So, we've been having a little rodent problem here in Georgia.
A couple weeks ago, a guest saw a rat in the kitchen. I kind of discounted it, but, discovered some evidence and trotted out a couple of traps to catch the little guy. With two dogs, hiding places that the sleeping idiots (the dogs) wouldn't stumble on and injure themselves are at a premium, but I found one.
At the same time, granma had rotator cuff surgery and was staying with us (and her two dogs, making four) and sleeping in our recliner to recover. One night, we're watching a movie, and we hear a "bang." It's one of my traps going off, and there's a rat, free of the trap, but, obviously incapacitated. Well, suddenly, the two women are all compassionate for this not-dead cretin. He hadn't gotten himself snared in the trap, but I boxed him up and took him outside to whack him and put him out of his misery. Well, when I opened the box to smack him (oh, for a gun!), he had recovered enough and sped off into the darkness. Drat!
Now, Amy is going to to stay at granma's for a few days as she recovers at home, but, I am thinking, ok, rat gone. All is well. Except, one night I am enjoying "24" and I hear a racket from under the stove, and I turn around, and there's a big ole rat and I in a Mexican standoff. Either he has a friend, or he's back. Amy's still staying with granma and one morning I come downstairs and I have a little blood trail. I check my traps and sure enough, one's tripped, but he someone freed himself, or was injured in the process. At this point, without telling Amy, I decide to supplement my traps with a couple of glue traps. I had been forbidden to use these, as they were inhumane. But, hey, she's at granma's and won't be the wiser. Can anyone, please, tell me, the plan is the RAT ENDS UP DEAD, since when do I have a responsibility to be humane? I have a responsibility to KILL him.
This past Friday, Amy's back for good, since granma is able to take care of herself pretty much on her own now, and she notices the glue traps. She's not happy, but, I am like, hey, gotta catch the little rat, and he's evading the real traps.
So, this morning, at 7:30, we're awakened, as usual, by whining dogs (pee time?). Amy is kind enough to let them out and she hears squirming under the piece of furniture I have my rat gauntlet (2 glue traps, 2 traditional traps) under. She's all mad, because she thinks this rat has gotten itself caught in the glue trap and is suffering, so I am summoned, to finish it off.
Turns out, the little moron got whacked by the regular trap and was just finishing up his death throes (this is probably what got the dogs up, of course, they didn't have the energy to do any real investigation). The trap had flipped and landed in the glue trap beside it. So, I have a rat caught in a trap caught in a glue trap. It's actually funny. Not to mention that when I go to get my reusable trap unstuck from the glue trap, I get my gloves caught in the glue. haha.
Keeping a long story long, rat's gone (confirmed dead). Hopefully he has no more brothers, but I have a glue trap and a regular trap still waiting for them....
What's your best rat story and what do you find the most effective way to capture these disgusting little creatures?
Of course you have a responsibility to be humane. If you want to kill the rat, but all means... but it should be done quickly and with minimal pain. There is no reason to make it suffer. It is thr right thing to do, regardless that you want to kill it. Rats still can feel pain, so respect that fact.
ReplyDeleteThey maim themselves on glue trap, chew legs off and starve to death. That is NO way to kill anything, not even a rat. Have some humanity.
human + e = humane
ReplyDeleterat + e = rate
I watched my roommate from Wisconsin smash a mouse in a split second with the butt of his M14 at school. It was the quickest critter death I've ever seen. I also witnessed a mouse get his jump wings at school. He was set free outside of the dorms for successfully graduating jump school. Great achievements warrant great rewards.
And yes I am compationate. Off to donate clothes to aid in Haiti :D I do love animals, too.
The only thing better than catching a rat on a glue trap is catching a snake on one. Real story, it happened in our laundry room. The lovely thing was that the snake couldn't gnarl any of its body parts off. It was still moving when I tossed it, with great delight, into a trash bag and heaved it into the garbage can. I've no sympathy for either critter.
ReplyDeleteYeah, with great delight so it starves to death?
ReplyDeleteYou are terrible. How could you get joy from it suffering? Sicko...
I remember the day my cat tortured a snake to death on our front page - oh, that was days, not day. Call me a sicko but I've not seen any good that a snake has done for this world. They eat rats - now that's a pleasant way to die, isn't it? Ah, but cats also eat rats (witnessed it with aforesaid cat). So now we have glue traps for that so we've rendered the reptiles obsolete (but cats of course are still good for something!).
ReplyDeletewho is this guy? i'm sure he thinks petrol hybrid vehicles are a good thing.
ReplyDelete