July 20, 2007

Skunks

I haven't blogged about vectors lately, and I'm happy to say it's because I haven't had any. But a neighbor has a skunk, and another neighbor just emailed me to suggest that we do some fund raising to buy a trap and my immediate thought was: why on earth would you want to trap a skunk yourself? Skunk trapping is very far down on the list of the things I want to DIY, and high on the list of things I'd be happy to pay someone else to do.

I was reminded of the information Fred Allen gave me on why Multnomah County Vector Control doesn't deal with skunks (apparently, they aren't considered vectors, although in my mind, they are vectors of stink). And also his scheme to catch a skunk using many, many blankets.

Anyway, some quick googling brought me to these people. I love their website, especially the part on rats -- "Rat! OMG! I just saw a rat!" that just about sums it up, doesn't it?

What's really awesome, too, is they have more than
one website -- or, anyway, both websites have the same phone number. The first one is kind of cheeky and brief, the second has a lot more content.

Anyway, in case you missed my vector blogging, there is some reading for you.

Posted by mary at 11:31 AM | Comments (3)

December 30, 2005

A Better Way to Set a Mousetrap (a multi-part post)

Introduction
Notice: This is a public service blog entry, and won't be particularly interesting to anyone who doesn't need to know how to set a rat trap -- but for those who do, it should be very helpful!

Some of my regular readers may remember my ongoing issues with vectors. By vectors, I mean of course rats, everyone's favorite vector! My mother was nice enough to give me a copy of Rats for my birthday, a marvelous book full of fascinating natural history and regular history on rats.

In my last blog entry on this subject, I mentioned that I was very impressed with the level of service delivered by Multnomah County Health Department's Vector Control staff. They have a lot of free information about rats. Not only that, if you have rats, they show up at your house, bearing lots of traps, bait, advice, lore and hands-on assistance. As I said before, this is a great return on your tax dollar, one that even a libertarian can (or should) get behind.

I was especially especially impressed with their innovative advice over the phone on how to set a trap using the boot method (described in great detail shortly). I was also surprised at how little good information I found on the web on how to set a trap -- setting a trap is scary! You could lose a finger! It was one of the things I dreaded most about having rats (this was before I felt the full financial impact of them -- approximately $7,000, including new stove, sewer repairs, and other misc. costs). I expected to see detailed pictorials on how to set a trap on sites like the Victor site (major manufacturer of rat traps -- but I didn't. (At Victor, I found some annoying popups and no good pictures at all -- so be warned.)

The first time around, with the Thanksgiving Rat, I got advice over the phone about how to set the trap. The second time around, when I had a colony, horde, mischief, pack, plague, or swarm of rats (thanks to this site for the collective nouns) coming up through my yard from a hole in my sewer line, the good Multnomah county Vector people came to my house in the person of Fred Allen.

I blogged about these experiences and, in due time (google and blogs being what they are), marysgreatideas.com turned up as the number 1 google hit for the phrase "how to set a rat trap" (granted, there aren't that many hits to begin with, but technically speaking, I'm hits 1-5 out of 10, if you click on the thing that shows the omitted redundent hits). That made me feel kind of bad, considering how little substantial advice I gave on such an important topic.

So, in the interest of doing the right thing on the interweb, I'm posting this multi-part pictorial on how to set a rat trap (or how to set a mouse trap -- same method, only cuter!) using the two techniques I learned from Fred Allen and Jim Stafford of Multnomah County Health Department: the butterknife method and the boot method. Fred Allen was kind enough to let me photograph him in action. (I should add that he is much cuter than these photographs make him appear. I made a faux pois when he mentioned that he didn't find the pictures very flattering, and I responded, "you look great in them!" instead of the correct response when someone expresses disappointment in their appearance in a photo which is, "you look much cuter in real life.")

DISCLAIMER: None of this material has been proofed or approved in any way by Multnomah County people and I only vaguely know what I'm doing. If you break a finger using any of these methods, or some other hybrid method you dream up, it's your own fault. That having been said, these methods have worked well for me even when I was totally drunk. I don't recommend setting rat traps while drunk, but I suspect I'm not the first to do so.

And with that -- on to the rat trapping!

Posted by mary at 9:55 PM | Comments (2)

Step 1: Get Yourself Some Rat Traps

Maybe you need a dozen of them? Golly, I hope not, but I and the good people at MCVC don't recommend using poison in the house, because you could end up with a stinky, maggoty rat corpse hidden somewhere in the walls (maggot imagery courtesy of Fred Allen). Plus, I think it's a lot more moral to inflict a good swift kill rather than a slow poisoning. I gather from Mr. Allen that rats need to eat the poison more than once to get fully poisoned and rats will sometimes wait until they smell a food source -- like bait -- in another rats' poo before digging in themselves, as a safety mechanism. Just one of the many fascinating factoids -- dare I say ractoids? -- I've learned in this whole process.

Next -- just say no to glue traps!

Posted by mary at 9:51 PM | Comments (0)

Step 1a: Glue Traps -- the Coward's (Ineffective) Way Out

The other option is glue traps. I don't recommend them because they are ineffective (according to what I've read and have been told) and cruel. A glue trap kills the rodent through causes including thirst, exposure, or exhaustion, according to Mr. Allen. He further conjured up the image of a human in a similar situation -- glued to the floor, unable to escape, struggling desperately to free himself -- well, it's all just too horrible. Also, according to what I've read in random internet accounts, actual rats don't get stuck -- they just leave little gluey footprints everywhere. Mr. Allen said he recommends them primarily for little old ladies who really can't be expected to handle a trap, and that's legitimate, I guess -- so, if you're a little old lady reading this, and you don't have any boots, you're excused from my moral judgement. However, I don't have any advice on how to use these because I haven't taken them out of their packaging.

I have to admit, though, this is awesome packaging. A couple of things to note:

• 1) Snakes??

• 2) That is one angry rat

• 3) Note that the trap itself is 5" x 10" -- that's a BIG angry rat!
  

OK -- with the lesser methods out of the way, I'm going to illustrate two different ways to set two different kinds of rat traps.

First, the butterknife method using the "professional" style trap with a plastic bait thingy.

Second, the boot method using the regular copper bait type trap (so do some scrolling if you have a trap that doesn't look like the ones in the first several pictures).

Ready?? Here we go!! ...

Posted by mary at 9:46 PM | Comments (1)

Step 2: Yummy Rat Bait

For bait, F. Allen recommended a hearty mix of oatmeal and peanut butter. I've used peanut butter, dog food, chocolate covered pretzels, and cheese. I have to say, peanut butter got the best response. The oatmeal is to help stick it to the trap, I believe.

Next -- baiting the trap.

Posted by mary at 9:45 PM | Comments (0)

Step 3: Putting Bait on the Trap

Here Allen is coating the trap with the bait. That little triangular hole on the "professional" trap is for bait. I have to apologize for not knowing the technical terms for the parts of a rat trap -- maybe someone more knowledgeable can help me if they see this entry.

The copper style traps don't have the hole, and if you have problems with the rat eating the bait off and not setting the trap you can try coating some gauze with peanut butter and wrapping that around the trigger thingy. The idea is that the rat will have to tug at the gauze in order to get at the bait and this will set the trap off. I found that made the difference with my first rat experience. Plus, it makes it more like a medical procedure.

Here's some nice peanut butter and oatmeal in a trap:

Next -- the baited trap.

Posted by mary at 9:44 PM | Comments (0)

Step 4: Pulling Back the Tension Bar

Here Mr. Allen is pulling the tension bar back, with the trigger bar held to the side, getting ready to place it back on top of the tension bar. Note that up until this point, the techniques illustrated could be either the butterknife method or the boot method.

Next -- setting the trigger.

Posted by mary at 9:40 PM | Comments (0)

Step 5: Setting the Trigger

Mr. Allen reminds us to hold the trap with the rat nose pointing towards us. It should be noted that Mr. Allen is holding back a fair amount of pressure on the pressure bar with the trigger bar and his left hand here. That kind of scares me, personally.

Here Mr. Allen is setting the trigger. These traps are marked "F" on the left for Firm and "S" on the right for Sensitive. I think those are the words they stand for, anyway, but the point is, putting the trigger to the right will make the trap more sensitive, for the sensitive rat. I should also note that this is where I really screwed up in setting these traps the first few nights -- I was putting the trap in the lower bait area, which made the whole thing really ineffective. My mouse was feasting on peanut butter the first couple of nights. At first I thought, "Well, that's good to build up the trust" but then, the more I thought about it, the less important it seemed to me to establish trust -- I mean, if you kill them on the first visit, what does it matter if they don't want to come back? Anyway.

Here, Mr. Allen is employing the butter knife to lift the bait tray thingy to engage and hold the trigger bar. When the bait tray is completely flat, it does not engage the trigger bar. I assume he is holding the tension bar back with his left hand as he engages the trigger bar. Since I don't use this method, I'm not completely sure, but Mr. Allen swears by it.

Here Mr. Allen is using the butter knife to hold the bait tray up while he checks the tension.

Next -- the set trap.

Posted by mary at 9:28 PM | Comments (0)

The Set Trap

Don't look too close, Fred!!

Here's what a set trap looks like.

Next -- the boot method of rat trap setting!!

Posted by mary at 9:24 PM | Comments (0)

The Boot Method with an Amateur Trap

While I respect Fred Allen and his way around rat traps infinitely, and the amount of rat-related and non-rat related fact and theory he gave me is priceless, I personally prefer the boot method that Jim Stafford told me about over the phone.

It has the advantage of letting you test the tension on the bar with your hands and face far away from the trap, so if it goes off it's not as scary.

I went down to Multnomah County Vector Control to get pictures of Mr. Stafford illustrating his method himself, but he'd already left for the day when I got there. But it was nice to see where the magic happens! They are just around the corner from my house on Columbia Blvd. -- I can't decide if that's comforting or not. I liked the old sign they had on their cyclone fence. They have new signage, too, but it's not as picturesque. Vector Control seems to be lacking their own logo, which is too bad, because it could be completely awesome -- I envision a rat surrounded by a cloud of mosquitoes or something.

Anyway, you'll just have to settle for my own version of the boot method, which involves some sturdy (and dirty) Mary Janes instead.

Ready? GO!

Posted by mary at 9:17 PM | Comments (0)

Getting Ready to Set the Trap

Many thanks to Erin for taking these photos of my filthy feet for this series -- she tried to warn me, but I had no idea my shoes and socks were this dirty! I had just walked the dog through our muddy Portland streets -- it's a dog footprint you see on my right sock -- but still ... man ... I'm going to clean my shoes more often. Well, anyway ...

Oh. Also, this lovely used trap was provided by my mother since I only had the "professional" style on hand. This brings up another reality of multi-rat killing using traps: Unless you're some kind of millionaire, you're going to end up re-using the traps. And that's the way it should be, if we're all going to reduce, reuse, recycle, blah blah blah. But still. It's gross.

One thing that I do to reduce my contact with gore is to put sandwich baggies on my hands when it's time to release the poor little ratty corpse. I don't use one when setting it because I don't really want to be slippery, but I have used props -- like the old metal candle snuffer I have, for instance -- for setting the trigger. It serves the same function in some ways as the butter knife, but I never actually eat off it. But you will have to use your hands to bring over the tension bar, and personally, I want to have a good grip when I do so. This is what soap was intended for. And don't bite your nails until you've washed.

*Update* Photos of my filthy feet! Now one of my top google referring terms! Many apologise to those looking for something else with that search term ...

set the trigger ...

Posted by mary at 9:15 PM | Comments (0)

Pulling the Tension Bar Over

Then proceed to set the trigger ...

Posted by mary at 9:13 PM | Comments (0)

Setting the Trigger

Note that my filthy left foot is holding the tension bar down and my dirty right foot is helping hold the whole rat trap down while I bring the trigger bar over with my hand.

Next -- ENGAGE!

Posted by mary at 9:11 PM | Comments (0)

Engaging the Trigger

Here I'm engaging the trigger with the bait thingy. It was actually kind of hard for me with this trap. (Are my hands really that pudgy?? Well, yes, they are.)

Then to testing.

Posted by mary at 9:10 PM | Comments (0)

Testing Tension on Bar

Here I am sloooooowly lifting my left foot up to see if the trigger bar is engaged -- you can tell from the tension if it is. My face and hands are far away if I end up snapping it by mistake, but that's not likely because I'm moving slowly. If it's not engaged, I step back down.

And ... huzzah!

Posted by mary at 9:06 PM | Comments (0)

Et Voila!

The trap is engaged and ready to set out.

Mr. Allen had yet another good suggestion: Remember when you're carrying a set trap around to hold it on the side that the red pointy nose is pointing to. That way if the trap goes off, there's no chance of getting your finger snapped. It's still scary as heck, though.

And click here to see mise en place.

Posted by mary at 9:03 PM | Comments (0)

Mise En Place

Here's a trap in place. Note the garbage bag under the trap -- this helps with yucky cleanup. (n.b.: I put a poster under my sink after I had a plumber over and felt bad about how unpleasant it was under there -- it's not for the rats.)

I'm not going to post the pictures I have of caught rodents, because this isn't a "faces of death" post or rat snuff site.

It's made me very sad enough to cry almost every time I've killed an animal (five times now -- three mice in traps, one rat in a trap, and a baby squirrel that my dog caught, broke the neck of, but didn't quite kill off, so I had to drop a big rock on its head -- which got baby squirrel brains on my skirt -- it was just as horrible as it sounds), in spite of what some people may think of me (e.g., this comment or this one -- you'll have to scroll down for each because I'm dumb that way) and it's important for me to me to say that the best way to deal with rats or mice is not to have them in the first place -- prevention in other words. It was under that theory that I fixed my sewer to the tune of $4,000 or what have you (I'm trying to forget exactly how much it cost) instead of setting out poisons in my yard -- it would have been an endless task, and if I can avoid distributing toxins and wanton killing of any kind, I will.

If you're lucky like we are here in Multnomah County, vector control people will happily visit your house and help you identify where the rats may be coming from and what might be attacting them -- bird seed, animal food, general filth. But that's information for someone else to give out.

Assuming the worst, and you've got a rat in your house, you need to get rid of it quickly -- they can really cause a tremendous amount of damage, as I discovered with my first experience (I didn't have my face bit or anything, but I did have to replace my stove), and if you use a live trap, where are you going to put that invasive thing?

So, with all that said: Happy Rat Trapping!

Posted by mary at 8:52 PM | Comments (0)