There are so many critters that come and go in my garden and would be happily received on any menu... rabbits, moose, grouse.... rats are vastly outnumbered by better things to eat.
In recent years I got a bit cranky about the amount of tansy that has spread around the perennial garden area, which is a bit much for something I don't even use nor like the smell of. I suppressed one big patch last year by building a new raised bed on top after tearing out as many roots as I could with the pick. But there's certainly still no shortage of the stuff. Only when I first spotted the rat this summer and got the paths whippersnipped - including many tall patches of tansy - it dawned on me that having a flea repellent here and there in the garden is not the worst thing you could have, at all.
And that may partly explain why the rats in my garden are the healthiest looking rodents I've ever seen.
Way better looking than the ones around that dish in the picture.
This is what I would call a very small mercy, in the situation.
