"Newgene McMensa" wrote in message ...
"leza wang" wrote in message ...
On Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 10:42:06 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 6/10/2017 9:44 PM, leza wang wrote:
Sorry if this is an off topic subject but I could not help it.
Today in the morning I saw from my basement window many flies in the backyard. I checked and there was a dead rat! not very big one. I was shocked to see it. Anyway I put it in the garbage. I went back to the yard and I saw less than 1 meter away from the dead rat a baby rat, looked like just born but was not dead, was still moving but about to die, then I saw another baby rat less than half meter away from the other baby but the second one was dead and i can see there was a cut and blood in his body. I put them all in the garbage.

My backyard is clean and almost empty (no spaces to hide). My neighbor has 2 cats. My question, what do you think did happen? to me is like someone (not human probably) throw them all or kill them all. But how and why the babies were there too? I was thinking maybe my neighbor cats did that (not complaining) but I want to know what could happen and if you there there are more? it scares me really.

Thanks a lot and sorry once again if that is an off topic but I know many people here are so knowledgeable and helpful. Thanks a lot.


Did you see something that makes you think it was a cat? Could they
have eaten poison someplace the went to your yard to die?

Good that you got the mother but they can have 8 to 12 pups per litter
so there may be more around. Hopefully, the cats are doing their job.
You can put a trap or two out, but make sure it is something that won't
kill the cats.

- I am just guessing because the second baby had a bloody cut, so maybe someone attack him. By the way, if I plant mint, would that keep rats/mice away? Thank you so much.

I don't know about mint, but I had a similar problem last year. The neighbors have a tangerine tree and they feasted on that, then jumped over the fence and were having my avodcados for dessert. I set out some cage traps and caught one now and then, but they seemed to learn to stay away after awhile. I called the county vector control and they set out some tubes wit rat poison. I never did see or smell any dead rats thought. Vector guy said the poison breaks down inside the animal and it is harmless if another animal eats the rat.

I'm not a tree-hugger but try to leave all animals and insects alone. I don't mind sharing my avocados. But in the case of rats, they are fleabags that can spread plague and other nasty diseases. For a choice between a rat and a human, especially me, the rat comes in 2nd place.

My honest opinion is that the neighborhood cats caught them in my case.

By the way, the only way I know kill them from a trap is to drown it. Not pleasant to do, but they drown in about 15 seconds. Also, if you do this, mix a spoonful of liquid detergent in the water first. That will break the surface tension and fleas will drown. If you don't, the fleas will jump out of the water.