Rat Holes.....

[Charlie]

Has any one ever seen a rat hole before? I think there is one in my house.

[Backcountry]

Sprinkle flour outside the hole and then you can see if the little bastard it coming and going...

[Dru]

GET A CAT.

 

This is a principle of ecosystem management - called using predators to control prey populations.

 

You could get a Grizzly Bear but you need a much larger rat population to make that a viable alternative.

 

You can always test if it is a rat by leaving out a big hunk of cheese and a piece of nylon webbing next to one another. If the cheese is gone in the morning - rat. If the webbing is chewed through - snafflehound.

[sk]

There are many cat advantages... Although they do require some amount of care. You can barrow one of mine if you will be nice to her... Have three, have never had a rat or mouse in any of the shit hole places I have lived.

 

maybe you can barrow the puppy cam??? at least then you would know what you were up against.

[Uncle_Tricky]

My neighbor from Twisp lives in Thailand every winter where he raises tilapia (a kind of fish) in abandoned rice paddies. According to him, the area is an ecological disaster. The impoverished locals have poached out all the game and the only thing left is a thriving population of huge rats. Now, for sport and nutrition, the local men take to the forest every night with flashlights and old-style muzzleloaders in pursuit of the wily rodents.

 

Apparently a whole economy and social structure has developed around the harvesting of rats. In addition to providing a cheap source of protein, its the men's main source of entertainment and income. And, of course, the nightly rat hunt serves the time-honored necessity of getting away from the old lady.

 

Since rat tastes pretty good (like chicken!) I'd recommend cooking up a feast. This is one of my favorite rat recipies:

 

Cheesy Rat Florentine

 

The classic Rat Florentine recipe is named for the Italian city of Florence. Dishes a la Fiorentina feature rat on a bed of spinach leaves. The dish is dressed in a creamy white sauce mixed with Parmesan cheese. This casserole will transport your and your dinner guests to the romantic sewers of Florence. I recommend a fine bottle of Vernaccia di San Gimignano to round out the culinary journey.

 

NOTE: regional variations are possible. Depending upon local availability, one may substitute rat with road killed possum, or the delicious but elusive snafflehound.

 

Rat catching time: variable

Prep Time: approx. 20 Minutes.

Cook Time: approx. 1 Hour 5 Minutes.

Ready in: approx. 1 Hour 25 Minutes. Makes 6 servings with average sized Norwegian rats.

 

Ingredients

 

6 skinless rat halves, seasoned with salt and pepper

2 (12 ounce) packages STOUFFER'S® frozen Spinach Souffle, defrosted

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups cooked white rice

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh, coarse breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

 

Directions

 

1) SAUTE rats in vegetable oil until both sides are golden brown. Rats will finish cooking in the oven.

 

2) COMBINE Spinach Souffle, rice, milk, 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, onion, mustard and salt in large bowl; stir well. Spread into bottom of 9x13-inch baking pan; place rats on top of spinach mixture. Combine breadcrumbs, butter and remaining Swiss cheese in small bowl; sprinkle mixture evenly over casserole.

 

3) COVER casserole with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated 375 degrees F oven for 25 minutes; remove cover. Continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes or until spinach mixture is set and rats are no longer pink in the center.

 

4) CHOW DOWN and watch with amusement your guests faces when you reveal to them what they just ate!

 

 

[ 04-21-2002, 06:58 AM: Message edited by: Uncle Tricky ]

[allison]

Patrick, you are scaring me. I think you missed your calling.

[pope]

Unky Tricky, dude you are hard! I thought Chouinard was a stud for eating cat food in order to perpetuate his climbing "profession". Rats are abundant at many cliffs, and they are great climbers. I killed one with a rock on the Big Honker one night.

 

Charlie, whatever you do, don't poison the little fellas. If they are living in your home, they will likely crawl into your wall and then stink for about three weeks. The odor is worse than anything (even) you have ever smelled.

[Dave_Schuldt]

Uncle Tricky, it's good to see you back on the site. Why don't you show up at a Pub Club so we can enjoy your trip reports.

