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Snowy

Not for the squeamish - 3 legged rat

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OK I have a confession and I feel really awful.

Have seen a rat in the garden on the odd occasion recently, and the neighbours have seen it as well, so really needed to get rid. I've put down some proper, sealed bait boxes with poison bait and I put 1 trap under a semi tipped bucket at the point where it was seen going through the fence to the pond.

Yesterday I heard squealing and found that the rat had got it's front paw caught in the trap. It had dragged the trap towards the pond and got itself through the fence, but couldn't drag the trap through :shock:

All I could think of was to put the poor thing out of it's misery as soon as possible so I tried to clobber it with a metal pole. Not sure whether I got it or not, but it managed to pull free, leaving it's leg in the trap!! Aaaah, now it's in the undergrowth round the pond, dead, dying, or licking it's wounds and plotting it's revenge :(

What can I do? (probably nothing I know, but needed to get it off my chest - you can all berate me now :( )

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poor thing, not a lot you can do now I would imagine. I've seen humane traps on the web but once you catch a rat, how would you despatch it quickly and humanely? A bag and a heavy spade I suppose.

 

The traps are meant to kill them quickly aren't they? Who knew that would happen?

 

I do feel sorry for the rat but for you too as you obviously feel upset but you didn't know that would happen.

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Well,

 

if it's an English rat it will soon loose the other three legs! :wink::)

 

Just bear in mind that rats are vermin and spread disease. I know that rats feel pain the same as anything else but you need to remember why you tried to trap it in the first place.

 

Sewer rats that is, I'm not having a pop at pet rats.

 

Kev.

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Pet rats are ok, but garden rats eugh!!!! I'd have had to finish him off with a heavy spade, had to do that the other week with a mouse at my sisters farm. Her dog had been playing with a mouse she found in the hay barn & had half killed it, the poor mouse was having seizures & it was horrible to watch, so I had to hit it. The same dog also goes ratting - mooching with her head down rat holes - 2 weeks ago she got bit round her eye by a rat!!! She could have lost her eye. Luckily she is ok & my sister checked about jabs with the vet. Horrid rats.

I should imagine your rat bled to death Snowy. Just don't feel guilty - cos Rats are not nice where chickens, children, humans & neighbours are concerned!

 

Emma.x

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A friend had this dilemma recently and killed the vicous thing (it was snarling in the trap) by lowering the trap into a large barrel of water.

 

It is in fact illegal to do this and she could be liable for prosecution if caught. The "if caught" bit is useful.

 

I too have a friend who decided to trap her resident rat (which was the size of an alsatian) humanely...but she hadn't thought about what she was going to do with it if successful. It too was snarling and spitting and she was scared of being bitten if she attempted to let it go in the woods, so had to do the same thing.

 

It was quite horrible apparently.

 

Best to poison or trap them in the normal way I reckon.

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We caught one in a trap in the rabbit run (the resident rabbit and guinea pig were staying in a nice hotel at the time so don't worry!) but the trap didn't kill it. It was twitching and writhing around and I was absolutely horrified. I didn't know what to do but couldn't bear the thought of anything, even a rat, suffering right by the sitting room window so I grabbed the nearest heavy thing I could find which happened to be the motor from a washing machine (yes, our garden does look rather like Steptoe's Yard from time to time :roll: ) and dropped it on the beastie. Unfortunately, it wasn't a direct hit so in floods of tears and shaking like a leaf, I had to do it again to put the poor thing out of it's misery. Thankfully I got a direct hit second time and fortunately it died. Horrible things but I couldn't possibly have left it in the run where I could see it writhing about.

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Thanks for making me feel better! I just wanted to dispatch it as quickly and cleanly as possible :roll: Talk about making a right pigs ear of it. I must admit I really dislike rats, they scare me, and this one was spitting and snarling at me too :? I didn't dare try to move the trap in case it bit me.

 

Theres no sign of it now - hopefully it has died. :?:roll: (Trouble is I can't face emptying the trap - it's still got the leg in it!! :shock: ) :oops:

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