Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!

Meaning, of course, that they don't see why they should eat the dodgy
looking blue rat poison under the kitchen unit when there's a nice
supply of cat food a couple of feet away.  We would like to find a way
to prevent the rats from eating the cat food without ending up with a
starving cat too.  We've already removed the dried cat food that the
rats liked so much and continued to feed the cat wet food, but the
rats have now taken a liking to the wet food too, and ensuring that
cat food is only left out in the daytime hasn't helped either.

Anyone got any ideas?  It's easy to position food where rats can get
at it but not the cat, but the reverse seems much harder!

TIA.

Dave N.

Dave N. wrote:
> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!
> 

You need this :-)

<http://www.quantumpicture.com/Flo_Control/flo_control.htm>

"have built a computer-controlled device that visually determines if Flo 
is carrying anything in her mouth when she enters, and if she does, it 
simply does not let her in."

-- 
Adrian C

Dave N. wrote:

> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!
>
> Meaning, of course, that they don't see why they should eat the dodgy
> looking blue rat poison under the kitchen unit when there's a nice
> supply of cat food a couple of feet away.  We would like to find a way
> to prevent the rats from eating the cat food without ending up with a
> starving cat too.  We've already removed the dried cat food that the
> rats liked so much and continued to feed the cat wet food, but the
> rats have now taken a liking to the wet food too, and ensuring that
> cat food is only left out in the daytime hasn't helped either.
>
> Anyone got any ideas?  It's easy to position food where rats can get
> at it but not the cat, but the reverse seems much harder!
>
> TIA.
>
> Dave N.

Maybe you can get her used to eating on a table with smooth slippery
legs, if placed away from anything rats can jump from.


NT

On Jun 26, 12:16 pm, "Dave N."  wrote:
> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!

I think you are going to have to bite the bullet and remove the
kitchen unit.  Either that, or find a man with a terrier who is into
ratting.  (... you might want to exclude the cat first though :-)

On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:16:56 UTC, "Dave N." 
 wrote:

> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!
> 
> Meaning, of course, that they don't see why they should eat the dodgy
> looking blue rat poison under the kitchen unit when there's a nice
> supply of cat food a couple of feet away.  We would like to find a way
> to prevent the rats from eating the cat food without ending up with a
> starving cat too.  We've already removed the dried cat food that the
> rats liked so much and continued to feed the cat wet food, but the
> rats have now taken a liking to the wet food too, and ensuring that
> cat food is only left out in the daytime hasn't helped either.
> 
> Anyone got any ideas?  It's easy to position food where rats can get
> at it but not the cat, but the reverse seems much harder!

On a window sill (hard for rats to get up there) or similar?

A cat-operated lid (a bit like a pedal bin) on the food container? Cats 
will quickly learn, but unless they are lab rats..! (make the pressure 
too much for a rat)

-- 
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
   http://www.diybanter.com

Dave N. wrote:
> Anyone got any ideas?  It's easy to position food where rats can get
> at it but not the cat, but the reverse seems much harder!
> 

OK, One of these near to the food bowl? (If they do work for the Rats 
that aren't born deaf)

<http://www.pestfree.co.uk/ultrasonic-rat-repeller.htm>

-- 
Adrian C

Thanks for all your ideas - please keep them coming!  I liked the 'cat
cam' and imaging software.  At the moment the most realistic solution
is probably to supervise cat feeding and not to leave cat food in the
bowl unattended.  A rat scarer might also work, the only problem is if
the rats' only entry route is with the cat and they then can't find a
way out - so we just end up with a load of demented rats!  The house
dates from about 1900 and has wooden floors throughout, so I'd be very
surprised if the rats didn't have an easy exit route, so I will
probably give the rat scarer a go anyway (I think B&Q sell them).

Any more suggestions welcome!

Dave N.

On Jun 26, 12:16 pm, "Dave N."  wrote:

> the
> rats have now taken a liking to the wet food too
>
> It's easy to position food where rats can get
> at it but not the cat, but the reverse seems much harder!


Poison the wet food, put it where the ignored poison was so the rats
can get it but the cat can't?

On 26 Jun, 12:16, "Dave N."  wrote:
> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!
>
> Meaning, of course, that they don't see why they should eat the dodgy
> looking blue rat poison under the kitchen unit when there's a nice
> supply of cat food a couple of feet away.  We would like to find a way
> to prevent the rats from eating the cat food without ending up with a
> starving cat too.  We've already removed the dried cat food that the
> rats liked so much and continued to feed the cat wet food, but the
> rats have now taken a liking to the wet food too, and ensuring that
> cat food is only left out in the daytime hasn't helped either.
>
> Anyone got any ideas?  It's easy to position food where rats can get
> at it but not the cat, but the reverse seems much harder!

