Rats...
I have rats...
At first I thought those were squirrels living in my roof and that's totally fine with me; but, when I climbed my ladder to the loft in my garage, a big-ass rat ran across the beam away from me. Big-ass as in Shaq's sneaker size.
I forgot about that incident until the other night when I moved a blanket looking for something. I saw Momma squirrels old bag of peanuts, ripped up and surrounded by empty peanut shells - dotted with rat turds.
I swept up the mess and threw away the peanuts. The next day, at work, I looked up rat stuff and read about the potential of contracting the Hantavirus from rat droppings. Being a hypochondriac, I was freaked out all day and eventually contacted Pest Control.
They came out yesterday around 3:00 pm. I forbade them the use of poison since that is so horrifically cruel and opted, instead, for the quick death of the metal trap.
But when the pest guy was telling me how smart they were, I had to stop him. I didn't want to hear how clever they are, how family-oriented they are, etc., etc. In fact, I fought off tears all night (although I'm unable to do so as I type) just thinking about how THEY don't know they're bad. They don't know they're loathed in our society. They're just trying to live amongst the others like we all are.
And here I come, making the decision to snap their necks.
What can I do? If I let them stay, they'll create hundreds of others and then i'll have hundreds of rats to exterminate.
Robin told me I have a big heart and I do when it comes to animals; but, I hate it...It hurts most times. Sometimes I wish i were a bit more pragmatic regarding this "infestation". Everyone I talk to is like "oh god! I hate rats; I have no problem killing them" and more along that line.
But, again...that's when i think they have no idea they're bad.
I thought about catch & release but I could be separating families! And rats do distress quite easily.
*Sigh* It's a hard, hard world out there...I'm sorry little Rats for you...hopefully you'll go to rat heaven where there will be endless safe-haven roofs for you to live in...please, please forgive me.
posted by Tanya Kristine at 2:15 PM
17 Comments:
you are too sweet!
happy solstice!
It's okay to litter heaven with some gentle rat souls....I had no qualms about getting rid of them @ Edison Ave...when Ry was a baby...it was either them or Ry...no brainer for me..Now though it would be a thought provoking argument.
please do not become a crazy rat lady.
willard...did you ever read that book....good luck!
i with you pher. we were invested with them after my dad died at the dredger house tanya when meg was a baby and they terrified her and me. No problem getting rid of them. They are nasty carrying all kinds of nastiness.
Um. you're missing the point people!!! they're still living creatures. i din'dt say i wanted to make love to them...i just feel bad KILLING them. cats are a nuisance too you know?
You have a kind heart. If you snap the neck you'd still be separating families because then the poor dude would be dead. I think I would try catch and release first (they have those cool humane mousetraps - I wonder if they have rattraps too). If that didn't work I would resort to the quick death.
Good luck. I know it's not an easy decision.
Poor TK...I know this is hard.
I found this online. Hopefully it will help. You might want to consider adopting a cat or two, too.
http://sagebug.com/tips/rat.html
XO
funny. i was more afraid of my veggie friends comments than all elses. but tahnk you for your kind responses...and i'd love to adopt a cat but kody would love it more. not in the cats favor kind of way. plus cats BRING you the carcasses and i think i'd shit my shorts...
TK...You've got to get rid of them and I totally get what you are saying that "they don't know they are loathed in our society". I would feel bad too, honestly. However, you don't need rats OR squirrel's in your attic because they can cause so many problems that would be hard to repair (not to mention diseases). It's a curse to love animals alot of the time.
Ugh.....do what you have to do and just get it over with.
Just read the link that Urban Vegan sent to you and that is interesting. Maybe after the problem is gone you need to put some deterents (i think i just slaughtered the spelling) up there so no rats or squirrels come back.
The rat guy said it was illegal to live trap rats. but. like they'd know. thank you UV for that website. once this horrific issue is over, i will so prevent it from happening again.
i was laughing, honest but true, i think it is the heineken helping me out with laughing... we understand where you are coming from, don't worry. we still love you..
happy beer day.
They will eat your electrical wires and burn your house down. They ones that are already in your building must be dealt with, but then you need to just prevent them from entering. Steel wool around any openings will help.
or like UV says - get a cat.
either way good luck.
They will eat your electrical wires and burn your house down. They ones that are already in your building must be dealt with, but then you need to just prevent them from entering. Steel wool around any openings will help.
or like UV says - get a cat.
either way good luck.
It is really hard... I feel your pain here..
If you could have seen the road kill we did today... drove about 180 miles round trip, must have been over a dozen animals..
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