British Columbia: Rat/mouse numbers this spring

I know this is a bit off topic, but we have noticed that our composter has been, for the first time, been invaded by rats and mice. It has been in situ for 3 years, and I wondered if we are having a peak year for rodents?

We only put vegetable waste and garden trimmings in the composter. No meats, fats, rice etc.

We now set a trap nightly in the composter, and I am sorry to say we have, in the last week, caught 3 rats and 2 mice.

 

My friend in Pennsylvania reports that he is killing rats on a daily basis. These vermin are oozing their way over from his neighbor's house, who has a misguided propensity to set food outside for wild animals. Rats, being shrewd opportunists, are taking full advantage of this largesse and reproducing like crazy.

Same friend just returned home from visiting relatives in Miami, where---you guessed it---he slew 7 rats in his brother's back yard. This infestation seems to have been encouraged by said brother's allowing yard to become a unkempt tropical jungle.

So...perhaps it IS a banner year for rats! What an undelicious thought that is. Blech.

Some detective work might prove useful...do YOU have a neighbor who is inadvertently enhancing this situation? Dog and its food kept outside? Overenthusiastic bird feeding? Some environmental factor is revving up the rodents. More of them implies more available food----where are they finding it?

Good luck to you, WW. And as Sgt. Esterhaus said on 'Hill Street Blues':
"Let's be careful out there." Indeed!

 

I'm seeing the same thing here in the Southern Hemisphere - Quito is literally teeming with rats right now, where I used to see maybe one or two a day I'm now seeing 10 or 15. In Ambato, we're seeing a lot more mice and voles, and there have been articles in the papers down here about an explosion in the rodent population. I shudder to think what the port cities are like.

Not the most savoury thought, Togata, I agree, although I kind of find myself wishing this explosion would expand itself to include the larger rodents: Agouti, Paca, Capybara, and Guanta (which are becoming endangered down here.)

 

Maybe this surge is related to the increased Co2 in the atmosphere, which I understand is being blamed for the proliferation of unwanted flora such as poison ivy. More plants, bigger, producing fruit earlier...seems clear that these 2 phenomena are interrelated.

Be that as it may---if I were WW, I'd still check for well-intentioned neighbors' yards for rat smorgasbord! ('All You Can Eat! Bring Your Friends!')

(Usedta have capybara at the zoo back when I was a docent there.)

 

I'd definitely be checking for well-intentioned rodent buffets as well, WW - your composter actually falls under that category, especially if you compost proteins. I used to have a possum problem in my compost - one morning I woke up to find that he'd made little sandwiches with the moldy bread and some grapes and watermelons. It was quite surreal.

(How did they do in such cold conditions? Capybara are only found in our hottest zones down here....)

 

Ah, so-called "civilization" is just on shaky ground, that's all... the rats and friends detect a weakness... other symptoms are obesity, its opposite number famine, careless mining and oil drilling/oil spills, mixing religion with politics or warfare. The rats will recede when humanity becomes more balanced and wise. Let's hope the rats don't bring plague, but they might just do it to clean up humanity and start over.

 

Seems like there are lots of rats around if you know the tell "tail" signs. Any one who says they don't have rats has not been outside after dark! As far as the compost goes, my opinion is that even if you are ultra careful about not putting in the "wrong" foods, they will love the warmth and show up anyways. My suggestion is that you line your bin including the bottom with "hardware cloth". This metal mesh is available with different size squares depending on what you want to get in or keep out. We made a cover for our strawberry bed with 1" squares and it keeps rats and robins out but lets the insects in to pollinate. Good luck!

 

Of those species that I am able to recognize wharf rats are what I see the most of here, they really go for fruits.