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The guy came by to look at the rat holes to seal. He crawled in the attic from the garage access point [note: this couldn't be done until now because we had no ladder tall enough] and found the traps full and a nest of 8 live rats (6-8" long) nearby. He called up the Pest Control people and told them to get out here on the double.
He found at least 18 grates on the outside of the house that the rats are using for entry, plus a whole bunch of other problems. Rob says rat fur is stuck in the holes and dust is on the floor where the rats have enlarged the holes in the stucco. Our guy was kind of stunned - said he'd never seen a house with so many access passages. O joy O rapture!
Another problem is how all the trees and bushes have grown next to the house. That makes it easy for the rats to jump on the roof and crawl along the gutters.
So our guy is coming by tomorrow to seal the holes, and will recommend a tree trimmer to deal with the shrubs and the trees.
In an unrelated note, the back fence is sagging and wobbly, and may be about to fall over. O rapture! (The landscaping done by the neighbors behind us might have weakened its support by lowering the dirt level a bit, but to be fair the fence is old and was on its last legs anyway.) Maybe the back neighbor will be willing to split the cost of a new fence with us.
He found at least 18 grates on the outside of the house that the rats are using for entry, plus a whole bunch of other problems. Rob says rat fur is stuck in the holes and dust is on the floor where the rats have enlarged the holes in the stucco. Our guy was kind of stunned - said he'd never seen a house with so many access passages. O joy O rapture!
Another problem is how all the trees and bushes have grown next to the house. That makes it easy for the rats to jump on the roof and crawl along the gutters.
So our guy is coming by tomorrow to seal the holes, and will recommend a tree trimmer to deal with the shrubs and the trees.
In an unrelated note, the back fence is sagging and wobbly, and may be about to fall over. O rapture! (The landscaping done by the neighbors behind us might have weakened its support by lowering the dirt level a bit, but to be fair the fence is old and was on its last legs anyway.) Maybe the back neighbor will be willing to split the cost of a new fence with us.
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Then again, like you, I'm just happy to have a home!
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Homeownership does have its downside. I repair my wooden fence every spring, and one of these years I'm going to have to replace both it and the outer wrought iron one. (I need two. Pool.)
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We probably need two also (pool) but so far no one's complained. Our "one" goes all the way round, with gates, so I suppose it meets the community standards for protecting children whose parents aren't watching.
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Local laws vary when it comes to pool fences. I know our inner fence was needed because the outer one wasn't tall enough.
Recipe: Millers In Onion Sauce
Flour for dredging
Salt and pepper
4-5 tablespoons bacon fat from the Captain's breakfast
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 and 1/4 cup stock, or reconstituted Portable Soup
Cut the millers into serving pieces. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the millers in the flour and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in a large, heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring occassionally, until limp and golden. Remove the onion and set aside.
In the same pan, brown the millers on all sides, a few pieces at a time, adding more bacon fat as needed. Set the millers aside.
Deglaze the pan with the stock. Return the millers and onions to the pan, add salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
Serves 6 hungry midshipmen.
Copied from Lobscouse and Spotted Dog pg 230, by Grossman and Thomas, W.W. Norton books, 1997
The authors add: We were somewhat taken aback to discover that miller is absolutely delicious, rather like very young and tender rabbit.
I can only commend them for their dedication to authenticity...
Re: Recipe: Millers In Onion Sauce
Re: Recipe: Millers In Onion Sauce
Thank you Bill!
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I'd lend you my cats if I lived closer...
-Wen
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I'm calm only because the rats are scareder of me than I probably am of them. They never ever ever have been seen in the inhabitable portions of the house. We've only very rarely seen evidence of their presence. That's why the problem got so bad before we did anything about it! We honestly didn't know!
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Wish I still had my Dizzy. He took out dozens of rats in our old apartment, sometimes several in a day. One carcass barely fit in a ten inch box for disposal. Fortunately, usually I'd just find the tails. He was unbelievably neat and tidy about it. And poof, no rat problem!
YYYUUUCCCKKKK
8-(
Hope you get it sorted soon ..... the hair is still standing up on the back of my neck!!
Re: YYYUUUCCCKKKK