At the very moment that all the tiny newborn
balls of fluff, flapping and screeching
behind their parents, need it most, we've
once again been forced to severely reduce the
supply of bird food in our garden. The
reason? A very ingenious rat. It stretches,
it jumps, it climbs, it dislodges, it prises
open and it devours. No matter what lengths
we go to to put the feeders in out of the
way and out of reach locations, Mr
Norvegicus outwits us, usually in broad
daylight while we sit just a few feet away
and watch. Why do we just sit and watch?
Because he's actually pretty impressive in
his cunning and guile and also because if we
chase him off, he just waits until we are
safely back indoors before recommencing his
endeavours. He's a clever little thing and
certainly a lot less ugly than the gnarled bruiser
we had in the garden last year.
So, for the time being, we've removed all
but a couple of the bird-feeders, which are
hung from the middle of the washing line for
maximum inaccessibility, in the hope that
our unwanted guest will grow frustrated and
wander off to explore pastures new. He's
just doing his thing, I certainly don't want
to kill him, merely dissuade him and reduce
the risk of him getting into the house if we
happen to leave the back door ajar.
Here's Scratch in 1977, talking about a very
different kind of rat.
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5 comments:
Nice one, Scratch!
Good lick keeping old Ratty at bay.
Typo...as ever. Good lick, anyway.
I do sympathise completely as I think you already know!
They come and go here, I prefer not to see them because of all the moral dilemmas but at the same time I think they're brilliant little creatures and I wish we could embrace them! They're so intelligent I reckon there'd be scope to train them up as sniffer rats and use them as working animals, it would be such a positive alternative to conventional pest control!
Good luck anyway... (We have one living in the compost bin at the moment!)
SB. Typo of the week! It's all quiet in the garden at the mo'. Perhaps he's taken the hint.
C. You're so right about their intelligence. I wish I'd taken a photo or two of our guest as he contorted himself this way & that to get to the nut-feeder.
Bionic rats indeed ....good track to!
I used to have a Rat in my Kitchen!
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