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Child Item

Rats!!!!!!!!-WTF?

The_Minister

I went my whole life without seeing any rats. Not one. I'd hear the odd rustle, see the odd flash, but that was all.
In the last month, I have seen six. Blatently sitting out in the open, fleeing when I approached, but not till I got within a three metres or so. They're also bigger then any of the dead ones I've seen
Is this their breeding season?
Was it the warm weather?
Have other people noticed this?

I'm not squemish, but this is getting unnerving. Am I just being unlucky?

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Trojan911

Terry wrote: »

While in crates, cans are covered in plastic.
Wiping a can won't get rid of germs or bacteria unless you use some sort of disifectant.

Not all are, I've seen plenty of slabs of tinnies open for abuse when I worked in retail.

Terry wrote: »

People get worked up about the smallest things.

For good reason too I suspect... I for one wouldn't fancy a dose of either diseases, irrespective of how rare they may be....

WadeTalon

In Dublin alone there are supposed to be three rats for every one person, thats about 3 million rats...

I have a really bad phobia of rats..REALLY bad. Went to see Ratatouille with the girlfriend i had the shakes for the whole movie even though they were cartoony rats the scenes when there are large numbers scurrying about *shudder* real unsettling

Faith

I've enough problems with mice without worrying about rats. They're absolutely disgusting creatures that spread so many harmful diseases. They'll also go for you if they're scared enough. I had nightmares about being attacked by rats once.

As a science student, I always get shown videos of lab rats, who look so lovely and friendly. But they're not. Not at all.

watna

Dudess wrote: »

I feel the same way about rats as Winston Smith does (I'm going through a bit of a 1984 obsession at the moment).

I read that part of the book with my hands over my mouth to stop me from squealing. I was sitting in a public place and it scared the CRAP out of me. After that rats really freak me out, but I did see ratatouille recently which helped. The rat in that was quite cute!

Illkillya

The_Minister wrote: »

I went my whole life without seeing any rats. Not one. I'd hear the odd rustle, see the odd flash, but that was all.
In the last month, I have seen six. Blatently sitting out in the open, fleeing when I approached, but not till I got within a three metres or so. They're also bigger then any of the dead ones I've seen
Is this their breeding season?
Was it the warm weather?
Have other people noticed this?

I'm not squemish, but this is getting unnerving. Am I just being unlucky?

I have been told that because of the warm weather, they continued breeding late into the autumn this year. I have noticed an increase in rats this year alright.

Fajitas!

Hmmm. I was walking up through Drumcondra (Just up from the station) about 2 weeks back, saw 2 rats in the middle of the path. I pretty much expected them to run away as soon as I got close. There was no food around, and they were just wandering the path...

They didn't budge when I got close, didn't care at all. Little sh*ts.

i71jskz5xu42pb

Galwayguy99 wrote: »

Who on earth argues they [otters] don't exist in Ireland? There are probably more of them here than in most of the rest of Europe.

People who confuse them with Beavers, perhaps. We don't have Beavers but they've been reintroduced to Britain.

Dudess

watna wrote: »

I read that part of the book with my hands over my mouth to stop me from squealing. I was sitting in a public place and it scared the CRAP out of me.

There's an even worse bit about rats in American Psycho.

Yeah Weil's Disease is terribly dangerous - my neighbour died from it a few years ago. She was 28. She went from perfectly healthy to dead in a matter of days. And it was an agonising death.

Overheal

Some rats are cool... the caged ones, the trained ones, the sterilised and immunized ones

use poison on the rest. they have no business spreading disease in my kitchen.

Creature

They don't scurry when something bigger comes their way
Don't pack themselves together and run as one
Don't **** where they're not supposed to
Don't take what's not theirs, they don't compare

Where I live; 2 cats = no rats

watna

Overheal wrote: »

Some rats are cool... the caged ones, the trained ones, the sterilised and immunized ones

use poison on the rest. they have no business spreading disease in my kitchen.

did you not see ratatouille? They get cleaned in the dishwasher thing before they do any cooking in your kitchen!

Hagar

Slow coach wrote: »

I saw one out riding my bike the other day.

Cheeky little baxtard! On your bike was it? Hope you washed the saddle afterwards.

tallus

Bottom Line, I hate rats with a vengeance. I love my cats for killing filthy rats. Their value to me as pets and as killers of vermin cannot be estimated highly enough. It feels good to see the cats hanging around the garden, I even encourage other cats to feed in my back garden. Some might say it's an irrational fear that a lot of people have but I can't help the way I feel, they are such vile creatures.

