| Author |
Message |
    
wunderdog
Citizen
Username: Wunderdogny
Post Number: 87
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 7, 2006 - 7:40 pm: | 
|
For a moment this afternoon I thought I was back in Brooklyn. We have a steam running through our back yard, and today I saw three rats, each the size of a small Buick, foraging for food in the stream. Is there ANY way to get rid of them or discourage them from setting up housekeeping in our yard? I have a two year old who likes to play outside. |
wunderdog
Citizen
Username: Wunderdogny
Post Number: 89
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 7, 2006 - 7:43 pm: |
|
....oops...that's a STREAM, not a STEAM, running through our backyard....so frantic I mistyped!!! |
Goldyjess
Citizen
Username: Goldyjess
Post Number: 39
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 7, 2006 - 8:09 pm: |
|
We found a dead rat in front of our house yesterday. I was glad it was dead, but still highly freaked out - where could it have come from and where is its (alive) family??? |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13506
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 7, 2006 - 8:53 pm: |
|
I recommend calling an exterminator.
Also, try having a dog pee in your yard. I don't know if that discourages rats, but I hear it works with raccoons. It can't hurt, and it's not expensive, either.
|
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 7185
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 7, 2006 - 9:59 pm: |
|
Do an archive search. Apparently we have a rat problem. Unfortunately, I know whereof I speak. |
catmanjac
Citizen
Username: Catmanjac
Post Number: 131
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 8, 2006 - 6:26 pm: |
|
 |
wunderdog
Citizen
Username: Wunderdogny
Post Number: 92
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 2:03 pm: |
|
Cat....can you bring this sweet little girl over for a playdate? And tell her to bring her Oozie! I'll have milk and cookies waiting. THANKS!!! |
Calliope
Citizen
Username: Calliope
Post Number: 80
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 2:12 pm: |
|
---or you might want to get a cat like this one |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 7242
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 2:27 pm: |
|
Are you sure they were rats? We have all kinds of wild life in our towns (in addition to our human residents). In addition to aquatic mammals, a running stream is a great attraction for all sorts of indigenous animals seeking an available source of water. |
cody
Citizen
Username: Cody
Post Number: 979
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 3:24 pm: |
|
Possums have long, hairless tails like rats and pointy-nosed faces. Any chance you saw some ferrets? I do recall seeing rats by the water that flows by the Flood's Hill/swimming pool/Baird Center area of South Orange about 10 years ago.
I'm always struck by how people consider squirrels cute (usually) and rats scary and repulsive. They're both rodents, and rats, despite being associated with garbage, much prefer a diet of veggies and carbs and clean themselves as often as cats do. Wild rats can be nasty, though, so I understand your concern. |
Eponymous
Citizen
Username: Eponymous
Post Number: 175
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 6:29 pm: |
|
Cody,
Could it be because rats have a long history as disease carriers? |
wunderdog
Citizen
Username: Wunderdogny
Post Number: 94
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 9:36 am: |
|
Believe me, these are RATS. Big, fat slimey rats. The good news is that, unlike the subway rats who give you a "yeah, just try it bud!" look, these vermin scamper away when I approach or clap my hands. I was surprised, however, that they were out in broad daylight. They clearly have a food source somewhere, because they make the subway rats look positively anorexic. My thoughts about squirrels - they are simply rats with bushy tails. We do have a 14-year old cat, but he's never been outside once, so my guess is he would have no clue what to do if he faced a rat. Plus he's diabetic and a bit gereatric. OH, the joys of country living!?!?! |
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page