Glasgow resident removes giant rat from bird feeder as pest becomes trapped in garden

A massive rat trapped inside a bird feeder in a Glasgow garden was caught on camera as it desperately attempted to break free.

The moment was filmed by a Pollok resident who was left disgusted after spotting the vermin from her kitchen window in the Templeland Road area. The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, initially thought it was a squirrel or a kitten.

However, on closer inspection, her jaw dropped when she discovered that it was a huge rat.

The video shared with Glasgow Live shows the rat attempting to get out of the bird feeder after becoming stuck.

READ MORE: Glasgow pupils set off 'smoke bombs' as school evacuated amid 'chaos' in hall

READ MORE: Linwood mum with one leg forced to crawl up concrete stairs to flat as 100 homes lie empty nearby

Its multiple attempts to escape prove unfruitful until the homeowner lowers down the cage in an attempt to get rid of the pest.

She told Glasgow Live: "I was washing my dishes, as I usually do while watching the birds outside. I saw something in the heart fat ball feeder and thought it was a squirrel or a kitten or something.

"When I took a closer look, I saw it was a rat stuck in the bird feeder and was shocked. Since then, I have seen two to three rats just rummaging around in the back garden.

"I've spoken with neighbours who have also seen them and their cats have been bringing dead rats back to their house. They must be attracted to the bird feeder as the rat was trying to eat the fat balls and got stuck.

"I reported the spare ground beside my back garden - it's been used as a dumping tip for years and could be attracting the rats."

The incident was reported to environmental health, with officers visiting the property to "put traps and poison out".

In an appeal shared on social media, the woman added: "Please stop feeding the birds. As much is it kills me to say, because I love feeding them myself and watching them, it is 100% attracting rats.

"I've had to stop filling my bird feeders. We need to try get on top of this as a community."

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Our environmental health team has previously attended at this address and we provided advice about issues with bird feeding and vermin.

“We have been in contact with the householder again and have attended to this latest issue.

“Householders should be aware that rats are in search of food and bird feed can attract rats and other vermin into gardens.”

Join Glasgow Live's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.