Hi Dave, why can't you just eradicate the little bleeders with traps,
maybe baited with cat food if they like it so much? Kinder to the rats
than poison, and no danger of decomposing corpses in in accessible
places.

Fenn mark IV traps are generally recommended. Put them in a tunnel to
stop the cat getting near them. I've just got some from here (traps
and tunnels) to deal with my squirrel problem:
http://www.molemann.co.uk/our-products-c46.html

Cheers!

Martin

"Dave N."  wrote in message 
news:ce4e22ea-5a7e-473f-93d8-f18e9602515b@d77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for all your ideas - please keep them coming!  I liked the 'cat
> cam' and imaging software.  At the moment the most realistic solution
> is probably to supervise cat feeding and not to leave cat food in the
> bowl unattended.  A rat scarer might also work, the only problem is if
> the rats' only entry route is with the cat and they then can't find a
> way out - so we just end up with a load of demented rats!  The house
> dates from about 1900 and has wooden floors throughout, so I'd be very
> surprised if the rats didn't have an easy exit route, so I will
> probably give the rat scarer a go anyway (I think B&Q sell them).

It is probably not cat friendly, given that similar units are sold to keep 
cats out of gardens.

Have you tried sitting on the kitchen unit with a 410 shotgun and taking pot 
shots at them when they look out?

Colin Bignell

On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:53:39 -0700 (PDT), Martin Bonner wrote:

> I think you are going to have to bite the bullet and remove the
> kitchen unit.  

Or simply remove the plinth cover but how you deal with scittering rats is 
another matter.

Or block up all the access holes to the under side and wait a week. Though 
rats when they get hungry will gnaw through pretty much anything.

So combine the two evict them from under the unit and block up all the 
holes so they can't get back in. Then set traps, but remember rats are 
very wary creatures and won't go near a trap that smells of human, so set 
them so you can check 'em visually.

-- 
Cheers
Dave.

In message , Adrian C 
<email@here.invalid> writes
>Dave N. wrote:
>> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
>> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
>> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
>> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
>> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
>> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!
>>
>
>You need this :-)
>
><http://www.quantumpicture.com/Flo_Control/flo_control.htm>
>
>"have built a computer-controlled device that visually determines if 
>Flo is carrying anything in her mouth when she enters, and if she does, 
>it simply does not let her in."
>
How timely

Manis presented us with our first mouse in about 3 years today

big bugger it was too



-- 
geoff

Dave N.  wrote in message
news:5620b712-6362-4bba-9425-9d3fff85a40a@d77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
> kitchen unit

Just put one of these under the kitchen unit
http://www.farmrite.co.uk/product.ds2?p=330015
decaying poisoned rats under the floorboards is not a good idea


-

On Jun 26, 12:16 pm, "Dave N."  wrote:
> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!
>
> Meaning, of course, that they don't see why they should eat the dodgy
> looking blue rat poison under the kitchen unit when there's a nice
> supply of cat food a couple of feet away.  We would like to find a way
> to prevent the rats from eating the cat food without ending up with a
> starving cat too.  We've already removed the dried cat food that the
> rats liked so much and continued to feed the cat wet food, but the
> rats have now taken a liking to the wet food too, and ensuring that
> cat food is only left out in the daytime hasn't helped either.
>
> Anyone got any ideas?  It's easy to position food where rats can get
> at it but not the cat, but the reverse seems much harder!
>
> TIA.
>
> Dave N.

Move house and take the rat/s with you, and leave the cat
behind................

The rats seem much more important here? Why....

Because the 'cat' controls the adults!

On 2008-06-26, Mark  wrote:
>
> Dave N.  wrote in message
> news:5620b712-6362-4bba-9425-9d3fff85a40a@d77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
>> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
>> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
>> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
>> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
>> kitchen unit
>
> Just put one of these under the kitchen unit
> http://www.farmrite.co.uk/product.ds2?p=330015

BTW, I buy my rat poison from Farmrite, and jolly nice people they are, too.


-- 
          "Be thankful that you have a life, and forsake your vain
                 and presumptuous desire for a second one."
               [email me at huge {at} huge (dot) org <dot> uk]

Thanks, everyone!

