Worst advice ever.... RATS!!!

[bower]

Originally Posted by MikeInCypress

Just remember Farm Rats are just Squirrels with Bald Tails!!!!!!!

MikeInCypress

Aw Mike you had to mention Squirrel, now Worth is all about cooking it up.
Too bad Worth, I will not be getting close enough to any rat dead or alive, to ship it to you for your next meal.

But if you want to grow yourself some for your cheap eaten, you know what to do. All it takes is a manure pile and a tarp.

[Worth1]

My rodent and deer population has went down dramatically since they stopped running the deer feeder next door.
Worth

[kurt]

Did you tell your friend or are you gonna......?😎👹👹

[bower]

Originally Posted by kurt

Did you tell your friend or are you gonna......?😎👹👹

I'll tell him, whenever I see him.
I have a funny feeling he will laugh...
He accepts rats as part of the landscape, I think. And the forever battle. He'll tell me I should set some traps, etc etc. Not me. The tarp was the last rat trap... a big one.

[Worth1]

Give me one day without something to eat and I will cook up a nice fat farm rat no problem.
Did you know rat milk has one of the highest butter fat percentages of any mammal it's true.
4 times that of a cow.

Worth

[kurt]

In/ over the eons in the trades I always would ask those others what the best was/ is,the newest etc.The exterminators said we do exactly what our name is.Then I will ask what he does,his reply and most others is basically “no food,no rats,no roaches”.Eliminate the food access,( containerize pantrys,use plastic food bins)and do not give them cover for water/ rain ,tarps ,old cars,dog food bags,bird food scatter under the cages.I am guilty of all the above,and then some.I hate to say next to Ravens,pigs,rats and us who is the king of the hill?Rats are my pick.

[Worth1]

https://youtu.be/o1takU08aOI

[kurt]

Originally Posted by bower

So true! I think the judgement is unanimous... the tarp is to blame, not the manure.
I doubt the rats will return to try to live in that nest, now that the tarp is off.
Project 'move the manure' will happen in the near future, anyway.
Dang I never hope to see another rat.

Originally Posted by Worth1

Give me one day without something to eat and I will cook up a nice fat farm rat no problem.
Did you know rat milk has one of the highest butter fat percentages of any mammal it's true.
4 times that of a cow.

Worth

In the past rat posts I think there was some talk about the culinary joys of the rat.I cherish squirrel livers,chicken livers,calves not cow livers.Rats we pass on.Now we know of the Gambian jungle rat that is on the menu in some parts of the world and is a delicacy in the bush.They are actually wild now in Florida(Keys).Gots to love Mother Nature we should be as adaptable.

[MissS]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Give me one day without something to eat and I will cook up a nice fat farm rat no problem.
Did you know rat milk has one of the highest butter fat percentages of any mammal it's true.
4 times that of a cow.

Worth

I can just see it now... Worth milking a rat before putting it into a skillet. Saving the cream for a delicious cream sauce.

[SueCT]

I would be careful of the clear tarp as well. I was putting in a new walkway last summer and had to cover it when I wasn't working on it to keep the sand dry. I covered it with clear plastic. More than once I saw a mouse running along the path under the plastic. Didn't bother it all that it was clear.

[KarenO]

I am normally a peaceable person but not when it comes to rodents. Relocation would not be an option for rats in my yard.
There are no rats in Alberta where I came from but there are on the island. The neighborhood is patrolled by a number of cats, including my own and I have't seen any evidence of them yet. I would have no hesitation to murderize them thoroughly if I did.
yeech. disgusting creatures.
KarenO

[Worth1]

In some parts of the world they have rat temples.

[matereater]

So worth, how does one go about milking a rat ??

[bower]

There are so many critters that come and go in my garden and would be happily received on any menu... rabbits, moose, grouse.... rats are vastly outnumbered by better things to eat.
In recent years I got a bit cranky about the amount of tansy that has spread around the perennial garden area, which is a bit much for something I don't even use nor like the smell of. I suppressed one big patch last year by building a new raised bed on top after tearing out as many roots as I could with the pick. But there's certainly still no shortage of the stuff. Only when I first spotted the rat this summer and got the paths whippersnipped - including many tall patches of tansy - it dawned on me that having a flea repellent here and there in the garden is not the worst thing you could have, at all.
And that may partly explain why the rats in my garden are the healthiest looking rodents I've ever seen. Way better looking than the ones around that dish in the picture. This is what I would call a very small mercy, in the situation.

[bower]

Originally Posted by KarenO

I am normally a peaceable person but not when it comes to rodents. Relocation would not be an option for rats in my yard.
There are no rats in Alberta where I came from but there are on the island. The neighborhood is patrolled by a number of cats, including my own and I have't seen any evidence of them yet. I would have no hesitation to murderize them thoroughly if I did.
yeech. disgusting creatures.
KarenO

Traps, baits, exterminators I will resort to immediately if I ever see sign of rodent in my house!

As for 'relocation' of rats nesting right next to my door, I didn't exactly issue passports and visas. The first three leaped out and bolted the moment I pulled off the tarp. Yes I crushed down the burrows to force the others out. I fail to see what other option was available, nor any reason for me to have a direct hand in killing them other than driving them out of the safe place I unintentionally created. I will do everything to destroy or remove anything on my property that creates a habitat for them to exploit and get comfortable.

I fail to see what other steps I could or should have taken. Fence off the pile to prevent them from leaving? That pile is no more than 20 feet from my door, and let me tell you it is the worst place I can think of to have a rats nest. That pile is also history, it has to be deployed now before it freezes. How the heck would I keep the rodents from 'relocating' as I'm shovelling it off.

The fact is that rats have a habitat in the area because of wetlands and rivers and lots of human activity and homes. There are natural predators including foxes and hawks, and there are many dogs and cats as well. IMO driving them out into the open is the obvious thing to do, to reduce their chance of survival. Baits and traps in the garden would be a hazard for my neighbors pets and other wildlife, it is by no means a simple solution, so I hope there is no further sign of them lurking around that would force me to put out traps.