AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!

[caseydog]

Okay, it's nice spring evening, and I'm looking out at my bird feeder.

I see all kinds of birds. Some sparrows and a pretty red cardinal. There is a Blue Jay in my oak tree. Oh, and there is a Dove on the ground below the feeder, picking up what falls.

And, near the dove, only partially in view because of a concrete bench, is another bird. It's hard to tell what kind, but it looks big. Perhaps another Dove.

It's brown...

and...that looks like... fur... and... a... TAIL!!!

It's a %$#*&% RAT!

I thought I had killed every %#**%$ Rat in Collin County two years ago when they took up residence in my garage.

Sonofabiatch!!!

I HATE RATS!!!!!

Any other rat-haters out there feeling my pain?

[Nitetimes]

Try having them move into a mobile home sometime. Talk about suck!!!! They had such big stones they would stick their head around the corner and sit and watch you.
Took me 2 months to get rid of them and the place stunk for 3 months afterward.
Yup, I hate the little ba$tard$!!!

[mincey]

Environmentally friendly suggestion - get a rat terrier!!

Ours is great at killing rats. My hubby used to turn her loose in his barn and she'd get 'em all! She's also his squirrel hunting partner.

Cheryl

[Nitetimes]

I'm partial to a .22 pistol with birdshot. I'm sure it's not nearly as amusing as the terrier but it's loads of fun!!
I wanted to do that in my trailer but the wife put the kibosh to that idea so poison it was.
Tried to tell her those bb's only make wee little holes. She's still not real fond of me shooting the chipmunks off the porch of our house but hey, ya gotta have some fun!!

[caseydog]

Using a gun on rats in the burbs will land me in jail, and poisons are too risky to other animals, so I use the old-fashioned rat traps. It takes a while to get them all, but it does the job.

They are obnoxious little vermon, though. Unlike mice, that scurry away, a rat WILL look right at you as if to mock you.

I wouldn't mind seeing a rat in the yard, any more than a squirrel, exept one rat left to live, becomes 20 rats before you know it.

I feel like Bill Murray in Caddyshack.

[Nitetimes]

Using a gun on rats in the burbs will land me in jail....

That's a distinct possibility, but where I live using a gun is pretty common place. Even hear shots at night around here, coon, possum, other critters that get in the trash that won't be named.

They are obnoxious little vermon, though. Unlike mice, that scurry away, a rat WILL look right at you as if to mock you.

Tell me about it. I had a built in corner table in the living room that was closed in except for one 10" wide section and while sitting on the couch watching the tube the rat would stick it's head around there and look to see if anyone was around. Had a whole dinner plate of Xmas cookies eaten off the kitchen counter one night, only left a few crumbs. But the best one was a sleigh (tray type decoration) we had on the table with boxes of skittles or some such candies in it, the little beggars stole every box, we looked everywhere, never even found the paper. My wife was P.O.ed she thought the boy ate them all, searched every trash can, under his bed and any where else she could think of, took a while to finally convince her it was the rats.

[Classic Finn]

I'm partial to a .22 pistol with birdshot. I'm sure it's not nearly as amusing as the terrier but it's loads of fun!!
I wanted to do that in my trailer but the wife put the kibosh to that idea so poison it was.
Tried to tell her those bb's only make wee little holes. She's still not real fond of me shooting the chipmunks off the porch of our house but hey, ya gotta have some fun!!

Buckshot works real good ...... cant miss

Classic Finn

[Coca Cola Teardrop]

caseydog, of course living in the country we (Charles) will use BB or pelet gun in the shops. The rats like to get in the peak of room and run the length of the shop on the insulation. Drives our dogs insane.
Since you can't pull out the guns and don't want to use poison try this:

Take a bucket and fill with water deeper than a rat could stand on hind legs and keep head above water. Don't fill to top.

Take a board and place one end on floor and the other end over the rim of the bucket where the end of the board is centered over the bucket.

Take a piece of twine and tie cheese, etc on the end of the twine and then tie twine onto the end of the board over the bucket.
The cheese has to be hanging lower than a mouse/rat could reach from the end of the board.

They will try to reach it and fall into the water and drown.

We took that approach when we didn't want poision in garage a couple of summers ago. Mice were entering from the exterior of my Tacoma and building nests in the AC fan. I got so tired of laying down and unscrewing the fan and pulling out the nests. The same time they got into the entire AC system in daughter's camaro and then died. You talk about a bad stench in the summer. It took us washing out the ac ducts with Odoban from the interior. We though she would never get to drive her car again without getting sick.

Linda

[Sam I am]

How about this? It might be entertaining!!
www.ratzappersales.com/

[Nitetimes]

That would be fun for chipmunks too!!!

[Jst83]

try this:
Take a bucket and fill with water deeper than a rat could stand on hind legs and keep head above water. Don't fill to top.

Take a board and place one end on floor and the other end over the rim of the bucket where the end of the board is centered over the bucket.

Take a piece of twine and tie cheese, etc on the end of the twine and then tie twine onto the end of the board over the bucket.
The cheese has to be hanging lower than a mouse/rat could reach from the end of the board.

They will try to reach it and fall into the water and drown.

Linda

I think I saw that in a cartoon once

OK it's early I was up late putting in paneling, It doesn't take much to amuse me

[cam5e]

I don't like poison, mostly because it deprives me the pleasure of dispatching the ugly little rodents to the afterlife myself. I like the .22 option, but living "in town" I can't afford the legal problems that might attract.

So, I use the trusty "Old School" rat trap. I've also built a trap that incinerates the rats with an 'estes' rocket motor. Entertaining, but labor intensive.

[Joseph]

Even in town I use an air rifle (in Virginia) or pistol (at my parents' house in California). In Virginia my neighbors can see me but don't care, and in California the walls are high enough they can't see me.

Ever make ratatouille?

Joseph

[asianflava]

We didn't have our neighbors too close to us, most of the lots were around 2 acres, but they were close enough to call the police if they heard something.

My dad had a rifle made by Daisy (the BB gun guys) that used caseless ammunition. He had to stop suing it because the ammo was getting hard to find. He thenused .22 that were really short (shorter than a .22 short). They weren't any louder than an air rifle the big plus was that you didn't have to pump it up.

They since moved to a place with more space. It's funny because he keeps a tally of all the Racoons he kills. He also learned that if the chickens make a certain ruckus, the Racoons are out there trying to kill one of them.

[IndyTom]

Using a gun on rats in the burbs will land me in jail, and poisons are too risky to other animals, so I use the old-fashioned rat traps. It takes a while to get them all, but it does the job.

They are obnoxious little vermon, though. Unlike mice, that scurry away, a rat WILL look right at you as if to mock you.

I wouldn't mind seeing a rat in the yard, any more than a squirrel, exept one rat left to live, becomes 20 rats before you know it.

I feel like Bill Murray in Caddyshack.

Caseydog,
If you can't use the .22, how about a bow with small game points on the arrows. Its fun, a real challenge and would make you a great shot.

Its what I have always planned to do around my house if the needs ever comes up.

Tom