 

[ 04-20-2002, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: Dave Schuldt ]

[Uncle_Tricky]

Thanks Dave. Yup, I'll be showing up one of these weeks. Midweek days are my weekends right now, so Tuesdays have found me out of town...

 

[ 04-20-2002, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: Uncle Tricky ]

[Gimpy]

In answer to the question about a rat hole...

 

First, realize that a rat, like a mouse or a bat, can compress his rib cage to slip through a hole or crack you would never imagine possible. A rat hole doesn't need to conform to a standard shape or size, unlike squirls or gofers.

 

Rats chew through anything, look for tooth marks around the hole. The flour idea is good to find out if the hole is active, but the foot prints will be smaller than you expect. If it's a rat, look for the tail drag marking.

 

I know some animal lovers will shit a twinkie over this, but I train my cats to kill mice and rats. I used to go to the pet store and buy a grey mouse for about a buck. Then I would put it in the bathroom with the cat and a towel under the door so the mouse couldn't escape. The cats learned to think of mice as play toys. I flushed a lot of mice down the toilet but eventually the cats noticed that the mice tasted good too. As you might suspect, I have never had a rodent problem. I notice the ocasional signs that a rodent has visited, but they never stay long.

[ScottP]

quote:

---

Originally posted by pope:

(snip)Rats are abundant at many cliffs, and they are great climbers. I killed one with a rock on the Big Honker one night.

---

Where did you get a rock on Big Honker? They aren't exactly just laying around up there.

[pope]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ScottP:

quote:

---

Originally posted by pope:

(snip)Rats are abundant at many cliffs, and they are great climbers. I killed one with a rock on the Big Honker one night.

---

Where did you get a rock on Big Honker? They aren't exactly just laying around up there.

---

This was in March of '86 or '87...I remember finding several. We waited until the fat boy came crawling up the crack near the east end of the ledge, then we blinded him with a headlamp and threw stones down into the crack. The third try nailed him soundly (he didn't return). I also remember a little plastic army man behind that memorial plaque. This was the only night I spent on that ledge (I was trying to find out if I could handle a night out in March without a bag or down coat--really stupid idea).

[Dan_Harris]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Uncle Tricky:

Apparently a whole economy and social structure has developed around the harvesting of rats. In addition to providing a cheap source of protein, its the men's main source of entertainment and income. And, of course, the nightly rat hunt serves the time-honored necessity of getting away from the old lady.

 

---

A great read is King Rat by James Clavel. WWII POWs who breed rats for the protein and start a whole economy in the camp.

 

Watched a kid in Manzanillo, Mexico prctice his soccer skills on rats. Rats were running beteween the warhouse and containers on the dock. He would hide next to the containers on the dock and if any of the rats paused on their run, he would zip out and kick them as far as he could. From the sound of it, he was hurting the rats good and truely enjoying himself. Maybe you could hire him to help with your rat problem.

 

[ 04-21-2002, 08:02 PM: Message edited by: Dan Harris ]

[Charlie]

You guys are too funny! You'll talk about anything. I didn't post this. I forgot to log out of the computer at the lab and one of my buddies made this post logged in with my name. I think he was refering to a different kind of rat hole.

[rayborbon]

Rat lives in a Rat hole. Ask him about them.

[Charlie]

http://www.flashyourrack.com

[CleeshterFeeshter]

I believe Freud's first case of successful psychoanalysis was called "The Ratman". Apparently, in WWI, British troops had captured some Austrians. The POWs were forced to sit on helmets containing rats and the critters would burrow in their asses.

Which gets me to thinking- Do you posters on this thread need help?

[nolanr]

Gimpy,

 

You had to train your cats to hunt mice/rats? I thought that was pretty instinctive. I've actually heard a theory that the reason cats leave dead carcasses around the house is that THEY are trying to train US to hunt.

 

Also, I've read that prey species control predator populations as much as the other way around. Simple supply and demand. Not enough food for predators, they have large die-offs. Then less pressure on prey species, their numbers increase. Or something like that.

[Guest]

there is plenty of food for me on this website, so my numbers will grow rapidly.