Odd hole in the ground

I moved a biggish plant pot from the corner of our front garden and noticed this hole underneath.

Looking at Google street view, there used to be this plant / bush in this location. Still looks like an odd hole as roots wouldn't just pull out and leave a clean hole behind. Can anyone explain this?

Also I have another one of these plants on the other corner of the house, can the roots cause any issues?




Street view from 2014 (this plant wasn't there when we moved in)

Rats digging - plant won't cause an issue.

Oh dam. So do I just fill it up or anything else needs to be done?

if you fill it in, the rats will dig it out again.

IME, you need to use a lot of rat poison, in multiple places out of reach of birds and mice, refilling them daily, until the dishes stay full for a week. Then you can fill in the holes. You will probable need a kg or so.

They may have excavated under the concrete, and a runny mix will spread into the hollow. Pack in large stones when no more mortar will run in. You can pour in more runny mortar to fill the joints.

I used bright red flower-pot saucers, which are easy to see and will keep the bait off the ground. You can build lean-to shelters against walls and fences with a slate or something to keep rain, birds and dogs off. You can also tip a little bait down the holes. There is also a waxy bait block that resists damp, but I mostly used the blue grains. Collect up the bodies and burn or incinerate them. If you dig a trench, you can each day throw the bodies in the end, and cover over with earth from digging out the other end. They will mostly die in the nest.

Find out what they are eating. It might be a rat-table (aka bird table) or it might be insecure bins or discarded chips and burgers. They will also steal from pet bowls, or rabbit or chicken feed. Put a stop to it.

They also need constant access to water, so look for a leaking pipe or a pond. Examine round drains carefully for signs of cracked, sunken or patched-in ground or paving.

Could this be an abandoned hole? We have not seen any rats around and this hole was covered up (so no exit). Haven't seen any other holes.

Block hole with some soil and small stones/chippings and if dug back out again post a picture..Rats have a digging pattern that may be identified