As I wrote previously, the house is an old Goan style house. It is not an airtight house that we have in the UK. The walls of the house are lower than the orange slated roof, which is held up in place by beams. Therefore you have a substantial gap between the top of the wall and the roof, allowing airflow to keep cool. Unfortunately this also allows uninvited animals to enter.
After a few days we noticed that, in the morning, there were small bits of rubble on the floor. We surmised that it was probably a wee field mouse running along the beams as, after all, the area behind us is just hills and forrest. We decided that we could live with a wee pet Mickey. Well, that was a mistake, I finally got a glimpse of Mickey. He was not a wee field mouse but a huge rat. Could we live with a huge rat? Probably not, but I didn't want to set a trap to kill it because I've become a bit OTT about the treatment of animals. We decided that the next time we went into town for food supplies, we would get a humane trap, catch it then set it free elsewhere in the village. What were we thinking about?
In the meantime we be-friended a wee cat with the idea that, if we gave her a drink of milk at night (but not feed her so she remained hungry) she might hang around the front or back balcony of the house and catch the rat. This didn't seem as bad as us having to kill it in a trap. Also it was preferable to us catching it in a humane trap and then having to get on the scooter with a mad rat running around in a humane trap, to drop it somewhere else in the village. I was on a warning from Colin not to be-friend her too much as we would be leaving here at the end of February, so no petting her or feeding her or letting her in the house (yeah right). I called her Lucy. Colin and I know her name is Lucy, but Lucy doesn't!
We started to notice that things were going missing from the back room, which is beside the kitchen. We have a washing line in there where we hang our beach clothes and other small items. First thing was colin's underpants, then my knickers and bra and finally my bikini. We were scratching our heads in wonder and then Colin noticed something behind the fridge that looked very like his underpants. We pulled back the fridge and there was all the underwear and my bikini. At first we thought we had a rat with an underwear fettish but then realised that the reat was making a nest. The prospect of having a litter of baby rats running around was not good so we decided we would buy proper a trap the next day and just kill it.
Next morning there was a foul smell in the back room. Lying in the corner was a dead Mickey with it's head chewed off. It was absolutely stinking. I managed to get it out of the house and we thought that was the end of it. Unfortunatley we weren't that lucky when, the next day, the house was raining rats. We were in the sitting room and a baby rat fell off the ceiling beam. It was barely alive. Obviously Mickey had had her litter up on the beam and now they were hungry and dehydrated. Still not the end of it as we had another 2 fall down that day. Since then we have not had any other problems with rats or mice but that may be due to the fact that I am petting, feeding and letting Lucy in the house. I couldn't help it because she was just a wee cute cat and Colin has now given up trying to dissuade me. He secretly likes her also, just like Buttons.
Although we haven't had any more mice or rats, we have had some other uninvited guests...for another day.
After a few days we noticed that, in the morning, there were small bits of rubble on the floor. We surmised that it was probably a wee field mouse running along the beams as, after all, the area behind us is just hills and forrest. We decided that we could live with a wee pet Mickey. Well, that was a mistake, I finally got a glimpse of Mickey. He was not a wee field mouse but a huge rat. Could we live with a huge rat? Probably not, but I didn't want to set a trap to kill it because I've become a bit OTT about the treatment of animals. We decided that the next time we went into town for food supplies, we would get a humane trap, catch it then set it free elsewhere in the village. What were we thinking about?
In the meantime we be-friended a wee cat with the idea that, if we gave her a drink of milk at night (but not feed her so she remained hungry) she might hang around the front or back balcony of the house and catch the rat. This didn't seem as bad as us having to kill it in a trap. Also it was preferable to us catching it in a humane trap and then having to get on the scooter with a mad rat running around in a humane trap, to drop it somewhere else in the village. I was on a warning from Colin not to be-friend her too much as we would be leaving here at the end of February, so no petting her or feeding her or letting her in the house (yeah right). I called her Lucy. Colin and I know her name is Lucy, but Lucy doesn't!
We started to notice that things were going missing from the back room, which is beside the kitchen. We have a washing line in there where we hang our beach clothes and other small items. First thing was colin's underpants, then my knickers and bra and finally my bikini. We were scratching our heads in wonder and then Colin noticed something behind the fridge that looked very like his underpants. We pulled back the fridge and there was all the underwear and my bikini. At first we thought we had a rat with an underwear fettish but then realised that the reat was making a nest. The prospect of having a litter of baby rats running around was not good so we decided we would buy proper a trap the next day and just kill it.
Next morning there was a foul smell in the back room. Lying in the corner was a dead Mickey with it's head chewed off. It was absolutely stinking. I managed to get it out of the house and we thought that was the end of it. Unfortunatley we weren't that lucky when, the next day, the house was raining rats. We were in the sitting room and a baby rat fell off the ceiling beam. It was barely alive. Obviously Mickey had had her litter up on the beam and now they were hungry and dehydrated. Still not the end of it as we had another 2 fall down that day. Since then we have not had any other problems with rats or mice but that may be due to the fact that I am petting, feeding and letting Lucy in the house. I couldn't help it because she was just a wee cute cat and Colin has now given up trying to dissuade me. He secretly likes her also, just like Buttons.
Although we haven't had any more mice or rats, we have had some other uninvited guests...for another day.
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