Last night about 3AM, The Girl shook me awake..

"I heard a noise downstairs. Something is in the house!"

We live about 20 minutes outside of town. The absolute shortest time it would ever take the police to get here is about 30 minutes, if they recieved the call in the middle of the day. At 3AM on a Monday morning, they are all asleep in bed.

So I've made some preperations to defend ourselves if necessary. I have a 12 guage Mossberg pump gun which I keep locked to the wall in a closet of our bedroom. Ammo is also kept locked in case.

Usually, we have problems with bears or coyotes, but I suppose a shotgun would work properly for other intruders as well...

So when my wife woke me up, I grabbed the shotgun and loaded it.

"What did you hear? What is it?"

Looking at me with eyes filled with terror, she could barely whisper the words, as her fear was too great.

"I....think...it's...a...PACK RAT!!!!"

AAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!!!

Some of you may remember about this time last year my trials and tribulations with a pack rat in my shed/shop.

But this one had invaded our HOME!!!! Nothing like this had ever happened before...I wasn't ready for this at all.

I put the shotgun down, went down to the safe and removed a more appropriate tool- a .22 loaded with shotshells.

With flashlight in hand, I did a room to room search of the house. My house is small, so it took maybe 2 minutes.

Then I heard a noise..it was coming from the closet under the stairs, where the hot water tank and assorted mechanical and electrical are located.

Whipping open the door, I quickly used the flashlight. There he was, the little grey bastard. As I raised the gun, I realized that he was sitting behind a bunch of wires and a poly pipe that connects to the well. I didn't have a clear shot!

He had been momentarily stunned by the light, but no more. He charged me...

Luckily, it was a bluff charge, and at the last second, he ducked behind the hot water heater. That was a close one.

I was unable to sleep after facing the charge, and I am very, very tired.

But I am standing vigil. The traps have been brought from the shed, baited and placed in appropriate locations. The .22 is loaded and standing by.

I don't expect a very restful sleep tonight.

If you don't hear from me again, assume the worst. It's been nice knowing you guys, but I don't know too many who have stood a real charge from an enraged pack rat and lived to tell about it. This may be my last post...

You're not going to like this, but it seems to me that in such conditions, especially when the defense and honor of your lovely wife and castle are at stake, you need to go into hand-to-hand, er, hand-to-claw combat mode.

I'm not going to go so far as to call you a coward, but then, you're the one who must live with your decision. What if the infidel makes it out alive and brings reinforcements...lots of them. Then what? That's yer castle, son. Get back in there and do some freaking damage already. I recommend a stout pair of boots and a wiffle ball bat. If you don't make it, sorry, but you'll have your honor, right? Hmm. Say, how big of a insurance policy would you be leaving the little lady?

Leighton

WMD time. Domestic style.

Don't you have a knife? A bayonet? You should have closed with him and taken him out, you had him in corner! No, you're no coward, but you just need proper attitude.

What's the spirit of the bayonet? To kill sir, kill, kill, kill!

Actually, a very entertaining post and similar to an incident I had 2 nights ago. I was summoned upstairs from my reloading lair in the basement by the missus. Seems she'd heard somebody in the kitchen (directly over said lair) and insisted the dog had growled (always a "good" sign). So with gun and flashlight in hand (it is only her, me and the dog in the house), I do a room to room. Nothing, nada, zip. I get back downstairs to tell her all is ok and she says, "Well it did sound like a bag falling off the bench." !!

It happens to all of us.

Again one hell of a story Gatehouse. From coastal grizz to pack rats you have now covered the entire range of BC hunting opportunities ! LoL

BTW If you want to catch that little grey beast place a rat trap in a 2 foot section of black stove pipe. (Tie a line to the trap) Place the pipe & trap back in your under-stair closet. You will get him the first night he returns. Also a BB gun leaves less mess than a .22.

[ 09-30-2003, 04:43: Message edited by: Cariboo ]

I think sturdy boots and a 3-iron would be useful. If you still have a true "wood" driver, that's even better. Those fancy new Bertha drivers don't have the required weight.

My mother-in-law still has a "rat pistol" from the old farm days. It's a little 22LR derringer with a cylinder of maybe 5 shots. Perfect for shots to 10 yards.

Good luck with this little bastard.

As a matter of fact I had a similar experience last month. I was summoned to the unfinished side of the basement by my wife. I have thick plastic sheeting on my ceiling keeping the insulation dust out of the room. There was a rat (common variety) cruising between the staples that hold the plastic to the joists. I grab my trusty 16oz ball-peen and wait for his next move. He must have sensed something as his move was swift. I lead him and fired, BAM, right behind the shoulder. A short blood trail and a quick slit in the plastic and I had him.

Dispatched one of his smaller cousins with a softer head shot tonight.

I had one of the bastards living in my truck for a month. After three years, I still have pieces of tissue coming out of the vent.

Two words for you: glue traps. FWIW, Dutch.

We had one that set up housekeeping. We tracked him to an under-the-sidewalk pipe installed for an underground 110V line, rustled him out of there with a piece of sprinkler pipe, and skushed him with a 2X4. He flew rather well, flat.

Gatehouse,
I believe I told you of the close combat technique of my fellow guide, Black Cloud, in dispatching a rat in the guide's cabin. With nothing more than a broomstick, he would have killed that rat. You should be ashamed!
I've killed a dozen or so this year. One of the best was one which had esconced itself inside the frame of the boat trailer. I simply loaded the Hawken with 150gr of fff and some wadding and fired it into the tongue of the trailer. Mr. Rat shot nicely out the other end, smoking a bit, and was dispatched by Beagle Bailey. This might have worked on your rat although the smoke might have been a problem!
The only one which actually got into our house crawled into the dryer vent then chewed through the vent hose. My wife beat that one to death with a shoe. After seeing that performance I've been a little more respectful and helpful around the house I can tell you! Regards, Bill.

Maybe this post would be more appropriate in the spear hunting forum but a few years back when I was managing hog farms and had lots of vetrinary supplies in the truck.

We had a mouse get behind the fridge. I went out to the truck and got a syrenge with a 16 X 1 1/2 inch needle, found the little bugger behind the fridge and speared him.

My wife thought I was just horrible.

oatmeal mixed with plaster-of-paris. However, once they set up there might be an odor problem for a little while. However, the odor means it worked!

You never heard of the rat splat stomp?

Is it rat season or what? I spooked one last night in the garage, never had one in there before! I have an attached garage so it is not cool, if you leave the door open in the house they come.

I like BBBruce's WMD approach, I'll be putting a box trap in there too to placate my kids, and if he's lucky he'll get trapped there.

The Victor rat trap, plus some bacon grease, peanut butter and bacon bits for bait.

It's the claymore of rodent whackers.

Check daily or the stench will be awful.

Bill
Yes, I remember your rat hair raising tale of adventure! Good work with the smoke pole.

I'm sorry I haven't been as manly as I some of you believe I should...But the closet under the stairs is pretty tight- no room to swing a broom, 2x4, golf club (what's golf, anyway?)

good idea about the trap and the stove pipe. They seems to be pretty adept at jumping out of the way of the regular traps, and I've only caught them like that a few times.

I'm sure many of you have already seen it, but this is a pic of the last pack rat that got uppity with me...WMD, pack rat style

Hang in there Gatehouse.
Just remember, whites of his eyes mate,whites of his eyes

Bakes