Why not dig a patch out where it lay and replace with fresh soil. How you would disinfect the area and what you would use so you can grow something on I am not sure if anything that can be done

Since there are rats within 35 feet or almost everyone in Britain all of the time and they wander and urinate over almost every part of it, I think you are being a little over worried. The chances of catching anything from the soil where the rat was are about as remote as something very unlikely (could not think of a simile there). There is probably more danger from the cats and dogs which go on soil than from the rat. Please be reassured you are in no danger.

I can think of a simile, Owdboggy - the chances of catching something, or infecting your crops with something, from where a dead rat has lain are about as high as winning the lottery (which itself is 7 times less likely than being struck by lightning). Just remove a spadeful of soil where it lay, if you feel better doing that. It's a dead body, and your soil is full of those, although admittedly, most of them are tiny and not visible with the naked eye. It's called the cycle of life - dead and rotting material increases humus in the soil which improves what you grow. Though I'm not suggesting you bury the rat there, it may have been poisoned. Even if it has, it won't cause you any problems with your crops once the body is removed.
Look at it this way - you could disinfect your soil with a solution of bleach or Jeyes fluid - but if you do, you won't be able to grow anything in it, it'll be inert and sterile, everything, all the bio organisms you need to grow stuff, will be dead.

I think removing a spadeful of soil is a good idea and will put your mind at rest. I would feel the same way but we have to be realistic, there isn't a rat patrol on every farmer's field. Also, most veg is washed and cooked before being eaten.

id just dig it over as millions of things over millions of years have died in your soil as bamboo sais . the only thing you got to worry about apart from the obvious with rats is if you find there urine on some polythene which is unlikly aas its dead . the more worrying thing is wear theres one rat theres going to be more so maybe get some traps etc .

UV from the sun is a wonderful disinfectant for this sort of situation - and it doesn't have to be a sunny day for the surface to get enough. I also think you're worrying unnecessarily. Just rake it over and leave the sun to do the work for you. After a day or two there will be no trace of the dead rat, so you can then sow what you like, and harvest whatever you like without worrying that "rat bugs" are there to spoil what you grow.

Copy of the answer to your previous question. It's leptospirosis or Weil's Disease that you are worried about. As the bacteria do not have a waterproof membrane they must remain immersed in water to survive, and so are killed immediately their environment dries out. The inability to survive out of water is the single most important control factor in the natural environment, as it means they are unable to create infection risks from dry surfaces.

i dont think theres any cure for weils desease either but as jimmy sais your unlikly to come across it unless your on a farm with a lot of polythene .most canned drinks get rodents running across them as a matter of fact .

There is a cure for Weil's disease - large doses of penicillin.

Well, I'll die from it then, Beattie - like a lot of people, I'm allergic to penicillin!

youl be fine bamboo unless you live on a farm with polythene .

Its in the rivers here, noseypotter, from all the rats which aren't dealt with properly in London any more. Fortunately, I'm not in the habit of swimming in the river, nor drinking from it, lol!

id imagine its so diluted it wouldnt harm you swimming but im with you better to stay on the side of caution bamboo x .

My doc told me not to swim in local rivers - apparently, you may inadvertently ingest some water, or Weils can enter through any little cuts you might have.

i cant see me going on many riverswims somehow lol x .

Actually, Bamboo, the leptospira that causes Weil's disease can pass through unbroken skin....
I've only once swum in a river and it was ****** cold. Give me the sea any time! In there with the fish poo and turtle pee.

Oh gawd - just as well I hate swimming then. Though I do like a bit of a paddle now and then... but usually in the sea.

its got salt in thesea so your reasnably safe .

No rats either, well unless they're deserting a sinking ship...

My point is that the sunlight (even when it's not sunny) contains enough UV wavelength energy to do a good disinfection job, given a little time. You don't need to worry about that dead rat.

i agree beattie x as well as many other factors . i mean know one worries about putting chicken or horse or cow manure round there plants do they .

Precisely NP! :-) Though I remember as a child being warned that you could get tetanus from roses. I think they meant if you fossicked in the soil under roses, or got scratched by one.

I used to work with a lady who'd had tetanus as a child - and recovered, obviously.

we have the highest rates of tetanus in england apparently in norfolk . you can get tetanus from anything you scatch yourself on if its been outside a while so i just keep up to date with my jabs as its not a very nice thing to get .