Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago
when a small RAT suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
Immediately ordered the 'ag/pro only' tub of
super rat poison.
However, a few hours later Mr. R was seen scurrying
across the kitchen floor and out onto the back porch.
The porch has an extreme outside door AND a door from
the pre-porch days, sealing off the kitchen.
Cracked the outside door and closed the inner door.
Really not much for a rat to eat here. My HOPE is
that he will take the op to exit.
But the poison is still coming - gonna toss chunks
in a number of places, including the attic, just
in case.
DID look, don't have any workable BB guns
anymore ... and alas Mr. R was too quick
to target anyway.
A few days ago I was installing an IP cam on
an out-building and was bringing little ladders
and tools out there - and left the back door
open for some time. Likely that's when Mr. R
made his ingress.
DON'T want a rat around ... not so much for
the food stuff, but because they have an
obsession for chewing ELECTRICAL WIRES.
That could have rather bad effects .....
My late brother's house had become infested
with field rats - WHAT A PAIN. Put poison
everywhere and found dead, bleeding, rats
every day for a week. ONE greedy one even
dropped dead right in front of the bait
container, ate the WHOLE thing ! Others
were in the works - where pipes came in,
some where a window-mount AC unit was.
Sprayed foam into THAT gap ... and seem
to have suffocated several rats in the
goop.
Fortunately the house was 'underwater' and I had
no intention of paying off the ridiculous mortgage.
Was just 'caretaking' until the bank took it :-)
On the 'survival scale', rats ARE much better
than humans.
Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago when a small RAT
suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
Immediately ordered the 'ag/pro only' tub of super rat poison.
On 2025-12-10 12:14, c186282 wrote:
Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago
when a small RAT suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
Immediately ordered the 'ag/pro only' tub of
super rat poison.
However, a few hours later Mr. R was seen scurrying
across the kitchen floor and out onto the back porch.
The porch has an extreme outside door AND a door from
the pre-porch days, sealing off the kitchen.
Cracked the outside door and closed the inner door.
Really not much for a rat to eat here. My HOPE is
that he will take the op to exit.
But the poison is still coming - gonna toss chunks
in a number of places, including the attic, just
in case.
DID look, don't have any workable BB guns
anymore ... and alas Mr. R was too quick
to target anyway.
A few days ago I was installing an IP cam on
an out-building and was bringing little ladders
and tools out there - and left the back door
open for some time. Likely that's when Mr. R
made his ingress.
DON'T want a rat around ... not so much for
the food stuff, but because they have an
obsession for chewing ELECTRICAL WIRES.
That could have rather bad effects .....
And can bring illness.
I noticed one in my kitchen years ago. I closed the door to the rest of
the house, and put poison bait on both sides of the door. Kept the patio door open for some hours, hoping she would get out. Apparently she did.
But now and then I get a rat in the patio, and I put bait again. One bit
is enough, they just take up to two weeks to die. This is on purpose, so that they don't relate the bait to their friends dying. Clever animals.
One rat got trapped inside a shed I have in the patio, that has the
laundry machine inside. She almost made a hole in the door frame to get
out. I put poison, then two weeks later flushed the floor with a hose. I
did not want smells in the room where I hang the clothes to dry (I can
no longer hang them out on the sun, danger of air bombardment in the
form of bird/pigeon poo).
My late brother's house had become infested
with field rats - WHAT A PAIN. Put poison
everywhere and found dead, bleeding, rats
every day for a week. ONE greedy one even
dropped dead right in front of the bait
container, ate the WHOLE thing ! Others
were in the works - where pipes came in,
some where a window-mount AC unit was.
Sprayed foam into THAT gap ... and seem
to have suffocated several rats in the
goop.
Fortunately the house was 'underwater' and I had
no intention of paying off the ridiculous mortgage.
Was just 'caretaking' until the bank took it :-)
I had to ask ChatGPT about the meaning of being underwater :-)
Curious expression.
On the 'survival scale', rats ARE much better
than humans.
Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago when a small RAT
suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 06:14:01 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago when a small RAT
suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
A rat or a field mouse? I've never seen a rat around here although there
are plenty of field mice. It's not very good rat habitat.
I leave the rodent problems to the Cat Force.
