Dead rat - ewww

**madhen** · 04-19-2006, 03:47 PM

Just a little rant. Got to work late this morning because for the past several days, I have been smelling what appeared to be a dead rodent. I have birds, and a few weeks ago, I noticed that there was some rodent activity around the cages. (I live out in the country, so mice and rats are pretty much par for the course.)

I put out some poison, and found a dead rat a few days later and thought the problem was solved. Well, about a week after that, the smell started. And continued. It was really bad in the laundry room and the upstairs bathroom (directly above the laundry room).

While I had searched the obvious places and had just decided that the rat had died in the wall just to spite me, I had not done a top to bottom search of the laundry room. This morning, when I went to get a pile of clean laundry off the counter and take it upstairs, the whole pile smelled like dead rat!

So I went into turbo-mode and started cleaning the laundry room. Sure enough, I found the rat. Unfortunately, the flies had already found the rat, and let's just say it was an unpleasant experience, overall, removing the offending item and cleaning up after it. Where did I find the rat? UNDER THE PILE OF "CLEAN" LAUNDRY!

So, lesson for today: remove clean laundry immediately and get it folded or hung up or otherwise put away. Cost of lesson: bad smell for several days, having to clean up decomposing rat and accompanying maggots, and having to re-wash about two loads of laundry. One more reason to be more organized! It is easier to find dead rats if you don't have piles of laundry for dying rats to climb into!!

**YankeeMom** · 04-19-2006, 03:59 PM

EEEEEEWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!

**FreesiaE** · 04-19-2006, 04:08 PM

I don't even know what to say

**FrugalMomof3** · 04-19-2006, 04:08 PM

GROSS!

**AmyBoz** · 04-19-2006, 04:14 PM

**PeacewithMyself** · 04-19-2006, 04:15 PM

Rodents - Nobody likes them but, I think we have all had experiences.

We have a fairly new home. Built in 1997. My DH sealed everything, we thought...

We still have a problem, occasionally with a mouse getting in under the kitchen sink. We don't know how these little buggers get in. From what I've read though, a mouse can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime. Now how is that possible!

Someone told me once to place a small amount of couscous under the house. Rodents will eat this and it will swell to fill their stomach so much they will die. Don't know if it works, I haven't tried it.

Hang in there and keep working at the problem.

PwM

**Valerie in WA** · 04-20-2006, 12:28 AM

Since we're on the topic of rats, I have a question. I live in the suburbs, but we have small 'wild' areas or greenbelts in our area. The back 1/3 of our half-acre plot is 'wild' (lots of blackberries and trees), as are my neighbors'.

So my question is this: Is it within the realm of acceptable to have a rat frequent my compost bin? It is and enclosed wooden box (obviously not well enough enclosed) and I do compost kitchen scraps (no meat, but things like potato peels, tea bags, mouldy bread/fruit, etc - anything the ducks won't eat). We were aware of rats in the 'wild' area before I started composting, so this is not an entirely new problem.

BTW, I had him cornered- with a pitchfork in my hands - just two days ago, and I couldn't do it. I can have dh set out poison, but I couldn't do it directly myself. *hangs head in shame*

**miss_thrifty** · 04-20-2006, 12:45 AM

ewwwwwwwwwwwww, dear lord!!! heebie jeebies brrrrrrr

**MandiDawn** · 04-20-2006, 12:56 PM

oh, I'm speechless - that's so . . . gross!!!!

**frugalfarmwife** · 04-20-2006, 01:53 PM

Your not alone Madhen, we're a farm and an old farmhouse, mousie presents are actually a regular thing here. Our good old house cat Larry brings them to us all the time, such a good kittie!

Now rats, haven't had one of those in the house yet, but did have a ground hog in the basement scare the SNOT out of me, he got to the metal outside cellar doors and was banging on them, scared me 1/2 TO DEATH! I thought there was someone in there!

Oh, and a feral cat got in the basement, into the duct work and popped out the cold air return in the stairway, YIKES! 5 dogs, house cat and I chasing one MEAN NASTY cat through the house caused a LOT of noise and commotion!

Never a dull moment on a farm is there?

kj

**madhen** · 04-20-2006, 07:06 PM

As for the rat in the compost, I think that is totally normal. I have seen rats in just about every setting, from urban to rural. They are great little survivors. I am the same way - hate putting out the poison, especially when you find the little babies, but it is a "me" or "them" sort of proposition!

I thought about getting a cat, but a) I'm not wild about cats; b) I had a feral cat hanging around, but it was attacking and killing my chickens; and c) my dog HATES cats. Tries to kill them, and it would just be a matter of time before they ended up in a face-off. Don't want to be cleaning cat off the side of the house, so no cat.

Yes, living in the country definitely comes with a price. Rats, skunks, and bobcats are very common, although the bobcats have started to stay away, due to both my dogs and the addition of three donkeys who will chase down anything larger than a squirrel.

I have become an expert in what I call "rattlesnake flinging." I am too soft-hearted to kill them when they get near the house. (They LOVE the garden in the summer - moist and cool.) I figure they were here before me AND they do help keep the rodents down. So I have perfected the art of sticking a broom handle at *just* the right spot underneath them, and flinging them out away from the house. They get indignant and wriggle off, and I don't have to murder anything! I don't get a lot of immediate returns, either. Last year, I think I had to fling five or six of them throughout the summer, and I don't think any of them were repeats.

**Darlene** · 04-20-2006, 08:43 PM

Aww, that's just not right. Not right at all. Sorry.

**Valerie in WA** · 04-21-2006, 11:02 AM

Originally Posted by madhen

As for the rat in the compost, I think that is totally normal. I have seen rats in just about every setting, from urban to rural. They are great little survivors. I am the same way - hate putting out the poison, especially when you find the little babies, but it is a "me" or "them" sort of proposition!

Okay, thanks for that bit of reassurance. I'm still going to tighten up the box and see if I can keep it out, but at least I don't feel like it's ALL my fault.

**madhen** · 04-21-2006, 04:37 PM

I use one of those black plastic compost bins with the hatch on top and the slider on the bottom, and I put a piece of old carpet underneath (since it has no bottom). I have found that keeps most critters deterred from trying to get in, including bugs.

My rodent problem comes more from having chicken food/scratch and grain out. I keep it stored in covered aluminum trash cans, but I have a dish of chicken food out at all times for my girls (and about a half dozen guys). Mice, rats, wild birds, etc. all seem to think that I am running a Hometown Buffet for them.

**Valerie in WA** · 04-21-2006, 06:43 PM

I used to have my compost in one of those containers (and Earth Machine), but it was nearly impossible to turn it. Since putting it in the wooden bin, I've turned it at least weekly (when ever I add more scraps). It's breaking down much more quickly with the frequent turning.

I keep my ducks' food (which is just chicken feed) in a sealed plastic tote - the kind with latches. Each day I give them about 1.5 cups of feed. It's usually gone within 24 hours. I don't think rodents are going in there for a buffet.