Discussion about this post

User's avatar
jillian's avatar

If you haven’t already, you’ve GOT to listen to the Ologies podcast episode about sewer rats.

We once had a pretty intense rat infestation in our century-old home. It was stressful and anxiety invoking, but we happened to end up with a pest control wizard who used the approach of really tapping into the habits and mindset of rats in order to secure our home so that their paths and entry points were all sealed up. He had a lot of respect and knowledge about rats and I would follow him around learning from him as he worked. I became so interested and - ironically - charmed by their intelligence, curiosity, and social nature that a couple years later, we have ended up with three PET rats, on purpose!

Expand full comment
Susan Rochester's avatar

Amy Jean, I’m so happy to see you!

We have wood rats in our part of Oregon. I use hazelnut shells to mulch my plant beds. When I spread fresh shells, there are inevitably chunks of hazelnuts mixed in. If I listen closely at night, I can hear the little wood rats gnawing on the nut pieces for a few days until they have cleaned up all the little edible bits.

Years ago, I taught high school social studies. Part of that assignment included a Psychology class. I bought two lab rats, and students created mazes and puzzles for them. They were little escape artists—I’d often find their enclosure empty when I unlocked my classroom door in the morning. But all I had to do is call out “Where are you bad rats?” and they’d come racing to me, covered in cobwebs from their explorations. They were smart, sweet, and so gentle.

Sending you love, Amy Jean!

Expand full comment
4 more comments...

No posts