I bought a pack of plug-in rat and mouse repellers (4 for £20) from
B&Q on the way home, and plugged them in, so the whole house is
hopefully covered.  The cat seems to sit happily near one, so it's
evidently not disturbing her.  The sound's supposed to be an
ultrasonic frequency sweep, so to a rat it probably sounds a bit like
an intruder alarm would to us.

No evidence of the rats taking the cat food yet, but it's probably too
early to say.  If all goes really well they'll find the sound far too
irritating and find a way out of the house on their own - if not, at
least they'll hopefully find the kitchen too noisy to hang around and
will go back under the kitchen unit and feed on the rat bait.

I'll clean under the kitchen unit again over the weekend and will
eventually let you know what happens.

As they always say - cat's don't have owners, they have staff...

Many thanks!

Dave N.

In article ,
	"Dave N."  writes:
> Thanks for all your ideas - please keep them coming!  I liked the 'cat
> cam' and imaging software.  At the moment the most realistic solution
> is probably to supervise cat feeding and not to leave cat food in the
> bowl unattended.  A rat scarer might also work, the only problem is if
> the rats' only entry route is with the cat and they then can't find a
> way out - so we just end up with a load of demented rats!  The house
> dates from about 1900 and has wooden floors throughout, so I'd be very
> surprised if the rats didn't have an easy exit route, so I will
> probably give the rat scarer a go anyway (I think B&Q sell them).

If it's one of those ultrasonic things, it scares off mice for at
most a week (and possibly not at all), and cats can hear and hate
them. (Also, I'm not convinced that just because you can't hear
them, they aren't harming your hearing.)

-- 
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"geoff"  wrote in message 
news:MRVIANMhTAZIFwyn@ntlworld.com...
> In message , Adrian C 
> <email@here.invalid> writes
>>Dave N. wrote:
>>> Our little cat (bless her!) has exterminated the local mouse
>>> population and has now turned to rats.  She brings them in regularly
>>> but can't keep up with them to kill them, so they end up running
>>> around the house.  We thought we'd managed to kill them all as they
>>> came in, but unfortunately they've established a colony under a
>>> kitchen unit and are thriving on...you guessed it, cat food!
>>>
>>
>>You need this :-)
>>
>><http://www.quantumpicture.com/Flo_Control/flo_control.htm>
>>
>>"have built a computer-controlled device that visually determines if Flo 
>>is carrying anything in her mouth when she enters, and if she does, it 
>>simply does not let her in."
>>
> How timely
>
> Manis presented us with our first mouse in about 3 years today
>
> big bugger it was too

Typical of cat owners..
they aren't bringing you a catch they are just putting it somewhere for 
later.
Yet another wild animal behavior being twisted to fit the needs of the 
owner.

If you want affection get a dog if you want to feed a wild animal get a cat.

In article <00237cc6$0$19213$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com>,
	"dennis@home"  writes:
> 
> Typical of cat owners..
> they aren't bringing you a catch they are just putting it somewhere for 
> later.

ISTR Desmond Morris saying they are trying to show you how
to catch food, because you don't seem to be having any success
bringing in any wildlife yourself. It's how they teach their
kittens the same thing.

-- 
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 27 Jun, 17:05, and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

> ISTR Desmond Morris saying they are trying to show you how
> to catch food, because you don't seem to be having any success
> bringing in any wildlife yourself. It's how they teach their
> kittens the same thing.

I'm doing perfectly well bringing home the wildlife with my squirrel
traps thanks very much, certainly a lot better than our incompetent
moggy. I'll take no lessons from her!

On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:45:57 -0700 (PDT), Martin Pentreath wrote:

> I'm doing perfectly well bringing home the wildlife with my squirrel
> traps thanks very much, certainly a lot better than our incompetent
> moggy. I'll take no lessons from her!

She maybe incompetent in your eyes but at least she is catching them by 
stealth and her own teeth and claws. Lets see you catch something without 
a trap...

-- 
Cheers
Dave.

In article ,
	"Dave Liquorice"  writes:
> On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:45:57 -0700 (PDT), Martin Pentreath wrote:
> 
>> I'm doing perfectly well bringing home the wildlife with my squirrel
>> traps thanks very much, certainly a lot better than our incompetent
>> moggy. I'll take no lessons from her!
> 
> She maybe incompetent in your eyes but at least she is catching them by 
> stealth and her own teeth and claws. Lets see you catch something without 
> a trap...

Perhaps you could fool her by chasing the tin of wiskers supermeat
around the house for an hour or so before eventually opening it and
feeding her?

