Rats!!! RATS!!! Big uns, little uns, brown and dark brown, cute
and ugly but they are all still RATS! They are in my garden and
under my birdfeeders! EEEEEK! I need Laurie's snakes and then
some. I need to borrow some cats who know instinctively what
they are supposed to do. They seem to be coming from the
neighbor's woodpile. Any ideas other than traps? OMG!
Thanks,
Jeny

Rats!!! RATS!!! Big uns, little uns, brown and dark brown, cute
and ugly but they are all still RATS! They are in my garden and
under my birdfeeders! EEEEEK! I need Laurie's snakes and then
some. I need to borrow some cats who know instinctively what
they are supposed to do. They seem to be coming from the
neighbor's woodpile. Any ideas other than traps? OMG!

Jeny,

If I had already gotten my snake trap (waiting for a check to come in first)
I would GLADLY donate my snakes!

In the meantime, if you can get a witness to see them, or pictures of the
rats, you can call the neighbor and explain that their woodpile is harboring
rats, and ask them to move it as far from your property as possible (they
may not want rodents either!) If they don't move the woodpile, then you
have reasonable grounds to call the health dept. or Animal Control and ask
THEM to ask the neighbor (they can take action if the neighbor doesn't
comply).

This week is good for blueberries, except Tuesday. It's better from 5 PM
onward, because by then the bushes are not in full sun, and you won't pop
and crackle from frying as you pick. I can put the dogs up while you are
here.

We had huge bowls of berries with real cream and just a little sugar
tonight -- PERFECTION!!!

laurie

In article , Raleighgirl wrote:
Rats!!! RATS!!! Big uns, little uns, brown and dark brown, cute
and ugly but they are all still RATS! They are in my garden and
under my birdfeeders! EEEEEK! I need Laurie's snakes and then
some. I need to borrow some cats who know instinctively what
they are supposed to do. They seem to be coming from the
neighbor's woodpile. Any ideas other than traps? OMG!
Thanks,
Jeny

Poison. Put it in a shallow dish and cover with a bucket but with
enough room under one edge to get to the bait. The poison box talks
about bait stations, but I have not seen one.



--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

spam@www.spam.com is a garbage address.

Raleighgirl wrote:

Rats!!! RATS!!! Big uns, little uns, brown and dark brown, cute
and ugly but they are all still RATS! They are in my garden and
under my birdfeeders! EEEEEK! I need Laurie's snakes and then
some. I need to borrow some cats who know instinctively what
they are supposed to do. They seem to be coming from the
neighbor's woodpile. Any ideas other than traps? OMG!
Thanks,
Jeny



Ugh! NOT fun. It will cheer you, too, to learn that the rats you see in
daytime are not the alpha rats. *Those* feed at night, which is their
preferred time. Meaning of course, that you have even _more_ rats than
you think :-(

First you must get rid of the food source: your birdfeeders, your
compost pile, if you put food scraps in it, and pet food bowls. Rats
will tunnel under a compost bin to get to the food. Your garden is their
Wellspring.

Next you need to decide how you will get rid of the rats. Poison bait is
available at hardware and garden stores. The county health department or
animal control may put out bait for you if you ask. Be careful what you
choose as some other animals find it attractive. In particular,
squirrels do, not that all will consider that a bad thing. The *bad*
thing would be if your dog ate the dead squirrel. Yet another unintended
consequence is dealing with the rats after they die, especially if they
expire under your house or in the walls of your garage. The rats will
have runs from their homes under your shrubbery and alongside your
outbuildings and house. Those are the ideal locations for bait and/or
traps. If you choose traps you get to dispose of them. Ewww!

Chances are your rats are coming from more places than your neighbor's
woodpile. Be sure you plug up with steel wool all the places where they
may have chewed holes to gain entry to buildings. You do need to talk to
your neighbors so you can all work together to cut off the food sources.
If you choose to put out bait, it would be good to take extra care with
house pets and children. Some bait looks like big blue blocks of chalk.
Rats will carry the bait some distance back to their nests.

It can take a while to eradicate them. The health risks - plague, Hanta,
etc. - leave you no choice. I am sorry that you have this problem -
it grossed me out to no end when I did.

This week is good for blueberries, except Tuesday. It's better from 5 PM
onward, because by then the bushes are not in full sun, and you won't pop
and crackle from frying as you pick. I can put the dogs up while you are
here.

We had huge bowls of berries with real cream and just a little sugar
tonight -- PERFECTION!!!

laurie

HI Laurie,
I got your e-mail but maybe you didn't get my answer. I would
LOVE to come pick some blueberries..... half for you and half for me.
Where are you and when would be a good time to come? (I love dogs.)
Kira