Rat Patrol

Bud’s fast asleep on his little wicker bench in the living room.  I told him he’d better get some rest because he’s going to be on Rat Patrol tonight.

This morning when I walked into the kitchen, two empty boxes of crackers were on the floor.  And the other things on the counter, where they had been, were all knocked over.

I knew right away that the rat was back.

The first thing I did was check the stove.  There was no evidence that the rat was anywhere near it.  The dryer sheets I had stuffed under and in it were still there.

We got a new stove a month ago because a rat had pulled the insulation out of the old one.  She also left dropping in the walls of the stove and every time we turned on the oven the smell was unbearable.

When we got the new stove, Jim, who sold it to us, told us that Rats don’t like the smell of dryer sheets.  So I stuffed them into the runners of the drawer under the oven and on the floor under the stove.

As I cleaned up the mess, Bud came into the kitchen and started sniffing around the refrigerator.  When he didn’t quit, I got the message.

I pulled the fridge away from the wall and found a couple of crackers under it.  But Bud kept sniffing at the back where the motor is, so I unscrewed the cardboard backing.

Half a box of crackers were piled up behind the fan.

I cleaned them out and Bud was still sniffing around. This time I moved the fridge even further away from the wall and found more crackers under it.

I thanked Bud for his help and was relieved to see him leave the kitchen as I mopped the floor.

But he didn’t go far.  Now he was sniffing around the clothes dryer.

I pulled the dryer away from the wall expecting to see another stash of crackers.  But instead I found a small hole chewed in the wall where the dryer vent came up from the basement.

I had successfully plugged the hole in the bathroom where the rats had come up the first time in late winter.  Now I knew where they had made a new doorway into the house.

I stuffed the hole with steel wool then cut a piece of metal flashing, fit it around the dryer vent and screwed it to the wall.

I also put dryer sheets around the hole and on the floor in front of it.

Tonight we’ll leave Bud out of his crate once again.  I’m certain it was his presence that kept the rats from coming back the first time they showed up a couple of months ago.  I know it wasn’t the traps because after we caught the first three, they never went after the bait again.

Zip’s doing a good job of keeping the rat population down outside the house.  And Bud is doing his part inside.

When it comes to rats inside the house,  I’ve come to trust Bud completely.  I think we make a good team.

I did my part this morning and he’ll do his part tonight.