-- 
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Martin Pentreath"  wrote in message 
news:dca1c256-a0bb-4d1a-b3ff-e91585c31e04@79g2000hsk.googlegroups.com...
> On 27 Jun, 17:05, and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
>
>> ISTR Desmond Morris saying they are trying to show you how
>> to catch food, because you don't seem to be having any success
>> bringing in any wildlife yourself. It's how they teach their
>> kittens the same thing.
>
> I'm doing perfectly well bringing home the wildlife with my squirrel
> traps thanks very much, certainly a lot better than our incompetent
> moggy. I'll take no lessons from her!

I'm doing too well ATM.
I put out a humane rat trap and so far I have caught two rats, a squirrel, a 
wood pigeon and two sparrows.
I just wish the birds would stop eating my bait.

dennis@home wrote:
> I'm doing too well ATM.
> I put out a humane rat trap and so far I have caught two rats, a 
> squirrel, a wood pigeon and two sparrows.
> I just wish the birds would stop eating my bait.

Same here,

I recently trapped two adult field mice in humane traps wandering around 
our kitchen on the way to the pasta. They were let out in the wilds of 
the road next to us (where they can find a good curry instead), and I 
de-baited and washed the poo'ed traps leaving them to dry in the sun.

Came back to reinstall the traps inside out house, and found that one of 
the now baitless traps had caught another mouse from outside. But this 
one was tiny, obviously now scared and with it's back to me (when 
opening the front door of the trap). It didn't understand the deal - "ye 
only enter the restaurant if ye are sure that dinner will be served here..."

Quietly I trotted up the alley way to another release point (great 
chinese) and reopened the front door. A little snout followed by head 
and a couple of paws popped out. This baby mouse was just too cute for 
words, and it and I each stood transfixed looking at one other for a 
good minute.

Then it had gone. My only friend ;-(........

Someone offered a straight jacket here recently. Is it still available?

-- 
Adrian C

dennis@home wrote:
> 
> 
> "Martin Pentreath"  wrote in message 
> news:dca1c256-a0bb-4d1a-b3ff-e91585c31e04@79g2000hsk.googlegroups.com...
>> On 27 Jun, 17:05, and...@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
>>
>>> ISTR Desmond Morris saying they are trying to show you how
>>> to catch food, because you don't seem to be having any success
>>> bringing in any wildlife yourself. It's how they teach their
>>> kittens the same thing.
>>
>> I'm doing perfectly well bringing home the wildlife with my squirrel
>> traps thanks very much, certainly a lot better than our incompetent
>> moggy. I'll take no lessons from her!
> 
> I'm doing too well ATM.
> I put out a humane rat trap and so far I have caught two rats, a 
> squirrel, a wood pigeon and two sparrows.
> I just wish the birds would stop eating my bait.

Was expecting to read:

"Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow."

-- 
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious 
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
<www.thyromind.info> <www.thyroiduk.org> <www.altsupportthyroid.org>

dennis@home  wrote in message
news:00237cc6$0$19213$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>
> If you want affection get a dog if you want to feed a wild animal get a
cat.
>

Try explaining that to madam
http://i28.tinypic.com/2guk2nk.jpg



-

dennis@home wrote:
> I'm doing too well ATM.
> I put out a humane rat trap and so far I have caught two rats, a 
> squirrel, a wood pigeon and two sparrows.

But that's only about 33% edible.

Owain

In message , Adrian C 
<email@here.invalid> writes
>dennis@home wrote:
>> I'm doing too well ATM.
>> I put out a humane rat trap and so far I have caught two rats, a 
>>squirrel, a wood pigeon and two sparrows.
>> I just wish the birds would stop eating my bait.
>
>Same here,
>
>I recently trapped two adult field mice in humane traps wandering 
>around our kitchen on the way to the pasta. They were let out in the 
>wilds of the road next to us

You mean you sentenced the poor buggers to death by starvation?

It was quite a surprise to me to discover that once domesticated, they 
have little idea how to fend for themselves in nature and many of them 
die


-- 
geoff

On 2008-06-27 23:07:26 +0100, Adrian C <email@here.invalid> said:

> dennis@home wrote:
>> I'm doing too well ATM.
>> I put out a humane rat trap and so far I have caught two rats, a 
>> squirrel, a wood pigeon and two sparrows.
>> I just wish the birds would stop eating my bait.
> 
> Same here,
> 
> I recently trapped two adult field mice in humane traps wandering 
> around our kitchen on the way to the pasta.

Traps are getting very sophisticated these days :-)

Well at last we seem to be getting somewhere...

