The great opportunists

The average rat likes to live close to humans, reports Charlie Wilkins.

Gardeners are better qualified than most to play detective. Their habits are slow and observant. They are usually well placed to watch comings and goings over the garden fence or to notice strangers through open French windows.

They are not however, busy-bodies, but they do inhabit a world where the observance of a benign and gentle movement could just as easily be a portent of more serious matters. Take garden pests as an example, especially rodents which are now on the move.