Laurie Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Yesterday my son saw a dead rat next to the street in the unpaved area before our driveway begins. It wasn't flattened yet but I couldn't bring myself to deal with it. We have raccoons in the neighborhood so I was hoping that maybe something would take it away overnight, but it was still there this morning when I looked out the window. Last night when I was trying to decide whether to leave it there or not I predicted that the mail truck would probably drive over it because the drivers tend to go off the paved street and drive along the side to deliver to all the mailboxes. And that's exactly what happened. Now it's messier. I took a bunch of supplies outside to try to dispose of it, but I just couldn't go near it. I'm a germaphobe...I keep an old pooper scooper set that I've used to clean up stranger's dog poop on the parking strip so I thought I'd cover it with a plastic bag and sort of shroud the body with a bunch of antibacterial wipes and then put it into another bag. I also had my can of Lysol spray. But I couldn't make myself go near it...what if it has disease-carrying fleas on it and they jump off on me!!!! So I'm back in the house and there's still a huge, flattened rat out there. It was a very large rat even before it was run over, but since it's under 15 pounds we have to dispose of it in our garbage can ( I looked up the local rules for disposing of dead animals.) I'd really like to call the animal control people and tell them that there's a dead cat in front of the house since they would come for that... A few weeks ago when I was driving in the neighborhood I saw a crow in the process of killing a rat that was still alive. So maybe the crows will take care of it...and hopefully not bring it to our birdbath to wash it before eating it. (I recently found a bird's foot in the birdbath which was also gross but I was able to clean that up without freaking out like today...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Yuck! Where we live, the turkey vultures would take care of it for you.🙂 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 9 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said: OP, I'd get a shovel if nature doesn't take care of it for you. Dig a hole, pitch him in it, cover him up. I wouldn't put him in a plastic bag and have him stinking up my garbage can tbh. We just had our weekly garbage pick up so I definitely wasn't going to put it in the can yet. The bloody entrails are already gone so I think the crows may be taking care of it. I know they hang around the front of our house because I'm always having to clean off their calling cards from our mailbox. (This reminds me of your jeep color poll...someone told you to consider colors that don't show bird droppings, and I would extend that to mailboxes as well...sadly, we chose black.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 (edited) If it was really in the street, I'd have just left it. In fact, we've had many rats die near our house and I've just left many of them. They're typically flattened and gone in a few days. But our alley is also heavily trafficked. At one point last summer when they were so bad that the city was running articles about how bad they were in my specific neighborhood, there were FOUR dead rats that I could see if I stood near the back of our parking spot and looked up and down the alley. Ick. If it's right on our lot, I'll make dh do it. This is one of his jobs in the marriage - rodent disposal, laundry, managing the bills, carrying heavy things. Around here, you do have the option of calling animal control though. Edited July 13, 2019 by Farrar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 2 hours ago, Farrar said: If it was really in the street, I'd have just left it. In fact, we've had many rats die near our house and I've just left many of them. They're typically flattened and gone in a few days. But our alley is also heavily trafficked. At one point last summer when they were so bad that the city was running articles about how bad they were in my specific neighborhood, there were FOUR dead rats that I could see if I stood near the back of our parking spot and looked up and down the alley. Ick. If it's right on our lot, I'll make dh do it. This is one of his jobs in the marriage - rodent disposal, laundry, managing the bills, carrying heavy things. Around here, you do have the option of calling animal control though. It's on city property but I pick up other people's litter and dog poop when it's there so I feel like I should remove it but I just don't want to go near it. Dh is from NYC so it's not a big deal to him and I know he's not going to do anything with it. I shouldn't be making such a fuss about a dead rat because I saw a live rat by our back gate this morning. Dh was getting ready to leave for work but I asked him to go outside with me so I could spray some stinky spray around the back door. We don't have a bird feeder (other than a hummingbird feeder on a metal pole), pet food, open compost pile or other typical things that would attract rats to our yard, but I do wonder if having the city-provided plastic yard waste bin which includes food waste attracts them, too. We've lived here for a long time and it's only recently that we've noticed an increase in rats in the yard and on walks. This year we've started seeing rabbits, too! It's funny about the stinky spray... I saw this "natural" household cleaning spray on HSN/by Joy Magnano. I couldn't decide on which fragrance so I ordered more than one. Unfortunately the stuff really, really stinks and bothers all of us. Since I wouldn't be able to use it in the house I looked on the internet to see if it would be useful/safe for anything outside...the active ingredient is thymol from thyme oil and it's supposed to repel rodents so that's how I've been trying to use it up. I'm going to start spraying everyday or more until all the bottles are empty and hopefully the rats will go somewhere else to live and die. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 I would be so grossed out. And I would pretend it wasn't there. But IMO a dead rat is better than a live rat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Man, I should not have opened this thread. Don't worry about the dead rat. It will eventually disappear or become easier to deal with. If I saw crows trying to kill a live rat I hope I would try to beat them off and then put said rat out of his misery if necessary. 😞 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 laughing reading this thread. You guys need to go rural for a while. Rural Australia would be a great experience for you. I don't think I have ever been for a drive of over 25 minutes without seeing road kill, mostly kangaroos and wombats but increasingly deer now - big sambar deer. you would no longer worry about a tiny rat dead on the road. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaplank Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 I live in suburbia, but I laughed too. If it happened to me personally, I would be horrified! I'm sorry OP, I don't mean to make light of your predicament, but I just couldn't stop laughing at the mental picture of you "shrouding" the rat's body with antibacterial wipes. 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 12 hours ago, MercyA said: Man, I should not have opened this thread. Don't worry about the dead rat. It will eventually disappear or become easier to deal with. If I saw crows trying to kill a live rat I hope I would try to beat them off and then put said rat out of his misery if necessary. 😞 I'm sorry for the upset. But to me, this isn't about some kind of Beatrix Potter character. Rats are vermin that spread diseases to humans and pets. https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 7 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said: laughing reading this thread. You guys need to go rural for a while. Rural Australia would be a great experience for you. I don't think I have ever been for a drive of over 25 minutes without seeing road kill, mostly kangaroos and wombats but increasingly deer now - big sambar deer. you would no longer worry about a tiny rat dead on the road. I couldn't do it. (I'll bet you have snakes.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, aaplank said: I live in suburbia, but I laughed too. If it happened to me personally, I would be horrified! I'm sorry OP, I don't mean to make light of your predicament, but I just couldn't stop laughing at the mental picture of you "shrouding" the rat's body with antibacterial wipes. 🤣 It would be even funnier if you had seen the "hazmat" suit I was wearing...raincoat, latex gloves, and the hand-me-down tall rainboots with a monster design from my son. I'm glad I couldn't go through with it yesterday. Today I read the guidelines for dealing with a dead rodent from the CDC about soaking the body with a bleach solution or other disinfectant for 5 minutes before removal. I was just going to spray it with some Lysol spray first, but the soaking sounds like an even better plan, if/when I try again. https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/cleaning/index.html Edited July 14, 2019 by Laurie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 What about paying your son to do this removal task?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, Laurie said: I'm sorry for the upset. But to me, this isn't about some kind of Beatrix Potter character. Rats are vermin that spread diseases to humans and pets. https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html Rats aren't Beatrix Potter characters to me, either. 😉 However, they are super smart, affectionate, and empathetic. In more than one study, they've been shown to choose helping other rats over receiving treats for themselves. They are reportedly as intelligent as dogs and are affectionate pets. They "laugh" when they play and sing after mating in frequencies that are inaudible to us. They answer to their names, have excellent memories and problem-solving skills, and enjoy cuddling with each other and, if tame, with humans. I've told this story probably at least five or six times before here on the forum, but it bears repeating. My friend had a pet rat who loved chocolate above all else. The rat had received a chocolate egg for Easter, eaten part of it, and squirreled away the rest for later. Unfortunately the rat was in ill health, and when my friend took him to the vet, she was told he didn't have long to live. When they returned home, my friend wept. When her rat saw how upset she was, he went in his cage, retrieved his beloved chocolate, and laid it in front of her. True story. All of that said--even if rats weren't smart and affectionate they would still have the capacity to suffer, which is why I hope I would have tried to put the still-living rat who was under attack out of his misery. All animals, including cats and dogs--and humans!--have the potential to spread disease. Dogs: https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/dogs.html#tabs-2-2 Cats: https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/cats.html#tabs-1-2 I don't believe that fact has any bearing on their (or our) intrinsic worth. I can imagine that there may potentially be times when killing rats is unfortunately necessary. I believe it should be done only as a last resort, only as humanely as possible, and only without callous disregard for the value of their lives. YMMV. Edited July 15, 2019 by MercyA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 ??? the rat was already dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonflower Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 mercy's talking about the other rat that was being chased by crows 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 59 minutes ago, moonflower said: mercy's talking about the other rat that was being chased by crows ah! I missed that one. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 It would be hard for me to just leave it until it disappeared too! I like the shovel idea. Shovel it into a garbage bag. i'd probably take a hose then and hose down that area. Seeing a rat would worry me a little though, because if there's one, there's generally more nearby, and it sounds like you've seen three now in your neighborhood. Is this a city neighborhood? It could be there'a an infestation of rats. Perhaps you could call your city offices for ideas? I just looked up our own city's recommendations and they recommend you call its Department of Safety and Inspections for rodent advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 On 7/14/2019 at 4:40 AM, Melissa in Australia said: laughing reading this thread. You guys need to go rural for a while. Rural Australia would be a great experience for you. I don't think I have ever been for a drive of over 25 minutes without seeing road kill, mostly kangaroos and wombats but increasingly deer now - big sambar deer. you would no longer worry about a tiny rat dead on the road. I’d freak, too, if not for my rural experiences. The protocol for deer carcasses is supposed to be to throw lime (or lye?) on them. Instead, I made a million phone calls begging for someone to come remove what I was told was “the biggest doe we’ve ever seen” after it had been rotting for a long weekend. And that’s saying something for a gamelands region! My stomach still hurts thinking about it. Today, a rat would seem like nothing. Not before living here, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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