Ive heard it said that the white lab rat is decended from a fighting rat bred in very much the same way Jack Black did his pet variety.Along with the terrier breeds ,the ferret was the other popular way for pest control here. Rabbit hunting was and probably still is popular . A ferret could easily enter the warren ,the men could net the other entrances and bellies full with rabbit stew were guaranteed for the families of all involved.
The workingmans games were another popular activity back in the day ,this involved the rat catcher being paid for live rats ,a pit would be dug ,all the live rats thrown in ,then bets would be placed on a couple of dogs , the number of rat kills each dog made in the pit would be counted and the winning bets paid accordingly .
Ive heard of a variation on the balance trap and barrel technique I mentioned earlier too ,a small wooden ledge was put in ,just enough for the rat not to drown ,when the next rat dropped into the barrel they'd have to fight for the position on the ledge , the looser would either be killed or drown ,ocassionally the farmer would feed the surviving rat ,just to get him used to it . Over time you ended up with one very mean rat in the barrel ,sometimes two of these barrel rats were put together and wagers were put on the outcome ,sometimes even a ferret and a rat were faught. Another variation on that was you release the big nasty psychotic rat back into the wild ,and he goes and kills all the other male rats he see's and of course any young rats that werent his own offspring , probably keeps the population down in the shorter term ,in the longer term bigger nastier and more agressive rats than you had before seems like the most likely outcome .Of course times have changed and that kind of cruelty isnt allowed anymore under the law.
Cutting areas of scrub and bushes in close proximity to the property , making sure all drains have grills on them ,and sealing up any gaps that could make entrances are the most important things . Ive filled in burrows in the pathway leading to the foundations before ,a handfull of smooth quartz decorative garden stones first ,then pour liquid concrete then a few more stones before finally smoothing over the top with a strong mix concrete again. Burrows further out in the garden I usually shovel dog sh1t into ,then small stones ,then a stone around the size of the burrow whacked down with a bit of timber ,finally earth over the top .
The workingmans games were another popular activity back in the day ,this involved the rat catcher being paid for live rats ,a pit would be dug ,all the live rats thrown in ,then bets would be placed on a couple of dogs , the number of rat kills each dog made in the pit would be counted and the winning bets paid accordingly .
Ive heard of a variation on the balance trap and barrel technique I mentioned earlier too ,a small wooden ledge was put in ,just enough for the rat not to drown ,when the next rat dropped into the barrel they'd have to fight for the position on the ledge , the looser would either be killed or drown ,ocassionally the farmer would feed the surviving rat ,just to get him used to it . Over time you ended up with one very mean rat in the barrel ,sometimes two of these barrel rats were put together and wagers were put on the outcome ,sometimes even a ferret and a rat were faught. Another variation on that was you release the big nasty psychotic rat back into the wild ,and he goes and kills all the other male rats he see's and of course any young rats that werent his own offspring , probably keeps the population down in the shorter term ,in the longer term bigger nastier and more agressive rats than you had before seems like the most likely outcome .Of course times have changed and that kind of cruelty isnt allowed anymore under the law.
Cutting areas of scrub and bushes in close proximity to the property , making sure all drains have grills on them ,and sealing up any gaps that could make entrances are the most important things . Ive filled in burrows in the pathway leading to the foundations before ,a handfull of smooth quartz decorative garden stones first ,then pour liquid concrete then a few more stones before finally smoothing over the top with a strong mix concrete again. Burrows further out in the garden I usually shovel dog sh1t into ,then small stones ,then a stone around the size of the burrow whacked down with a bit of timber ,finally earth over the top .
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