8.14.22
Pack Rats. Not, as some people might think despite a somewhat similarity in appearance, a relation to the fluffy Chinchilla rodent that some people keep as pets or make fur coats out of. A pack rat is quite a different character. So named because these creatures have an innate urge to collect a plethora of things – from grass to weeds to bright shiny nails – which they add to their rather smelly nests. We once had a pack rat, after chewing a hole in the stout cardboard of the box, abscond with almost a full box of new 16d nails (that is 16 penny nails, a common stout nail used in construction for those not familiar with the term!) That was quite a feat as a box contains 50 pounds in weight of these nails! The rat did leave behind some trading stock, numerous droppings and a liberal sprinkling of other smelly stuff – pee! So, to say we do not particularly like pack rats might be a wee bit of an understatement!
Over the years we have delt with these noisome rodents invading car engines, campers, finding a home in the attic of our house or behind freezers and woodsheds and generally making a nuisance of themselves. All our dogs have been great pack rat hunters although our barn cats only catch the odd smaller one on rare occasions. For a few years we were plagued by these creatures. Each spring and autumn one would see the telltale signs that a pack rat was making its home in an unwanted place. The first key to them taking up residence is the unmistakable smell, once smelt never forgotten! Remember, these pesky creatures not only like to leave a few droppings and other gems behind them when they acquire nesting material, but also liberally decorate their nests with the same things – and not always with their own droppings I might add – cementing everything together with a liberal amount of their own pee to boot!
It has been a few years since we have had to deal with pack rats, or an influx of mice for that matter. Oh, they are still here, but have been content to make their homes a decent way away from any of our buildings. This year is however, is turning out to be a “rodent year” as the mice have awakened in full force and for the past fortnight or so, Bella, our older Rottweiler, has alerted us to the fact that we have a pack rat near the house. Finding not even a stray dropping made me skeptical for a bit, but her persistence in searching, nose to the ground, around the deck of the house each morning, made a believer out of me. She gets a certain look on her face when it is a pack rat scent versus a mouse scent she is following. Looking at me with a persistence that eloquently says, “please move all this wood – AKA huge logs – so I can get to where a rat is hiding.” Giving me an almost disgruntled glance as I laugh and walk away!
But Bella is right. As I say, for the past fortnight Bella has been on pack rat patrol. Lately, around 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, the distinctive sound of a pack rat has woken Darrell and me up from a sound sleep. Thump, thump, thump, thump… down the deck it goes, right past our bedroom window. Thump, thump, thump, thump… back it comes again. Back and forth, back and forth it goes. When I grab my glasses off the bedside chest and try to peer out the window to see the offending creature, of course it must hear me and either go another direction or freeze cannily in place!
Time to get the live trap out and put in place so we can catch this troublesome creature! I am sure you know the sort of trap, it is also called a “Have-a-Heart” trap, and I am sure those who know us know some creatures caught in this trap – skunks, rats, raccoons – do not inspire us to “Have a heart” and let the offending creatures go to live another day! Sorry folks, but that is just how it is. Skunks are egg stealers, raccoons are chicken killers – but make a nice Sunday dinner! – and pack rats are destructive little blighters! Thus, the live trap is set. I may have to bait the trip plate with peanut butter as so far, the cheeky chap has avoided entering the contraption, even though a nice tunnel made from an old piece of stovepipe, which normally entices them to enter, has not worked with this fellow. Each morning I peek out to see if the trap has been sprung before Bella and Bonnie get to go on patrol.
Now I have to admit, there is something sort of cute about these rats. With big ears, a sleek coat and furry tail with a fluffy tufty bit on the end they do look rather Chinchilla like. However, their smell gives them less of an appeal to anyone who might consider making a pet out of them! I must admit, years ago while living in a camper on the banks of the John Day River while we worked on building a house, I did find a baby pack rat and yes, it was awfully tempting to keep it as a pet. Mother Nature has a way of making all baby creatures sweet and charming, doesn’t she? Sort of a guarantee we will not dispatch them poste haste.
Well, the battle to dispose of Mr. Pack Rat who wishes to take up residence at our house will continue and I am confident we will win! Unlike a very dear friend of mine – I shall not name names although when she reads this story she will laugh at the memory – this pack rat will not be driven a comfortable distance away from where it was captured and subsequently released supposedly back into the wild. I say supposedly, because this particular pack rat decided it wanted to stay with its compassionate human, who happily drove away after releasing said rat from the trap, not knowing said rat had managed to scramble its way into the engine compartment of the vehicle. On the way back home, the unfortunate stowaway most likely lost his life but not before causing considerable damage, and quite an expensive repair job, to the automobile of his host. (Sorry my dear pal, this still brings a grin to my face after all these years!)
Maybe Mr. Pack Rat will get the message he is not wanted here and move on to greener pastures. Somehow, I do not think he will. One of these mornings he will be ensconced in the trap, and I will go outside and see his beady eyes peeking out at me. Will compassion win me over? That my friends I will leave to your speculation and imagination…