12-26-2008, 07:13 AM
A lot of people in our area shoot pigs. The lots are bigger, but one still has to be careful to "shoot down". No one we know shoots rats, it would sound like a war was going on if they did. Snap traps work really well, heeding precautions for children and small pets, and can be re-used a number of times,. We are inundated with rats some years and catch up to 3 a day. One a day was voluntarily drowning in the large dog water bowl, as well. Some people make a trap with a pail of water so that the rat goes for the bait and then falls in. Seems like this would work great.
Interesting thing. Since we have had the semi-slug and the nematode that is in them and their slime, angiostrongylus cantonensis or rat lung worm, and since rats love to eat the disgusting things, we have seen very sick and strangely behaving rats. After the first year we had the semi-slug, we had hardly a rat. Now two years later, the rats came back big time in the early fall, the semi-slug started appearing big time again in November with the cool and wet, and voila, now hardly a rat. Possibility of something going on there.
Now, if we could just get some semi slug shot....
Interesting thing. Since we have had the semi-slug and the nematode that is in them and their slime, angiostrongylus cantonensis or rat lung worm, and since rats love to eat the disgusting things, we have seen very sick and strangely behaving rats. After the first year we had the semi-slug, we had hardly a rat. Now two years later, the rats came back big time in the early fall, the semi-slug started appearing big time again in November with the cool and wet, and voila, now hardly a rat. Possibility of something going on there.
Now, if we could just get some semi slug shot....