Rats and how to deal with them humanely

Just another living, breathing creature

Okay, before you say it, yes I know, we are talking about rats. I am not disputing for one second the danger elements attached to this creature, but this blog applies to all animals, and that includes rats. I am merely asking you to explore humane ways of dealing with them. Many of us do not want to inflict pain on any creature. Let's face it, the rat cant help it's existance, but we can help how we deal with their presence in society. We are the supposedly smarter race after all, and we must also acknowledge that pet rats have an excellent reputation for being great intelligent loving pets, so we know they have it in them. Please read through the following alternatives, and read some cool and interesting facts about rats. Maybe we would not fear them so much, if we understood them more.....

Many people find that domesticated rats, who are descended from wild Norway rats, are affectionate, intelligent, and sociable animals, not that different from dogs. But others fear rats and don't want them in their buildings, so they resort to cruel methods of controlling rat populations.
Rats, like mice, are found throughout North America. They are nocturnal, and they can enter a building through quarter-size holes.

Solving Conflicts Compassionately

Rat-proofing a building is the only sure way to deter rats. Killing them will only cause other rats to move into the newly available spaces. After rat-proofing your building, give the remaining animals a chance at life by live-trapping and releasing them outdoors.To rat-proof a building, put all food and garbage in sturdy, well-sealed containers that rats can't gnaw through. (You may want to move some foods from the cupboards to the refrigerator.)


Feed companion animals indoors and pick up the dishes when they have finished eating. Do not feed wild birds except during emergencies, such as blizzards, that prevent them from foraging for themselves.


Stack wood in tight piles away from the house. Bushes and plants should be weed-free and at least 18 inches away from the house so that there will be a clearing between them and the building. Seal holes larger than 1/4 inch in diameter, cracks in the walls and floors, and spaces around doors, windows, and plumbing.


After rat-proofing the building, live-trap and remove any rats still inside. To live-trap rats, purchase a couple of Havahart Chipmunk Traps #0745 from Tomahawk Live Trap and bait them with Trapper's Choice Loganberry Paste, which can be ordered from U-Spray at 1-800-877-7290.
To capture rats, smear some peanut butter on a piece of cardboard and add a dab of the Loganberry Paste to the peanut butter. Place this in the back of the trap and set the traps along walls in areas frequented by the rats—i.e., places where you've seen droppings in the past.

Be sure to check the traps hourly! The little animals will be hungry, thirsty, and frightened, and they may die if left in the traps too long. Traps should be disabled when not in use and during cold weather. Release rats within 100 yards of where they were caught. Releasing a rat into a strange area will almost surely result in his or her death.In urban areas, rats can be euthanized by barbiturate injection by a veterinarian or a qualified animal-shelter technician.

Many hardware stores carry live traps. But you can also make your own effective, humane rat trap with a garbage can. Here's how:
Place dry oatmeal and a dab of peanut butter in a plastic 50-gallon drum. Set the drum in an area frequented by rats. Lean a flat piece of wood against the rim of the drum, or construct a stairway of books or bricks that the rats must climb in order to get to the rim. The rats will jump into the drum for the food but will be unable to climb back up the steep, slippery surface.
Remember, check the trap hourly and disable it when this isn’t possible and during cold weather! When a rat has been caught, put on heavy gloves, take the garbage can outside, and release him or her according to the instructions above. Make sure all entry points are sealed in order to prevent rats from coming back in!
If the rats are in a place that cannot be "rodent-proofed," such as a car engine, you can prepare a deterrent. Rats and other small animals cannot tolerate the scent or taste of pepper. Make a mixture of salad oil, horseradish, garlic, and plenty of cayenne pepper. Let this mixture sit for four days, strain it into a spray bottle, and spray it under the car's hood. This is completely safe for engine interiors, and it won't harm curious animals. Mothballs and peppermint oil–soaked cotton balls are also great rodent repellents and can be tucked into an engine to prevent rodents from chewing on electrical wires.

If your local hardware store carries poisons and sticky glue traps, which cause rodents and other animals intense suffering and agonizing deaths, urge the manager to carry humane live traps instead.
http://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/rats.aspx

How to live in harmony with other wildlife

http://www.peta.org/issues/wildlifeliving-in-harmony-with-wildlife.aspx

• Rats have a powerful social chain of command. The largest and strongest rats will get the best food and harborage.
• Rats very lovable animals. They love being in the group of their own species or humans. They like playing collectively and love to sleep curled up together. They take care of the injured and sick rats in their group. When rats don’t have friendship, they can become lonely, depressed, anxious and stressed. A group of rats is called a mischief.
• Rats are sharp animals. They are more intelligent than rabbits, hamsters, mice, gerbils and guinea pigs for instance. They also have excellent memories. Once rats learn a direction-finding route, they never forget it.
• Rats are probing but shy. They choose to run away rather than confront a potential threat.
• Romans considered the rat to be a sign of good luck.
•  The term rat generally refers to the two main species of house rat, the Norway rat and the Roof rat. Both species originated in Asia, but have spread throughout the world by human travel overseas. They both belong to the genus Rattus, which includes 51 species.
• Norway rats have a heavy and thick body about 7 to 10 inches long. They weigh about 10 to 17 ounces. Their color may vary from grayish-brown, a pure gray to a blackish- or reddish-brown. Their underside is gray to yellow-white. Their nose and muzzle are blunt, their eyes are small and their ears are close to the body and won’t cover the eyes if bent forward. Their tail is dark on top with a lighter underside and shorter than their head and body.
• Roof rats have a slender body about 6 1/2 to 8 inches long. They weigh about 6 to 12 ounces. Their color varies from black to brownish-gray. Their underside varies from gray to white. Their nose and muzzle are pointed, their eyes are large and prominent and their ears are large and cover the eyes if bent forward. They have a hairless tail which has a uniform color and is longer than their head and body.
• Rats have been used throughout history as food for people and pets, religious icons, laboratory animals, pets, mine detectors, animals used in sports (such as the now illegal practices of rat baiting with dogs,) and some have even been trained to drag wires through walls making some electricians’ jobs go much faster.
•  Rats have very poor eyesight and are colorblind.
• Rats are routinely worshiped and fed in the Karni Devi, a temple completely devoted to them. These thousands of wild rats never gave any of their worshipers infected Bubonic fleas even during the plague years – scientists suspect this is because being territorial they kept invading rats (and their fleas) out of the area.
• Most rats are right-handed.
• Rats have been proven to make a laughter-like noise (unable to be heard by the human ear alone) when tickled and dream while sleeping.
• Inbred laboratory rats are created by breeding brother to sister for at least 300 generations. This produces animals who are more than 99% genetically identical, which is more similar then even current clones are!
• An adult rat can squeeze into your home through a hole as small as the size of a quarter.
• Rats can live for up to 18 months, but most die before they are one year old.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records the longest lived domestic rat died at seven years and four months of age (which far exceeds the 2-3 year expected lifespan.)
• Rats have strong teeth that allow them to chew through glass, cinder block, wire, aluminum and lead.
• Rats do not have any thumbs.
•  Rats are a very clean animal; they spend several hours per day grooming them.http://oddstuffmagazine.com/some-interesting-but-strange-facts-about-rats.htmlhttp://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/rodents/rats

Showing them in their best light for a change