Here's an alternative to "Getting rid of Ratty":
Raise their babies!Pam Bovitz writes on
Facebook:
"27 September near Yung Shue Wan:
I've not had the best week. And, it just got a whole lot worse. Check this out. Took the plants down to water them. Out flies momma rat. Tala, my rat-obsessed dog, catches her mid air. Eats her. Not the first time she's done this.
Baby number one falls out of nest. After screaming and freaking out, I find baby number two and three. I can't just let them die. This is my life."After 36 comments with many warnings and extermination advice, but also offers of help and support, Pam stands firm:
"The rats have no disease. Trust me. Yes, I have snakes. Some are venomous. Some are not. They are more scared of me and slither away so quickly. The space around my house is thick jungle. There are loads of rats and frogs that the snakes feed on. There is no way I could eradicate all of the rats, frogs, or snakes. I don't want to!
The dogs have learned to leave the snakes alone. I love living amongst all of them. Seriously, I love it! I do not like that my dog eats live rats, but when she catches them, there is nothing I can do about it. Except raise her babies!
We raised a nest of babies a few years ago. They are very sweet animals. Contrary to common belief, they are extremely clean animals. They only carry disease if living in disease ridden areas. My house and yard are just jungle. Quite pristine jungle. No disease here.
We are rearing the babies. End of story."A true Lammaite! Go, Pam, go!