When John
was alive, he contracted with a pest control company that came once a quarter
to spray around the house and eliminate spiders and bugs. They also
did mole control (not very effective in my opinion) and rat/mouse
control. I think one of John’s reasons for doing this beyond his inability to
do it any longer with safe and sane traps, was getting to interact with the
pest control guys. It had to get boring interacting with just me most of the
time.
In any case, I wasn’t terribly appreciative
of the pest control company and after their fall visit where the operator indicated
on his slip that he’d seen no mole activity…really, really??? he walked right
by it, so how could he have not seen it…I called and cancelled their service. I
figured the spiders weren’t too much of a big deal; and as for the rodents, I’d
have to see.
Mabel is the only chicken left. Her
mates, Lucy and Ethel are long gone, but Mabel lives on. I lock her up every
night and let her out every morning so she doesn't become a coyote snack or worse. In the process, I sprinkle food on the
ground by the back gate. She and the squirrels love it, and I do laugh
when I see her chase the squirrels away. 
Today, I was sitting here at my desk
on the phone and looking out the window. The sun was shining and suddenly there
were mice and rats dashing to the food, loading up and dashing away. They all
looked very healthy, fat, their fur shiny and bright. If I knew for sure they’d
stay away from the house and continue to live behind the fence, and not breed
like rabbits, I probably wouldn’t do anything. And, why is it that rats give me
the shivers. Snakes and almost any other animal are fine with me, but rats…don’t
like em.
As I’m typing this, there’s a big
healthy one out there stuffing his face again. Hopefully, he won’t last long
because I went to Ace Hardware and bought some rat eliminator. I put it down
the holes into the tunnels made by the moles and then covered them up. I’m
hoping they have a wonderful underground snack (moles and rats) and stay there,
underground. This particular rat is coming under the gate from behind the
fence. I don’t want to put any kind of poison on the surface where Mabel or any
other non-rodent bird or animal could get to it. So, I don’t know what to do
about the under the gate guy. Maybe some of his friends will turn him on to the
tunnel tasties.
I really don’t want to call the pest
control folks and have them start coming again, but I don’t want this to turn
into a major rodent problem. Do any of you have any ideas on how to control
these that doesn’t involve poison? I like the idea we have foxes and coyotes
and who knows what else living in my little neighborhood. I don’t like thinking
they could be affected by my attempts to rid myself of what would probably be a
great snack for them.
In the time it took to type the last
two paragraphs (and I type really fast), the big fat rat has made at least six
trips to the chicken food. Back and forth under the garden gate. So, any ideas
you may have and want to share with me about rodent control would be most
appreciated. Apparently Mabel noticed what was going on. She’s now
roosting in front of the gate where the rat comes and goes. Maybe she’ll take
care of him???
Another instance where John would have made the decision about what to do...well, he wouldn't have cancelled the service to begin with. Sometimes I actually envy the people I know who have moved into a facility where every single thing is taken care of for them. I know I'm not ready for that, but lately, having someone else make all the decisions would maybe be a blessing...for a while anyway.