Rats can fart.

[janedoe]

There are two rats in our basement again. We found this out when I slathered joint compound all over some brick steps we wondered about as an entrance. Later we heard squealing and I thought something had been trapped but it turned out to be a rat fight. After the joint compound had dried, another rat punched through it and encountered the rat that was already there (that's our theory anyway) and there was all kinds of debris like joint compound, pieces of brick, etc. lying around afterward.

I went online to increase our rat killing repertoire and saw a thing about how mice can't belch so you just leave Coke out and it kills them because they kind of blow up on the inside. But apparently it doesn't work on rats because rats can fart. I know this because someone's pet rat drank some Coke and it farted so it was fine.

Just thought you should know you know, just in case.

[IRISHWISTLER]

This sounds like one of those grant receiving research projects that our guberment spent several million dollars to determine. LOL.

Irishwhistler

[sparky]

This sounds like one of those grant receiving research projects that our guberment spent several million dollars to determine. LOL.

Irishwhistler

I thought the same thing as I was reading this. Some gubmint weenie is listening to rats fart and getting 100K per rat!
The old Victor rat traps still work but then you have to dispose of the corpse. Poison means they could die inside you walls then you would have a completely different problem.

[Maxx&Emma]

I would still be at the hotel, with my dogs!

[janedoe]

I thought the same thing as I was reading this. Some gubmint weenie is listening to rats fart and getting 100K per rat!
The old Victor rat traps still work but then you have to dispose of the corpse. Poison means they could die inside you walls then you would have a completely different problem.

Fortunately, my husband has no problem disposing of corpses and will shoot them if they're not dead yet.

Also fortunately, there don't seem to be any studies on rat farts. Cow farts, yes. Rat farts, no. We're relying on eyewitness accounts at the moment.

[janedoe]

I would still be at the hotel, with my dogs!

OMG. You should see the look on Zo's face when she hears something downstairs. It's just pained.

[TuMicks]

Damn... all that time I spent trying to get a government grant $$$ to study chronic pain and asthma. Rat farts! WHY didn't I think of that.

I know we hear about cow farts and methane being a source of greenhouse gases (go with me here...) but when you consider JUST the rats in Manhattan, (there are no cows in Manhattan, last time I checked) and they are FAT little buggers, and they are metastasizing even into the ritziest addresses (like the new World Trade Towers) that I think they are a much more serious threat to climate change than all the rural bovines in the world.

At least that would be how I would pitch the grant.

[SunDance]

I hate to be laughing at your expense, but here I am...


I'd be putting poison down where the dogs couldn't get to it. There's a green pelleted poison that we got in Southern States that works really well (past neighbors had rats under the shed that was right next to our property and so we inherited some of them until the shed came down...I put the pellets down all of the holes I found...our dogs weren't diggers plus they were never outside unless we were with them) I think that was the poison that would make rodents seek outside water sources and, therefore, not die inside your walls.

This stuff: Amazon.com: NEOGEN RODENTICIDE Ramik Mouse and Rat Nuggets Pouch, 4-Pound, Green: Pet Supplies

[Maxx&Emma]

OMG. You should see the look on Zo's face when she hears something downstairs. It's just pained.

Poor girly, I would feel the same way plus the ick factor. You have a lot more patience than I would, lol!

[IRISHWISTLER]

Not a big fan of rodenticides as they tend to contribute to increased morbidity in owls via their intake of rodents in the food chain.

Irishwhistler