Try methods other than trapping to discourage rat in the backyard
DEAR JOAN >> The daily buffet of seeds and nuts I set out on a planter ledge outside my kitchen window is attracting a rat, who has taken up residence behind a huge bush.
How can I rehome him to nearby open space with lots of wild greenery and a creek? Any ideas?
—G.W., Danville
DEAR G.W. >> While I appreciate you treating your new rat neighbor as a respected animal, the truth is you can’t relocate the rat nor would you want to.
California has laws that protect all creatures, even the ones people might find less desirable. It’s illegal to relocate any wildlife. If you trap them, you have two options — kill them in a prescribed and humane manner or release them.
It’s the “release them” part that baffles most people. Why would you trap an animal and then turn it loose where you just trapped it? I assure you state officials weren’t trying to provide quarantine-weary people with a new hobby. The rule is very handy if you trap an animal in your house. You can then take it outside, seal up the entrance where the animal got in and then release it in the yard. Everyone walks away happy, or at least still living.
Relocating animals, however, opens the door to all sorts of issues. You might be separating the animal from its family, releasing it into hostile territory, spreading disease where it didn’t exist before or making your problem someone else’s. All of these have the potential of causing great harm.
In the case of your backyard rat, it doesn’t want to live in the wild by itself. Rats are commensal animals, which means they have formed a relationship with humans.
It’s not a mutually beneficial one, as we don’t get much from it, but the rats make out well with food, water and shelter.
If having the rat in your yard bothers you, and I make no judgments there, then you need to take steps to discourage it. Check the nest to make sure there are no babies, then remove it and trim the shrub to eliminate its shelter.
You’ll also need to shut down the buffet or find another method of feeding what I assume are birds or squirrels. By eliminating the things that support it, your rat will find a new home on its own.
DEAR JOAN >> Is it possible for cats to use bathtub drains to talk to other cats in the building?
— Lorraine Swinyer, Tupper Lake, New York
DEAR LORRAINE >> Only when Twitter is down.
No, I’ve never heard of that and I don’t think bathtub drains would be conducive to transmitting sounds as they aren’t connected to each other. If your cat is hanging around the drain, it probably smells something.
Bird alert
A deadly strain of salmonella that is affecting songbirds has crept into the Bay Area. It was first reported in Marin County but has now been seen in several communities. If you see dead or ailing birds in your yard, take down your feeders and, if possible, empty birdbaths and keep them that way until three weeks after you’ve seen your last affected bird. Thoroughly disinfect them before putting them back into service.
Sick birds will appear lethargic and will sit with their feathers puffed out. When a flock is startled, the sick bird will usually be the last to scatter.