Remind me again....

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Sharkey
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Remind me again....

Post by Sharkey »

....why I wanted to move to the country?

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This is what I found when I opened the hood of the Housetruck to put a quick charge on the battery yesterday. The nest is directly on top of the distributor and appears to be made of orchard grass from the bale that I keep to feed the horse, and shreds of the liner from under the hood of my diesel VW Rabbit. The rat destroyed that and the identical insulating liner from under the hood of the Pusher.

So, I'm out two insulating underhood liners (available from the dealership for $130 each), and now will have to replace at least some of the primary wiring on the ignition system on the Housetruck, as I can see that some of it has been chewed away.

Last week, as I was getting ready to take a shower, I heard this rat underneath the house, furiously chewing on the joists or something, making a horrible sound directly below the tub I was about to use. This led to a construction session to close up a gap between the foundation and the sill of the house in one corner.

I've put out four rat traps, baited with crushed corn and peanut butter. The rat ignored them completely. A hapless mouse didn't though, and got itself whacked by one of the traps. The rat came by and decided to have a little snack afterwards. All I found of the mouse was it's tail and it's front teeth. Now I know what to bait the traps with. Dead mice.

Oh, and here's a photo of the type of rat we're discussing:

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It's a Wood Rat, also known as Pack Rat. Apparently, they are edible. Good thing for me (and it) that I'm a vegetarian.

Next up, I'm going to rebait the rat traps with beef jerky or maybe tuna. If this rat is a carnivore, all the better reason to off it. As far as chasing it off, I think that's a losing proposition, as I've already moved it along three times now. I can keep it from under the house, but there's no way to defend the engine compartments of all my vehicles.

Stay tuned for the latest in the Rat Wars!
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