I am a bleepin' MIGHTY HUNTRESS, yo.
Our house has an insulated roof space. Roof spaces get rats. It's part of the whole thing of living in a house; it's shelter, and all sorts of things want to SHARE. Well, we don't particularly want to share with rats, so the attic has traps in it, and every so often Da Handsome Hubby will climb up there to re-bait and/or re-set any traps that need it, and recover the... ah... occasional victim. (This is not because I'm squeamish or lazy; it's because I'm taller than him, and don't fit up there very well. Sensible division of household chores, and all that.)
Choosing the right trap is important. We use snap traps, because live traps leave you with a rat that has to be dealt with somehow, and frankly we don't check often enough for that to be humane. Snap traps, however, have to be strong. Just about any snap trap can deal with a mouse. A rat caught in a weak snap trap is not a dead rat; it is an upset rat with a very heavy necklace.
At approximately 12:15 last night, one of the snap traps in the roof went off. I heard it, because it was in a spot between insulation batts above the bathroom.
I then continued hearing it. Please see the above paragraph about choosing the right trap.
Hubby was asleep. He continued to be asleep. He's a heavy sleeper, and I wasn't going to wake him up; poor honey has had an awful few days, and I don't think being woken up by me and immediately required to go deal with a Situation in the roof would be a good way to start this week. So, I got the ladder out of the garage, got his heavy gardening gloves and a torch and a bucket, climbed up there and... got the rat...
...and dealt with the rat. I'm sure you'll excuse me if I draw a delicate veil across that bit. All I'm going to say is that it was quick and humane, and in certain circumstances I can be very efficient. I am a Mighty Huntress. I am frickin' CONAN. Okay, no, not Conan, he wouldn't have apologised to the rat and probably would have eaten the damn thing for breakfast the next day, but Conan also doesn't live in a nice house with a lovely husband and people try to kill him all the time. I can live without being Conan.
Hubby was very impressed when I told him this morning, very grateful that I didn't wake him up to do the Manly Thing, and frankly surprised that I didn't get stuck up there between joists or trusses or whatever the awkward wooden bits you have to climb through are called. I have demanded a trip to Bunnings to get seed raising trays and potting mix as my reward.
Conan doesn't get to grow lilies in seed raising trays. I'm fine with not being him.
Maybe Bunnings will also have stronger traps.
----- Originally posted at my Dreamwidth account, feel free to comment on either site!
Choosing the right trap is important. We use snap traps, because live traps leave you with a rat that has to be dealt with somehow, and frankly we don't check often enough for that to be humane. Snap traps, however, have to be strong. Just about any snap trap can deal with a mouse. A rat caught in a weak snap trap is not a dead rat; it is an upset rat with a very heavy necklace.
At approximately 12:15 last night, one of the snap traps in the roof went off. I heard it, because it was in a spot between insulation batts above the bathroom.
I then continued hearing it. Please see the above paragraph about choosing the right trap.
Hubby was asleep. He continued to be asleep. He's a heavy sleeper, and I wasn't going to wake him up; poor honey has had an awful few days, and I don't think being woken up by me and immediately required to go deal with a Situation in the roof would be a good way to start this week. So, I got the ladder out of the garage, got his heavy gardening gloves and a torch and a bucket, climbed up there and... got the rat...
...and dealt with the rat. I'm sure you'll excuse me if I draw a delicate veil across that bit. All I'm going to say is that it was quick and humane, and in certain circumstances I can be very efficient. I am a Mighty Huntress. I am frickin' CONAN. Okay, no, not Conan, he wouldn't have apologised to the rat and probably would have eaten the damn thing for breakfast the next day, but Conan also doesn't live in a nice house with a lovely husband and people try to kill him all the time. I can live without being Conan.
Hubby was very impressed when I told him this morning, very grateful that I didn't wake him up to do the Manly Thing, and frankly surprised that I didn't get stuck up there between joists or trusses or whatever the awkward wooden bits you have to climb through are called. I have demanded a trip to Bunnings to get seed raising trays and potting mix as my reward.
Conan doesn't get to grow lilies in seed raising trays. I'm fine with not being him.
Maybe Bunnings will also have stronger traps.
----- Originally posted at my Dreamwidth account, feel free to comment on either site!