With rat scarers plugged in around the house and emptying the cat food
bowl at night, I took a look under the kitchen unit over the weekend.
At last, after nearly 2 weeks, the rats have eaten the bait - so
hopefully it'll not be too long until they're all gone.

Many thanks!

Dave N.

On 8 Jul,  
     "Dave N."  wrote:

> With rat scarers plugged in around the house and emptying the cat food
> bowl at night, I took a look under the kitchen unit over the weekend.
> At last, after nearly 2 weeks, the rats have eaten the bait - so
> hopefully it'll not be too long until they're all gone.

Apart from the smell which *will* get worse once they are deceased.

-- 
  B Thumbs
  Change lycos to yahoo to reply

3 weeks later - the saga continues, but we're hopefully winning...

Looking at the droppings, most of the rats seemed pretty small.  I
also found a cunningly concealed small hole right in a corner behind a
water pipe in the area under the kitchen units where most activity has
been observed - I think they could have used this to get under the
floor (or maybe that's how they got in).  There were a few big
droppings and gnaw marks indicating at least one large one.

I plugged the hole using masses of filler and the rat activity in the
kitchen seemed to reduce noticeably, so that probably means some have
been isolated below the floor (I also plugged a hole in the under-
stair cupboard floor that could have been used by a rat to get back in
again).  In the last week we have had 4 dead rats appear, all small,
some of these probably dragged by the cat, and I killed another that
the cat managed to back into a corner.  I think the bait is killing
them or at least weakening them so the cat can catch up with them now.

The local council operates a subsidised pest control service - the
pest control man took a good look around the area for entry points
below floor from outside and concluded the house and my neighbours'
houses should be rat-proof (although there are a few small holes that
could be used by mice).  He said I was basically going the right way
about getting rid of the rats but also recommended getting a few traps
since the rats were mostly juveniles and probably weren't too wise to
traps yet.  I got a couple of snap traps and put them, baited with
chocolate, against the wall under the kitchen units, but without a
result yet.  In the meantime the big one had started building a nest
with cotton wool under the cooker (lovely smell when we turned the
oven on!) and one night when we had inadvertently shut it in the
dining room it managed to dig a hole through the lath and plaster wall
and get into the under-stair cupboard (I chased it out and filled the
hole PDQ).  Nice!

Last night, in a scene reminiscent of Fawlty Towers, I finally
cornered the (hopefully not "a") big one behind the fridge and
dispatched it with a piece of wood (the neighbours heard the sound!).
No obvious rat activity this morning, but not quite sure the saga's
over yet...

In message 
, 
Dave N.  writes

  (Snip)

>I plugged the hole using masses of filler and the rat activity in the
>kitchen seemed to reduce noticeably, so that probably means some have
>been isolated below the floor (I also plugged a hole in the under-
>stair cupboard floor that could have been used by a rat to get back in
>again).

One thing they hate is wire wool put where you might use filler.

> In the last week we have had 4 dead rats appear, all small,
>some of these probably dragged by the cat, and I killed another that
>the cat managed to back into a corner.  I think the bait is killing
>them or at least weakening them so the cat can catch up with them now.

Bait has the odd affect of attracting slugs but it does work quite well.

They hate activity so a lot of noise on the floor and above their heads 
is quite good.
>
>The local council operates a subsidised pest control service - the
>pest control man took a good look around the area for entry points
>below floor from outside and concluded the house and my neighbours'
>houses should be rat-proof (although there are a few small holes that
>could be used by mice).

One experienced man said that the old timers would fill the holes with 
broken glass but no one did that anymore.

> He said I was basically going the right way
>about getting rid of the rats but also recommended getting a few traps
>since the rats were mostly juveniles and probably weren't too wise to
>traps yet.  I got a couple of snap traps and put them, baited with
>chocolate, against the wall under the kitchen units, but without a
>result yet.  In the meantime the big one had started building a nest
>with cotton wool under the cooker (lovely smell when we turned the
>oven on!) and one night when we had inadvertently shut it in the
>dining room it managed to dig a hole through the lath and plaster wall
>and get into the under-stair cupboard (I chased it out and filled the
>hole PDQ).  Nice!

You should see the gnaw marks in the wood on the bottom of the outhouse 
to kitchen door here.
>
>Last night, in a scene reminiscent of Fawlty Towers, I finally
>cornered the (hopefully not "a") big one behind the fridge and
>dispatched it with a piece of wood (the neighbours heard the sound!).
>No obvious rat activity this morning, but not quite sure the saga's
>over yet...


-- 
PK
Remove the xtra y from my name in the email address if replying