PNG TIME

ipblocker

4/10/2007

Rattic

My apologies to the animal lovers out there, or to the squeamish. Don't read this posting.

One of the things we were warned about was creepy crawlies. For the most part you can keep them at bay here in the main center. Using roach bait, rat poison and traps, and ant spray you can keep much of the critters from showing themselves very often.

We do have a gecko that lives in our walls, that makes little chirping noises often. But he eats bugs so we like him.

And from time to time, we hear the pitter patter of rats in the attic. I'm told they come and go and it isn't a huge thing, but to keep it under control with traps.

So I set a trap up there a week ago.

I'm a very light sleeper. The entrance to the attic is in our bedroom.

So last night around midnight I was awakened by a SNAP..THUD..SCREAM... FLOP... and silence.

I had caught a RAT!

This morning I went to check the trap, ready to discard my prey, when I found he had escaped. There was a puddle of blood around the trap, no bigger than a silver dollar, and a blood streak off towards a whole in the attic screen.

In my head I imagined an injured rat, crawling to freedom, and years later, as a limping old rat with a cane, telling his great grandchildren about the time he escaped the TRAP!