Why backyard flocks and rats go together
Grain, water and warm bedding attract rodents to chicken runs. Government guidance treats them as a biosecurity issue rather than just a nuisance. This article summarises the GOV.UK guidance “Bird flu (avian influenza): how to prevent it and stop it spreading”, last updated in June 2026, together with HSE’s page on rodenticides. The GOV.UK guidance applies to England; the page states that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate guidance. The HSE page covers Great Britain and refers to Northern Ireland separately. It is general information, not veterinary advice.
What the bird flu guidance says about rodents
The main causes of bird flu in poultry and other captive birds, the guidance says, are contact with wild birds, faeces from infected birds and dirty footwear, clothing, vehicles and equipment. Rodents feature in the section on control measures. It says rats and mice can carry diseases on their feet and fur, and that effective pest control reduces the chances of diseases infecting birds.
Its practical measures are physical. Food, water and bedding should be kept in covered, enclosed areas that wild birds and rodents cannot access. Bedding stored outside must be covered. Bird houses and sheds should be maintained so that holes and gaps are repaired to stop wild birds and rodents getting in, and leaks and blocked drains or downpipes fixed to stop contaminated water getting in. For birds that are not housed, food and water should be kept in covered, enclosed areas that wild birds and rodents cannot access. The guidance also says to keep foxes, dogs, cats and other livestock away from the birds’ housing and food supplies, since they can carry diseases on their feet and fur.
Rodenticide: what the guidance says
For active control, GOV.UK says to control rats or mice with an approved rodenticide while making sure that it does not risk the health of the birds. That instruction leaves the detail to the product label and to HSE, which authorises rodenticides in Great Britain.
What HSE says about choosing a method
HSE says rodents can carry diseases that harm people, damage buildings and spoil food, and lists non-chemical and chemical methods: good hygiene, physical barriers, traps and biocidal products. Poisons are known as rodenticides and are covered by a specific product type under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation, with the EU regulation applying in Northern Ireland.
HSE explains that anticoagulant rodenticides, one of the most commonly used groups, have been assessed by regulators as carrying a higher risk to people and non-target animals than is normally acceptable for authorisation. It says they are nonetheless authorised because the negative effects of not allowing them would outweigh the risks, but only with strict controls. One of those controls is minimising their use, and HSE says anyone dealing with a rodent problem should consider other control methods before reaching for anticoagulant products. It also says that rodenticides can carry a higher risk than other biocides because children, pets and other non-target animals may be more likely to be harmed by them, and that resistance can build up if products are overused.
Who may use which product
HSE says members of the public should only use biocidal products intended for the general public, sometimes labelled “amateur” or “non-professional”, and should never use products intended only for professional users. Public-use rodenticides may be restricted in the amount of active substance, in where they can be used, for example only within a bait box, and in pack size. Professional products may be limited to trained users, and some rodenticides can only be used by and sold to professional users with demonstrated competence. HSE adds that professional use of anticoagulant rodenticides must follow one of the UK rodenticide stewardship regimes.
HSE’s wider guidance for householders says that anyone who is not a professional should consider using a professional pest controller, and suggests contacting the local council for options.
Practical points for keepers
Read together, the sources point to an order of priority for a small flock. Remove what attracts rodents, meaning open feed, spilt grain and uncovered bedding. Close the gaps that let them in. Use traps or bait boxes only where the label and the risk to the birds allow it, and consider a professional where an infestation is established. The GOV.UK guidance also says keepers must register poultry or other captive birds within one month of keeping them at any premises, and says it is an offence not to register, which is a separate duty from pest control but part of the same biosecurity framework.
The bottom line
In England, government bird flu guidance treats rodent control as part of protecting poultry: seal feed and bedding away from rodents, repair gaps in housing and use an approved rodenticide only in a way that does not endanger the birds. HSE’s guidance adds that non-chemical methods should come first where practical, that householders should use only public-use products, and that a professional is the safer choice where the problem is established.
Sources
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Animal and Plant Health Agency, GOV.UK, “Bird flu (avian influenza): how to prevent it and stop it spreading”
- Health and Safety Executive, “Rodenticides”
- Health and Safety Executive, “Using biocides: Overview”