Rats and pests drawn by a neighbour’s food or rubbish – Pack

Are rats or mice being drawn to a neighbour’s bird food, bread, chicken feed, open rubbish or compost heap? Raise it calmly. Describe what you have seen and ask for a realistic change, such as a hanging feeder, clearing food away in the evening or keeping rubbish in a closed bin, without blaming anyone.

You’ll receive one clearly laid-out Word document, ready to download straight after purchase:

• Five example messages: a first message in three lengths (short, medium and detailed), a reminder and a final message, each on its own page.

• A guide to choosing and using the messages, with a clickable contents page.

• Background information, a brief overview of the rules in England and Wales, and sources.

• An incident diary to print or fill in, with a worked example. Prefer Excel? A link in the document lets you download an Excel version.

Choose the first message that suits your situation and fill in your own details. The follow-up messages include versions for no reply, no improvement or only a temporary improvement.

Open the document in Word or any program that supports Word files. The text to send is always shown in a green box. Adapt the wording to your own situation before sending. This pack provides general information for England and Wales. It is not legal advice and cannot guarantee that the problem will stop.