Ratastic News Week “Bashing About” Edition

David Bennett

In this edition of the Ratastic Newsflash, we’ve got a bit of violence going on as rats are bashed about in a rather shocking manner that may make you lose your dinner! We’ll also look at the importance of just mowing your grass, a simple thing that can go a long way to keeping rats away from your house and your neighbors’ as well.

Last week’s quiz question! What species of rat was among the first species to be brought to American shores?

Answer: The Black rat came to the US before the Norway rat, probably with early colonists in Jamestown, around 1609 and Captain Cook landing in Hawaii. The have caused catastrophic losses and extinction of wildlife especially on the island of Hawaii.

This week’s quiz question: What popular film used more than 1000 live puppet and mechanical rats?

Diners in Northern Ireland Wine Bar Shocked and Sickened by Messy Demise of Errant Rat

Portrush, Northern Ireland, is a small seaside resort town in County Antrim on the County

Londonderry border. Royal Portrush Golf Club is a prominent feature of this little town, that has hotels, restaurants and bars built on a mile-long peninsula, Ramore Head. This peaceful, picturesque community belied the horrors to come in a local wine bar often frequented by golfing celebrities. How quickly this community became the stuff of a Stephen King novel is really quite startling. The Belfast Telegraph tells the story: Diners in a wine

bar were having a lovely eating experience. And then, there was a commotion in a corner of the wine bar. Along comes a guy, who may have been a maintenance worker, or an employee, with two big brushes in both his hands. At a time during a busy lunch when it may have been good to have left well enough alone, the big man with the brushes tapped the rafter, and suddenly, it was game on! The spooked rat, reportedly the size of a cat, who had really just been checking out the diners in its rounds from on high, darted off the rafter, onto a table where a failed attempt to trap with the brushes was made, jumped off the table and ran up the back of a diner’s chair and landed straight onto the lap of a woman (as anyone would do if a big man with big brushes were after them), seeking refuge in the lady’s lap. Pandemonium ensued as the lady rocketed off her chair screaming wildly, the giant rat no doubt finding his safe refuge suddenly gone, fell on the floor where he was trapped by Brush Man and then…

(are you sure you want to go on?) All right then…don’t’ say we didn’t warn you!

the rat was trapped with the brush and brutally crushed under the heel of a boot! Blood spurted everywhere!!! People screamed and were sickened by the gore! Kids were screaming

at the sight which no doubt ensured at least 7-10 years of therapy, people preparing to flee, then the kicker. As stunned diners stared in silence, a waiter appeared in the middle of all this with a tray of food, innocent of the bloody carnage which had just taken place. Offering his two pizzas he looked around and cheerfully said, ‘Rocket and pesto pasta, anyone?’

It is unclear whether the incident will affect the wine bar’s four-star hygiene rating.

Glaswegian Family Stunned when Council Worker Bludgeons Rat in Their Kitchen

These things happen in places where people prepare their food and eat, because rats love your food, and here we go. In Glasgow, Scotland, a family got an unwelcome lodger—a rat of

course. Actually, lots of rats. Expecting the council to trap the rat and take it away, they got a Die Hard type of experience when a golf club wielding council worker showed up and bashed a rat right in their kitchen. Talk about immediate service! The Scotsman explains that the family of four had to move out and stay with relatives when the rats invaded, building nests in a gaping hole at the back of a kitchen cupboard. However, they stated that they were stunned when one worker, employed by Glasgow City Council, whacked at a rat twice with a golf club, which he brought with him to sort out the problem. “The local authority later said that their staff are permitted to deal with rodents in a ‘variety of ways’. One of the house’s residents said “He left it in the house, then on Tuesday he was looking under the sink cupboard where the rats are getting in. “He saw one and hit it twice with the club and it squealed and ran away. “I thought it was a bit bizarre.” His partner said she was even bitten by one of the rats and had to get a tetanus injection. The couple believe their toddler son, aged two, became ill with vomiting and diarrhoea due to the rodent infestation at their home.”

Florida Landlord Encounters Trouble with the Next Door Renters Rat Infestation

This next story illustrates perfectly the importance of regular lawn care—and by that, we mean mowing your yard. High grass attracts rats because it makes the perfect cover for them—and by doing this one thing, you can show love for your neighbor as well as yourself while keeping a lovely looking neighborhood! Action News Jacksonville reports that a Florida man who owns the house next door has been trying to get his renters to mow their lawn because he’s being troubled by a rat infestation. He says the grass is so high that it even hides the neighbor’s German shepherd. He’s spent hundreds of dollars on an exterminator, but extermination doesn’t help when the grass is kept so long. Efforts by anyone to get the renters to cut the grass have gone unsuccessful.

Rather than use a golf club, or a big brush, perhaps a more genteel, effective and less messy way might be to first of all, consider purchasing our Fenn traps to rid the problem. Secondly, to ensure the rats stay out, practice exclusion and Review commerical quality RodeXit rodent strips stainless steel wires encased in MobilExxon polymer Santoprene 201-73, proven durable to gnawing rats and mice, ultilized as door sweeps, takes two minutes to install, pre-marked every 4 inches so you know exactly where to place the screws for effective and secure installation. Not only does it keep rats out, the sweeps are reusable-simply flip them over and use again! Long lasting—the Danish Testing Institute found that after 13,000 door closings, the sweeps wore just millimeter, less than 0.04 inches, commercial grade so won’t be constantly switching them out for new ones! Formidable exclusion product for keeping rats, mice and more out!

We are exhibiting at New York Pest Management Associations event April 30^th, This coming Tuesday at Russo’s on the Bay, 162-45 Cross Bay Blvd, Howard Beach NY 11414. Please come talk with us about rodent challenges and exclusion products!