When I was a kid we dried some squash/pumpkin seeds in the fall and that attracted mice. My mother had a thing about mice so my father put down
some poison. It was some sort of phosphorous concoction that smoked as you spread it on the bread. No more mice.
Fast forward to just before Christmas when there was a cold snap. The dog had a house out in the chicken house but we let him in the cellar. Of
course he found the long forgotten rat poison. Scratch one beagle.
No way would I use poison. I'd rather not kill the hawks, eagles, cats, raccoons, and other things that might eat a dead rat.
On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 06:14:01 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago when a small RAT
suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
A rat or a field mouse? I've never seen a rat around here although there
are plenty of field mice. It's not very good rat habitat.
I leave the rodent problems to the Cat Force.
When I was a kid we dried some squash/pumpkin seeds in the fall and that attracted mice. My mother had a thing about mice so my father put down
some poison. It was some sort of phosphorous concoction that smoked as you spread it on the bread. No more mice.
Fast forward to just before Christmas when there was a cold snap. The dog
had a house out in the chicken house but we let him in the cellar. Of
course he found the long forgotten rat poison. Scratch one beagle.
No way would I use poison. I'd rather not kill the hawks, eagles, cats, raccoons, and other things that might eat a dead rat.
On 2025-12-11, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 06:14:01 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago when a small RAT
suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
A rat or a field mouse? I've never seen a rat around here although there
are plenty of field mice. It's not very good rat habitat.
I leave the rodent problems to the Cat Force.
When I was a kid we dried some squash/pumpkin seeds in the fall and that
attracted mice. My mother had a thing about mice so my father put down
some poison. It was some sort of phosphorous concoction that smoked as you >> spread it on the bread. No more mice.
Fast forward to just before Christmas when there was a cold snap. The dog
had a house out in the chicken house but we let him in the cellar. Of
course he found the long forgotten rat poison. Scratch one beagle.
No way would I use poison. I'd rather not kill the hawks, eagles, cats,
raccoons, and other things that might eat a dead rat.
In my part of the US, there are two products (that appear to be
exactly the same thing but with different labeling) called MouseX
and RatX. The active ingredients are salt and corn gluten. Zero
risk of harm to children, other humans, dogs, cats, other
wildlife. The corn gluten coats the cilia in the rodent's
digestive tract, which signals the rodent's brain that it is full
of food and water, so the rodent starves and dehydrates itself to
death. The effect happens ONLY with rodents of the rat/mouse
type.
A few years ago, some small rodents got into the crawlspace under
my house and from there to the space around the shower stall.
Ever night, they would have a party scritching around the shower
stall. After I found MouseX, I removed the chrome cover around
the control valve unit and poured the product into the hole,
which put it on the 2x4 footer of the wall. That night, the
party sounds were different than earlier. The next night and
essentially every night since, nothing but the sweet sounds of
silence.
On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 06:14:01 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Was in the middle of posting here some hours ago when a small RAT
suddenly scurried across my floor.
Never had one indoors.
Immediately ordered the 'ag/pro only' tub of super rat poison.
I had lived in my current home for 12 years when I first caught a glimpse
of a tiny mouse scurrying around. Turns out, it was a family of two. I believe they had just recently set up residence, as there were just the
two, as if they had just been married and were starting out their lives together in a new residence.
I put down about 4 sticky pads in various locations. I caught the first
one on day one and the second on on day three. They are very effective, clean, easy to use, and don't offer chances for a poisoned one to decide
to purposely expire inside a wall just to be an asshole and try to run you out of your home with the putrid smell.
If you are gay, you can take the captured rat or mouse a good distance
away from your home while still attached to the pad and pour some olive
oil on its paws and it can walk off the pad.
If you aren't gay, or a woman, just take the pad outside and turn it
upside down and stomp on the pad to end it quickly and effectively.
On 12/10/25 07:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-12-10 12:14, c186282 wrote:
And can bring illness.
I noticed one in my kitchen years ago. I closed the door to the rest
of the house, and put poison bait on both sides of the door. Kept the
patio door open for some hours, hoping she would get out. Apparently
she did.
But now and then I get a rat in the patio, and I put bait again. One
bit is enough, they just take up to two weeks to die. This is on
purpose, so that they don't relate the bait to their friends dying.
