u/Cragrat92

I've just had a bit of an unpleasant interaction with a neighbour and my thoughts are spiralling. It might not quite fit this sub Reddit exactly, but some advice and reassurance will be really appreciated.

I live in England and I put up bird feeders in my back garden in December. I have a trail camera so I can monitor what wildlife visits the garden. I'm aware of rats moving through the garden, maybe a couple of visits each night that get picked up on the camera. The rats almost always come out at night, though they have put in a rare appearance during the day. They mostly use the fence as a sort of highway, but occasionally climb on the feeder pole to have a nose around. I bring in the feeders every evening so food isn't left out to discourage the rats.

My neighbour apparently saw a rat at around 6pm in their garden and marched round to my house to kick up a fuss, saying my feeders are the reason the rats started appearing. Her kids are now apparently scared to play out in the garden (like, what?). I explained that I was aware of the occasional rat, they mostly come out during the night, that I bring the feeders in every night so no food is left out, doing everything I can to not encourage their visits short of poisoning them which I do not want to do. She said she might have to put poison out in her garden and I told her that was her choice.

The conversation went round in circles, and I said as much, directly asking what she wants me to about it as I am not stopping putting the feeders out. She didn't really give an answer and left.

I feel like she's the sort of person that's going to complain to the council or environmental health or something. Am I going to get in shit because I wanted to try and create a little point of interest for wildlife in my back yard?