befriend them, bringers of great wisdom.
lp
Follow them, when they jump ship it's usually wise to leave.
H.x
Rats are intelligent animals, very cunning, with great memories and problem solving abilities, they also breed at a scorching rate and have the ability to reproduce from about the age of 6 months i think.
However, although they are animals and i have a hatred of killing animals unnecessarily, they are carriers of some pretty nasty diseases and as such it would be in this case that i would condone the killing of them if they were causing a problem in an area of human habitation.
I have two lovely, young pet rats.
I :love: them lots.
I will have to upload a picture.
Wild rats carry some really nasty diseases - Weals disease and leptosporosis (?sp?) They are quite incontinent and pee everywhere, so those of you who keep foodstuffs outside, animal or human should wash the foodstuff thoughorly if it cant be covered.
As for getting rid of them, get your local council in. If you are a private household, they should do this for free, otherwise, go to your local farming/horsey suppliers and dont be afraid to buy the most expensive - I am having very good results with pasta baits - look like blue tea bags and smell like bubblegum. A home remedy that I`ve yet to try is to mix dry porrige and Plaster of Paris together and leave of a plate where they run. Dont forget to leave out water for them as well - most rat baits work by making the rats drink like it`s going out of fashion, which in turn, makes them "drown". Obviously, for the Plaster of Paris mix its to set the P of P. Puts a new slant on shitting bricks!
I think the decision is in letting them into your life until you reach an epidemic or keeping them out as and when they appear.
Therefore the decision is to take action as and when you see fit, or become overwhelmed and then get in someone else to kill them for you.
Do you remember Ben?
It's not the rats you need to worry about....
It's the frackin' great big turtles they hang around with that scare me! :shock:
My domesticated gorgeous boys! They are brothers and only 14 weeks old.
I want to be a rat now :twisted: