Rattus rattus, get out of my tree!

Perhaps not a pleasant subject for some but when I hear a rustling sound in the undergrowth I know the Black Rats are about. I once had a compost heap here in Cyprus, where I put all kitchen vegetable waste. I opened it one day and was startled to see a long worm wiggling in it. It disappeared so quickly it wasn’t until my mind recorded what I’d seen that I realised the worm had a rat at the end of it and wasn’t a worm at all, it was a rat tail! I now knew why my compost was rotting down so quickly. I use a dustbin with holes drilled in it now.

The Black Rat, also known as rattus rattus frugivorous to its friends, is a prolific disease carrier and was partly responsible for the Black Death in the 14th Century. You could use rat poison but better still is to not chase the cats away, if you currently do. Our dog seems to ignore the rats but not the cats which come to help our rat eradication programme. When she whines, we know a cat is creeping towards the rats so we quieten her down and let nature take its course.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Comments are closed.