An Epitath For A Rat

One of the reasons that I gave up on having an above-ground compost pile and resorted to trench composting is the rat problem.  We live in the country and are surrounded by woods and fields and so they are everywhere.  I don't want to put out poison as I don't want our chickens getting into it by mistake.  Our two rat-killers (cats) are still too young to put a dent in the rat population, but I see that changing soon.

Aside from just being nasty critters, carrying disease and whatnot, rats are beginning to cause problems in our garden.  We didn't get a single cantaloupe this year.  The rats devoured them all!  You can see below how they ate up this butternut squash before I could harvest it.  Of all things - eating our butternut squash!  Of course you know, this means war...

Although we don't eat the birdhouse gourds, they also fell prey to rats as well.  This birdhouse gourd won't be converted into a birdhouse thanks to those pesky rats. Okay, so enough of this!

I set out 3 predator cage traps of all different sizes in the garden baited with the leftovers of our catfish courtbouillion supper, but caught nothing.  I figured the 'fishy' smell would attract them.  It did not.  I don't give up that easily, however. The next night I baited the traps with some Ol' Roy dog food.  Bingo!  Got Em!  The dog food that Sam Walton fed to his dog, Roy, proved to be the rat's un-doing.

He (or she) looked up at me with begging eyes, hoping that I would show some sympathy or compassion.  Not a chance.  This guy, or some of his family members, have wreaked havoc in the garden this year.  For that crime, he'll pay with his life.

It is hard to get perspective, but this is a big old rat.  He measured 16 inches long from nose to end of tail.

To the victor goes the spoils.  This time, I was the victor and the spoils were that the rat became compost material that is buried beneath the okra rows.  Hopefully, I'll catch many more, eradicating the rat population and giving me free organic fertilizer.  I took off my boutonniere and tossed it in the hole.

I was so moved by the burial of the rat, I wrote a eulogy for him:

Here lies the rat that came out of the woods to eat our butternut squash,

He didn't expect a varmint trap that gave him the kibosh,

I call him 'he,' but I'm not sure if 'he' was a girl or a boy,

His final meal was a delectable treat of dog food named 'Ol Roy.

I'll bait the traps again and again until I catch them all.

For we have more produce coming in from our garden for the fall.

Ashes to ashes, Dust to Dust - the rat gets buried in the ground,

The same fate waits for all the other rats that choose to come around.