Thursday, January 28, 2010

CRITTERS

I have a rat!!!!!! I hate rats. Mice are no problem. In the 4+ years we've had Charlie (he's a brown, spotted tabby, I rescued from the brink of death), Lucy (she is a tortie, tabby mix, I rescued from the brink of death 7 years ago) and Lily (she is a gray with faint tabby stripes, I rescued from an unknown future 6 years ago), there have been 17 mice that have met their doom. Hey, I live in the country, surrounded by corn fields. What do you think happens when the corn is picked? Mice move to warmer digs. They eyeball this house and think, 'Wow, smoke coming from the chimney, must be warm in there.' When they are stupid enuf to get in this house, their fate is sealed. So, back to the rat. I bought a rat trap. Put peanut butter on it, but, couldn't just put it outside. Cleo would lose her tongue. So, I have this plastic garbage can with a large hole in it. Guess what chewed the hole. Anyhow, I set the trap and gently put it down in the can next to the ^&*%^&* varmint's hole. It slips, SNAP! peanut butter is all over the inside of the can. Repeat, SNAP! I do it a third time and quietly put the lid on. Keep your fingers crossed, I hate rats.

5 comments:

HossBoss said...

Get yourself a trap-n-release cage. It doesn't damage the critter so if you accidentally catch one of your pets, no harm done. When you catch a varmint you don't want to deal with again, just put the whole cage ...varmint and all ...in galvanized trash can filled with water. Ten minutes to be sure he's drowned and not just passed out then it's safe to open the cage.

We've caught possums and several coons with those cages. We don't drown them but take them to a 1000 acre State Park wildlife area about 20 miles from here. If I ever caught a rat though, it would get drowned.

SHARON said...

Wow, you are a tough woman! I don't think I could even drown a rat. I'd rather kill the sucker outright. I thought about hanging around the hole he's dug and shoot the sucker, but my luck the bullet would ricochet and put my eye out.

HossBoss said...

Dead is dead. You think a bullet hurts less than drowning? A bullet might be quicker, but only if you are a great shot and the varmint cooperates. Still, dead is dead.

I shoot varmints when necessary but not when they're in my live trap. Shooting a varmint while it's IN the trap tears up the trap itself. Plus then you have a BLOODY dead varmint to get out of there.

Are you sure it's a rat? A burrow in the ground could be a lot of things ...

SHARON said...

I know its a rat, saw the little bugger. I figured a bullet would be quicker and since I almost drown when I was a kid (before I got swimming lessons), I remember the terror. Couldn't do that to anything.

HossBoss said...

That's understandable. I'm glad you survived the ordeal and went on to get swimming lessons so you would not have to be afraid of drowning the rest of your life. You had a scare, but you conquered your fear. That's good.