Clever animals.
One rat got trapped inside a shed I have in the patio, that has the
laundry machine inside. She almost made a hole in the door frame to
get out. I put poison, then two weeks later flushed the floor with a
hose. I did not want smells in the room where I hang the clothes to
dry (I can no longer hang them out on the sun, danger of air
bombardment in the form of bird/pigeon poo).
 It's amazing how well something with a peanut brain
 can outwit we wise mighty humans :-)
 A few birds are even smarter than rats. Fortunately
 they don't hide in crevices behind cupboards or
 chew electrical wires.
 Anyway, the lesson is that we shouldn't be TOO proud.
 Hundreds of times more brain and, at least survival-wise,
 we're barely ahead of many other little creatures. That's
 a poor return on neural investment !
Fortunately the house was 'underwater' and I had
no intention of paying off the ridiculous mortgage.
Was just 'caretaking' until the bank took it :-)
I had to ask ChatGPT about the meaning of being underwater :-)
Curious expression.
 It became quite common in USA, maybe ten years ago.
 Basically means you owe more than the property is worth.
 Do now hear it applied to somewhat similar situations,
 like running up so much CC debt that you'll NEVER be
 able to pay it down. Even heard it applied to "relationships",
 as in losing so much cred with a sig other that the
 relationship is doomed, now in a flaming death spiral.
On the 'survival scale', rats ARE much better
than humans.
 We keep wanting to make AI people ... as if we don't
 have enough already. For posterity, maybe we should
 work on some AI stainless-steel RATS instead, a
 little easier, COULD survive nuke wars or meteors
 or whatever :-)
 Note you're not supposed to put the rat poison
 EVERYWHERE ... just near the typical, preferably
 indoors, cracks and crevices the rodents like.
 You don't throw it out in the yard.
On 2025-12-11 03:21, c186282 wrote:
On 12/10/25 07:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-12-10 12:14, c186282 wrote:
...
And can bring illness.
I noticed one in my kitchen years ago. I closed the door to the rest
of the house, and put poison bait on both sides of the door. Kept the
patio door open for some hours, hoping she would get out. Apparently
she did.
But now and then I get a rat in the patio, and I put bait again. One
bit is enough, they just take up to two weeks to die. This is on
purpose, so that they don't relate the bait to their friends dying.
Clever animals.
One rat got trapped inside a shed I have in the patio, that has the
laundry machine inside. She almost made a hole in the door frame to
get out. I put poison, then two weeks later flushed the floor with a
hose. I did not want smells in the room where I hang the clothes to
dry (I can no longer hang them out on the sun, danger of air
bombardment in the form of bird/pigeon poo).
  It's amazing how well something with a peanut brain
  can outwit we wise mighty humans :-)
  A few birds are even smarter than rats. Fortunately
  they don't hide in crevices behind cupboards or
  chew electrical wires.
Pigeons poo. They poo a lot. The damn things do not have sphincters, so
they poo with the effort of taking off. Right on my door steps. They
also poo on top of my car, in the middle of the glass.
They poo in my patio, anywhere. I can no longer hang my clothes to dry,
I have to dry them out inside which costs money.
  Anyway, the lesson is that we shouldn't be TOO proud.
  Hundreds of times more brain and, at least survival-wise,
  we're barely ahead of many other little creatures. That's
  a poor return on neural investment !
Fortunately the house was 'underwater' and I had
no intention of paying off the ridiculous mortgage.
Was just 'caretaking' until the bank took it :-)
I had to ask ChatGPT about the meaning of being underwater :-)
Curious expression.
  It became quite common in USA, maybe ten years ago.
  Basically means you owe more than the property is worth.
Yeah. Terrible situation. Probably happened to many people here with the house building bubble a decade ago, when it burst.
  Do now hear it applied to somewhat similar situations,Heh.
  like running up so much CC debt that you'll NEVER be
  able to pay it down. Even heard it applied to "relationships",
  as in losing so much cred with a sig other that the
  relationship is doomed, now in a flaming death spiral.
On the 'survival scale', rats ARE much better
than humans.
