice. Even deer will eat the bird seed on the ground.