The First Plague

You will remember that I am suffering from a rat problem. We have caught one, but where there is one there are a hundred. There are now two tunnels dug into the chicken coop and no matter how many times we fill them back up, those suckers just dig them back out. If they were just eating the feed I wouldn't be as upset- I mean, I would still hate the fact that I have rats, but I could handle it. But they are ripping apart the insulation and eating eggs and that I will not stand for.

Last night I placed two very large glue traps in front of their tunnels. This morning one was gone and the other was jammed half way down the tunnel. I normally don't like the idea of glue traps because I think it's mean to make them wait for death, but I'm at the end of my rope.

(On a side note- if you use glue traps to get rid of mice in your house, be sure to put them in a place that is easily accessible for checking and disposal. The previous owner of our house had slid one under the fridge. We didn't know this until we moved in and the kitchen smelled like death. The glue had caught a mouse but because we couldn't check it regularly, the mouse began the decomposition process under the fridge.)

I also filled up the rat poison box. Those bastards must be tough because most of the poison I had put in there a couple of weeks ago was gone, yet only one rat has perished (as far as I know). I also got a five-gallon plastic bucket, put big spoonful of peanut butter in the bottom and placed a board next to it. The idea is that the rats (who are big fans of peanut butter) will climb the ramp into the bucket and won't be able to climb back out. So far I haven't caught anything, but it's been less than 24 hours and I have faith that something will work.

What really worries me is that I've read about how smart rats are and I'm afraid they might be trickier and more conniving than even I realize...

We still haven't caught any raccoons. We saw one last night but by the time Art got the gun it had disappeared. The traps are still set, but like the rats, I'm afraid the raccoons might out-smart us. It's not quite 6:00 yet, so perhaps rodents are the first plague we must suffer before the world comes to an end.