After I got done spending too much money at my local Woodcraft today, I decided to grill a steak and slurp a couple beers. Went out to the screen porch, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a perfectly round 2" hole chewed through my screen, just above the waist-high horizontal crossmember. Rats! I thought (literally and figuratively)... Those little beggars must've moved into my porch somewhere, so I set out to look for rat trails and any likely nesting site. I found it... In my old BBQ grill, which I retired last fall when I grabbed a fancy new one on clearance at HD.
Sure enough, when I threw open the lid, I saw the twigs and straw of the nest perched atop the old griddle. I whacked the side of the housing, and out came 5 big 'uns looking for a place to run. They took cover in an old galvanized wall stud I had placed to keep some stuff off the concrete. I grabbed a broom handle, and set about coaxing them back out in the open where I could whack 'em. The first one ran out, went straight up the screen, across 16' of rail and out through the hole in the screen.
Hmm... I wondered if they would all choose that route, and sure enough, one by one, out they came running the same path, at the end of which I waited with my broom handle. Whack! Whack! Each in turn met their untimely end. I have not lost my touch with the Japanese staff. So, I had 4 unconscious rats, which I decided would be OK for snake food, since none exhibited any signs of exposure to poison. A quick rinse with the hose, and into the tank they went, one by one. "Ms. Baby" did not know whether to sh*t or go blind at the unexpected bounty (her first meal of the year, as her species goes through estrus and fasts for 6 weeks or so this time of year). Anyway, she did her duty, and is now comatose on her hot rock, wearing a satisfied grin.
Vanquished the rats and fed Her Reptile Highness all in one step... Love it when fortune smiles.
Sure enough, when I threw open the lid, I saw the twigs and straw of the nest perched atop the old griddle. I whacked the side of the housing, and out came 5 big 'uns looking for a place to run. They took cover in an old galvanized wall stud I had placed to keep some stuff off the concrete. I grabbed a broom handle, and set about coaxing them back out in the open where I could whack 'em. The first one ran out, went straight up the screen, across 16' of rail and out through the hole in the screen.
Hmm... I wondered if they would all choose that route, and sure enough, one by one, out they came running the same path, at the end of which I waited with my broom handle. Whack! Whack! Each in turn met their untimely end. I have not lost my touch with the Japanese staff. So, I had 4 unconscious rats, which I decided would be OK for snake food, since none exhibited any signs of exposure to poison. A quick rinse with the hose, and into the tank they went, one by one. "Ms. Baby" did not know whether to sh*t or go blind at the unexpected bounty (her first meal of the year, as her species goes through estrus and fasts for 6 weeks or so this time of year). Anyway, she did her duty, and is now comatose on her hot rock, wearing a satisfied grin.
Vanquished the rats and fed Her Reptile Highness all in one step... Love it when fortune smiles.
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