Ok melv your choice, but you will never get rid of a family if you are using traps. Where are you realeasing them to, so they don't cause the same problem they are causing you?
Ok Melv keeping the food chain going then, which is no bad thing. But you need to get to the root cause of the rats and not give them an easy food source.
Melv you will never get rid because while a food source is there more will keep coming.
I was forced to stop feeding the birds because the same happened to me and the residents in my block complained. They even ran up the metal feeder pole to get to the food in the bird feeder.
They come from the allotments behind the garden, so they come into the garden anyway. They've gnawed holes in the shed floor and walls when I'm not feeding the birds. As I've said earlier in the thread it's something I'll put up with.