Rats!

We have chickens in a coop. Because of the chickens, we have rats. My wife saw one up close eating out of the chicken food bucket. The rat must go!!!

So yesterday I bought a trap and laid it in a little ditch which was between the openings to the rat tunnel. And I baited it with - Teriyaki chicken! What else would I use?

Today I went back to check on the trap. I lifted up the wood that covered the trap and.... surprise the trap was gone!!! (A few years ago we set a rat trap and all I caught was front leg.)
Visions of a diseased rat caught in a trap after dragging the trap into the hole danced through my mind. Man over beast!!!!!

Then I started pouring water down the holes in hope of drowning the rat. As I watched the water pour into the hole I saw a flash of copper wire. I kept spraying the water. And soon, uncovered by running water as perfectly snapped trap with....no rat. The meat was gone and here is what got me: One small rock and one small stick were stuck between the bar and the wood of the trap.

My guess is the rat threw dirt on the trap, snapped it shut and proceeded to feed on perfectly good teriyaki chicken. (The chicken was what we bought from Winco.) The egg laying chickens are save.

Then to spite me, the rat proceeded to completely cover the trap with dirt, resulting in my temporary glee.

The trap now has peanut butter. More tomorrow.