[Vermin News] We have a rat invasion. In our yard.I invited it. I hung bird feeders over the winter and filled them with black-oil sunflower seed. I would occasionally see a rat running out from a snowbank, grabbing a seed, then disappear. Of course I knew there is no such thing as just one rat.
But I had no idea. With the snow melt, the rats are having their own karaoke party in and around our driveway.
Maxine, our 80-year-old neighbor, called last night to tell us she sees the rats--six or more at a time--feasting on seeds the birds drop from the feeder.
I saw a pack of them for the first time this morning, when I drove in to the driveway. I would have taken their picture to share on the blog, but these are urban rats. They move fast. They ran under the shed beside the garage. Maxine thinks they are nesting there.
We really don't despise the rats. I rather like our yard feeling like a Beatrix Potter book. Surely the rats have a purpose. The circle of life, you know? But I sense the neighbors are gathering momentum and will soon, um, rat us out to the health department for creating a nuisance.
Also, the neighbors are a fountain of extermination advice. One says we should put out traps near the shed. Oh, and there's poison...mix it into dog food, they say, and slide it under the shed.
None sound like good options. Anyone? [Holly Mullen]
