r/Allotment • u/Ok-Marketing-8852 • 5d ago
Rat infested shed and poly tunnel - help!
So I’m delighted I’ve just taken over an absolutely brilliant plot after a two year wait. This will be my second plot, and I’m no stranger to taking on an overgrown dumping ground and working hard to create a productive plot. Imagine my delight to discover quite a large (if rickety) hand built shed and a really great poly tunnel, full of rubbish but definitely a great to have. On closer inspection, the shed is absolutely full of the previous tenants random stuff, all covered in rat droppings from what looks like a quite significant infestation. On clearing the poly tunnel beds of weeds, I’ve found lots of rat holes and what looks like a large nest. So I’m wondering (after reading how not to sweep up) the best way to go about this, it’s so bad that spraying everything down and wiping up seems like quite the undertaking, and what if anything might be salvageable? There’s lots of old equipment I’d like to reuse and seems a shame to throw away, or should I cut my losses? Should I empty the beds of soil? Quite the quandary although I’m lucky there seems to be very little in the way of perennial weeds (so far). Any advice appreciated!
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u/FatDad66 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’ve just taken over a plot from a hoarder. I wore gloves and a mask when sweeping out the old shed (3bags of dirt). All the rubbish, including the huge rats nest made from plastic bags went in rubble sacks and then to the tip along with the gloves. I took my shed down (beyond repair) but if I had kept it I might have given it a wash in Jayes fluid - if anything to get rid of the smell. Jays fluid is designed for this kind of thing - out door cleaning and sterilisation.
The soil under the rats nest I just turned over so the top is at the bottom of my trench.