What A Rat!

What a rat! Or rather, rats.

In the last few months, regrettably, out house was infested with rats. Or mouse. Rats or mouse, both are different to the animal biologist, but surely, both are disease carriers.

Just two months back, we saw a huge female keeping still on the gutter. Though we saw only the back side of it, it looks big and round - a lay man's tell tale that it could pregnant - and a female. A potential treat, we thought then. It was quickly forgotten, without any preventive actions taken.

And in the last week or so, the nights were not still anymore. Small little nimble feet begun scurrying on the plywood ceiling. Obviously, the litter had emerged into young, active and hungry mice. In a few occasions, spots check in the open kitchen revealed 3 to 4 mice running, single filed, on the counter top and the oven. Once, a little one rushed out suddenly from underneath the drying rack, charging towards me, making its way through tight corners and spots to escape. It created a scene, and my heart beats faster. I was nearly panic. 

This had to stop.

I bought a mouse trap at the local store. Thinking that multiple traps would yield higher chances to trap at least one, I even bought the glue trap. The guy at the store had a funny recommendation when it comes to the type of baits to use. He recommended sim cards based on the hypothesis that his phone sim cards had bite marks made by the little pest. Sim cards as baits worked in the traps that they set in the shop.

In Malaysia, cheese may not be enough. The good old pusuk (anchovies) and sesar (dried prawns) are the best bait. No domestic mice would be able withstand the lure of the pungent smell from this time tested bait.  Surely enough, just leaving the traps one night, the morning after was a pleasant surprise. 

4 rats/mice caught in just one night. 

They must be really hungry. The bait worked! We caught another 2 mice in the next preceding days. You might want to know how did I carry out the capital punishment for them? To be as human as possible, I just put them in a bag and leave them out in the morning sun. They will not last long and no vigorous cleaning is needed because of the bloody mess. I remembered amma used to pour hot water over them while still in the cage. I thought it was cruel. Just throwing them in the rubbish bin is risky - who knows if they still could escape with the help of their comrades out there. Nature - we never know.

Though this was quite a success, the female mouse or the litters' mom is still scot-free. As a mouse can deliver up to 10 litters per year, there is still a chance that this menace might return next year. The hunt continues...