Topic: I Smell a RAT

[redimp]

I think rats flushed out by dogs get hit over the head

I think that should be OK then.  :)

[TEL]

Hi all
just been cleaning out my shed & came face to face with a rat.
Don't know witch one of us moved faster. :o
Will have to put poison down.

[Jane the Novice]

Just to update on my rat problem. This rat is clearly a very fussy eater and the bread has had no effect so last night I gave him some of my best choccy. Having gone for a good look around I discovered that he has been digging holes in my beds too. He has obviously watched the great escape once too often. He has managed to tunnel through into next doors garden which I have now filed in and covered with bricks. My next move will be to relocate the trap next to his favourite digging spot in the hope that the smell of the choccy is more tempting than his desire to dig.

[wardy]

Sounds like a wiley critter does your rat  ;D   Hope you don't have to resort to explosives  ;D

Have you seen the film Caddy Shack  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I remember using traditional rat traps once, every night they'd take the bait, and the traps were never set off. When I was trapping mice in my shed though, I lost all the traps in the end as they kept catching rats which just went off with the trap attached.

[wardy]

 ;D

I once had mice in my kitchen which coincided with me having whooping cough.  One night I had to come down to get a drink and was hacking so much the traps went off  ;D

[Jane the Novice]

I have now declared a RAT WAR!!! Having filled in the hole and covered it with a brick my little furry friend has tunnelled underneath the bricks and is beginning to diturb the roots of my climbing hydrangea.He is now starting to get on my nerves and I will not be beaten by a rodent!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Just be ruthless and use poison.

[robkb]

;D

I once had mice in my kitchen which coincided with me having whooping cough.  One night I had to come down to get a drink and was hacking so much the traps went off  ;D

Me too (the mouse, not whooping cough). Went through a variety of traps, starting off with the most humane (useless - mouse eat all the peanut butter without setting off the trap >:() and ending up with something like a medieval torture device that nearly cut the poor little blighter in half! And we've got a cat, which is completely useless - one night I went to make some toast, pulled out the grill to find mousey sitting in the grill pan eating crumbs. Mousey ran off before I could grab it, and the cat went like lightning... the opposite way!  :o

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[wardy]

Grill pan!  Waaaaaaaaaaaagh  :o   When we had mice my dog slept in the kitchen (well he did anyway but that's beside the point).  Anyway when we had mice the dog kept going berserk every night but we didn't know why.  One night he ripped a great big piece out of the lino (the dog not the mouse).  The mouse had run behind the dishwasher, persued by the dog who couldn't catch it and in true terrier style was trying to dig it out.  The hole in my Marley Stay Flat was huge, right by the sink  :(  It cost me over £250 to replace it.  The insurance co didn't want to know  :(  We did catch the little mousey with Kit Kat  :) 

Hope you catch your pesky rodent Jane but as you are finding out they are rather wiley and will try and outsmart you at every turn  ;D

[Jane the Novice]

I believe that I may have trapped the little blighter in next doors garden last night but it will only be a matter of time before he makes his way back round to mine. I may have to knock next door and ask him if he could possibly block the hole from his side. Once I have managed to confine him to my garden he may be a little easier to catch ( some hope!)

[wardy]

I bet your rat has set up a military HQ and he's in there planning his campaign to outwit you.  Wonder if he has a white flag  ;D

[Jane the Novice]

Now I know I've lost it!! Have just come in from an evening sortie armed with a torch and a big stick!

[TEL]

Looked out of the kitchen window to see the ruddy rat on the bird feeder  must need stronger poison.

[Jane the Novice]

Your rat is clearly as smart as mine Tel......Good luck to you

[Jane the Novice]

Never before have I had the urge to kill quite as much as I do now!! Have just been outside filling in holes and tunnels which I presume were dug by you know who. I've seen no evidence for a few days and presumed that he had gone to live next door. I had moved my trap to where he was digging through but he is clearly a very clever rat. I will now have to rethink my strategy.....back to the drawing board I guess.

[wardy]

Have you considered a terrier?  My lottie neighbours young terrier caught a rabbit the other day and they had it for tea last night with lotty onions and celeriac  ;D

[Jane the Novice]

I already have a large stupid dog who last night had to be shown to a cat in the garden before he realised it was there! He is an ex police dog......how he ever caught a criminal I will never know!

[lorna]

Jane. At least your pesky rat has been giving us some laughs. I am just glad it is not in my garden. Obviously the torch and stick style of hunting was useless!! What next? regards Lorna.

[anneski]

Couple of things...... I too kept fancy rats, and thought that they were exactly the same species, Rattus Norvegicus, as the wild brown rat? Only difference as far as I was aware was that our pets come via original lab stock (and Jack Black perhaps ).


And I think that rats ARE exempt from the hunting rule, as are rabbits. This Defra link explains things http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/summary.htm