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There are not vaccines available for all the strains of lepto here, and you have to keep vaccinating your dog every few years. Lepto almost killed one of my dogs, who is a voracious ratter and with her sister keeps our place rat free, but she still got it, probably from drinking from a puddle when we took her for a walk. Rats also like to access roofs by walking the power lines, so you can have rats on your roof, even if you keep predators. Rats on the roof mean rat pee in your catchment. I have had students who got it from swimming in rivers, Waipio valley in particular, too.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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rats on the roof - that is why uv filtration is important
So then I have a question to why or how does the rat catch or carry this Lepto?. Maybe the rats come in contact with something?. Rats are part of this way of life in the islands, rats have been here longer and probably have us out numbered by the millions. So why the larger out-breaks of Lepto?. In past decades that I can remember it did not seem so common, maybe more people now so more cases?. It would seem that the rat, could pass this Lepto to your cat, who then could spread it to you on your lap?.
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rat pees on your roof - it gets into catchment - and ito your bath tub or shower / laundry / washing veggies
I run uv on all the house taps - drink spring water from the county - vaccinate my animals and am very cautious around standing water
we have lots and lots of lepto in the summer "in the canyon - overtown" when the stream dries up - leaving puddles for he deer and rats to drink and pee in .....
as to water heater repairs - all is well - this being the 7th year on one of those 200 dollar aqua e-10's
why is there more lepto - my guess would be - there are more people (density) to get infected on island then there may have been in the past
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We mix salty creamy peanut butter and drywall Spackle equal parts and da rats consume it and since they get a huge thirst afters from da salty peanut butter,they go find water to drink,but unbeknownst to da rats,they do not have the ability to puke,so the drywall powder hardens and they die str8 away.
We put this mixture outside away from hale in cans so da chickens can not access unda old roof tin.
Old cane haul day trick.No need toxic poisons .
Yes VERY extreme year this year for rats and other vermin for some reason, even in eating establishments in town,seen them scurrying about where people eat,even seen them in Safeway and Home Depot recently.
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Took the state hunter education course. The instructor said that all surface water sources should be assumed to have lepto. He gave an example of a conservation officer chasing somebody where they both ran through brambles, getting all scratched up, then both crossed a stream, getting all wet, then both landed in the hospital with lepto. Anecdotal but does suggest that you can get lepto without specifically drinking rat pee, just from general exposure to a favorable environment.
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Mimosa- great "old school" remedy. Very "green" in that it kills them w/o getting into food chain like strychnine baits. Mahalo again!
Are you a human being, or a human doing?
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current bait formulations work with blood thinners - works its way up the food chain - they bleed to death internaly over a week or so
keep vitamin k (available from your vet) on hand to counteract any accidental ingestion
white / pale gums a give away
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Even without rats, cats love roofs.
We "had" roof rats. We now have roof cats.