  We keep wanting to make AI people ... as if we don't
  have enough already. For posterity, maybe we should
  work on some AI stainless-steel RATS instead, a
  little easier, COULD survive nuke wars or meteors
  or whatever :-)
On 2025-12-11 07:16, c186282 wrote:
  Note you're not supposed to put the rat poison
  EVERYWHERE ... just near the typical, preferably
  indoors, cracks and crevices the rodents like.
  You don't throw it out in the yard.
The last type of rat poison bait I bought comes in small hard pieces of about 2 or 3 cm on the side, with a hole in the centre, with the
intention that you tie them somewhere so that they can not take it home.
On 12/11/25 05:43, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-12-11 07:16, c186282 wrote:
  Note you're not supposed to put the rat poison
  EVERYWHERE ... just near the typical, preferably
  indoors, cracks and crevices the rodents like.
  You don't throw it out in the yard.
The last type of rat poison bait I bought comes in small hard pieces
of about 2 or 3 cm on the side, with a hole in the centre, with the
intention that you tie them somewhere so that they can not take it home.
 Looks like the stuff I got ... green blocks ?
 Didn't bother to tie them to anything, but I
 suppose there might be reasons. Better use
 metal wire though, even a little mouse can
 cut through string almost instantly.
On 12/11/25 05:43, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-12-11 07:16, c186282 wrote:
  Note you're not supposed to put the rat poison
  EVERYWHERE ... just near the typical, preferably
  indoors, cracks and crevices the rodents like.
  You don't throw it out in the yard.
The last type of rat poison bait I bought comes in small hard pieces
of about 2 or 3 cm on the side, with a hole in the centre, with the
intention that you tie them somewhere so that they can not take it home.
 Looks like the stuff I got ... green blocks ?
 Didn't bother to tie them to anything, but I
 suppose there might be reasons. Better use
 metal wire though, even a little mouse can
 cut through string almost instantly.
On 12/12/2025 04:30, c186282 wrote:
On 12/11/25 05:43, Carlos E.R. wrote:I hate poison, especially after watching a friends cat die in Italy from
On 2025-12-11 07:16, c186282 wrote:
  Note you're not supposed to put the rat poison
  EVERYWHERE ... just near the typical, preferably
  indoors, cracks and crevices the rodents like.
  You don't throw it out in the yard.
The last type of rat poison bait I bought comes in small hard pieces
of about 2 or 3 cm on the side, with a hole in the centre, with the
intention that you tie them somewhere so that they can not take it home.
  Looks like the stuff I got ... green blocks ?
  Didn't bother to tie them to anything, but I
  suppose there might be reasons. Better use
  metal wire though, even a little mouse can
  cut through string almost instantly.
rat poison.
Traps are much cleaner and safer and in general catch only what you want.
You just need to wipe down the occasional blood spatter
On 2025-12-12 12:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 12/12/2025 04:30, c186282 wrote:
On 12/11/25 05:43, Carlos E.R. wrote:I hate poison, especially after watching a friends cat die in Italy
On 2025-12-11 07:16, c186282 wrote:
  Note you're not supposed to put the rat poison
  EVERYWHERE ... just near the typical, preferably
  indoors, cracks and crevices the rodents like.
  You don't throw it out in the yard.
The last type of rat poison bait I bought comes in small hard pieces
of about 2 or 3 cm on the side, with a hole in the centre, with the
intention that you tie them somewhere so that they can not take it
home.
  Looks like the stuff I got ... green blocks ?
  Didn't bother to tie them to anything, but I
  suppose there might be reasons. Better use
  metal wire though, even a little mouse can
  cut through string almost instantly.
from rat poison.
Traps are much cleaner and safer and in general catch only what you want.
You just need to wipe down the occasional blood spatter
I have a deathless trap for rats. I bought it for the rat that entered
my kitchen, but the rat chose to leave the kitchen. I just did not know
if it was still inside or was gone.
https://www.amazon.es/dp/B000QVSCH6
Another for mice:
https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08GSPTCKR
I also bought a box of 6 traps, of the normal kind, which I put on the patio. The bait disappeared, but none triggered or caught anything.
https://www.amazon.es/dp/B083QHJGPH
Traps are much cleaner and safer and in general catch only what you
want.
You just need to wipe down the occasional blood spatter
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