LadyE

watna wrote: »

did you not see ratatouille? They get cleaned in the dishwasher thing before they do any cooking in your kitchen!

QFT:D

l3LoWnA

Galwayguy99 wrote: »

Who on earth argues they don't exist in Ireland?

Well, my boss for one laughed his had off when I went into work all shaken and said I'd killed a baby otter

Even my family (father is of farming background in the same area as I hit it so SHOULD be well used to the local wildlife) said there were no otters in the area but where I hit whatever it was, there's a lake nearby and a stream!

Galwayguy99 wrote: »

As for your accident, if they were small it could also have been stoats, pine martens (now they're rare, but I've seen them too) or mink (slightly smaller than otters)

I just googled those to get a good look and it definately wasn't a stoat - Minks are very similar in shape to otters and it was definately one of those I hit - they were JET black, I think probably Minks. The adults were the size of a large cat or small dog and babies were about the size of a large rat. I've heard loads of stories of Minks in this area in the past year or so. My neighbour opened her hotpress one day about 6 months ago and a Mink ran out and passed her and out her back door. The og then started growling and barking at the Mink and the Mink was backed up against the wall hissing at the dog. They're supposedly dagerous when threatened so my neighbours son got the shotgun and splattered the little f*cker all over the wall!

The thing I killed looked like this Attachment not found.. I should have scraped the thing up off the road and made a little Mink hat for my daughter out of it's nice soft fur! :eek:

As for rats, I wonder will any of the "celebrities" in the jungle programme thingie have to get into a coffin full of the dirty grey f*ckers! Would love to see that model girl in there with them

nesf

tallus wrote: »

Bottom Line, I hate rats with a vengeance. I love my cats for killing filthy rats. Their value to me as pets and as killers of vermin cannot be estimated highly enough.

A good terrier is also an option.

SheroN

Where can I buy rat poison?

knird evol

tallus wrote: »

.....Apparently you're never more than ten feet away from one.

To quote your girlfriend

Zzippy

l3LoWnA wrote: »

Well, my boss for one laughed his had off when I went into work all shaken and said I'd killed a baby otter Even my family (father is of farming background in the same area as I hit it so SHOULD be well used to the local wildlife) said there were no otters in the area but where I hit whatever it was, there's a lake nearby and a stream!
I just googled those to get a good look and it definately wasn't a stoat - Minks are very similar in shape to otters and it was definately one of those I hit - they were JET black, I think probably Minks. The adults were the size of a large cat or small dog and babies were about the size of a large rat. I've heard loads of stories of Minks in this area in the past year or so.

The thing I killed looked like this Attachment not found.. I should have scraped the thing up off the road and made a little Mink hat for my daughter out of it's nice soft fur! :eek:

Could well be a mink alright - they've really multiplied and are very common now. Lot less wildlife about thanks to them. What part of Co. Galway are you in? I've seen otters in a lot of places hereabouts...

Trojan911 wrote: »

Both nasty diseases. A tip I was given when living in the UK, always wipe your can of drink clean before opening as a rat may have run over the stock on the store room & peed as he ran.

One disease, just different terms for it. Nasty baxtard. In our job we're issued cards to carry in our wallets, in case we're hospitalised for it, so they'll know its one of the things to test for. Very treatable if caught early, but symptoms can be for other diseases so doctors may not diagnose it until its too late

cailinoBAC

My closest encounter with a rat was when I was (luckily) temporarily living in a small flat in Eastern Europe. Came home one night and it ran past me, inches from my feet (and I was wearing sandals). It seemed like the only place it could have run to was the bathroom but I didn't hear anything and assumed it must have gone back to where it came from. Then in the middle of the night I heard this scuttling the other side of the room, it got closer and closer, then was under the bed, then i saw it race back towards the bathroom again. I had no idea what to do, had nobody to call. Just sat on the bed for about an hour, until I convinced myself it was gone, then went back to sleep. I had to spend one more night in the flat, then I was gone.

Though I've heard stories of hostels in Thailand etc. that have just made my stomach squirm...

Dudess

I've heard black rats are more dangerous than grey ones. If it's true, why is that the case I wonder?

TheVan

Next time you're in London go into a tube station and look at the track....feckin swarms of rats....and they're huge!

and now for the obligatory smart-arse comment

That's just the people, you should see the rodents....

Dudess

Heh heh...