Rats had taken over the ledge above one of my bedroom windows that opened into the balcony. One of my composting pots had a lid that it could easily remove and it found an easy source of food.
Though I managed to keep the lid tightly closed and eliminate the first round of rats heartlessly poisoning them, we found them invading our balcony a second time. It was hard to say whether the rats managed to make a home this time for though we saw one on the ledge one day, and we saw the droppings on the balcony floor a couple of times, it was not like the last time, when every morning we would see evidence of the presence of the rats.
Then, two days ago, I felt some Presence in the balcony, some hectic scurrying around, lots of excitement and activity, but couldn't catch the culprit. Lots of rat droppings on the floor the next morning and I felt heavy at having to resort to means to eliminate the menace yet again.
Then day before yesterday, I felt something heavy falling. I rushed to see two squirrels busy cleaning the ledge, pushing all the evidence of the rat presence out of the way to make it its home.
I smiled, and of course, noted my prejudice. I was ready to welcome the new family, and convinced my husband that this will keep the rats away. He promises it will turn out to be a bad decision.
What struck me was the diligence with which the new occupants quickly pushed any signs of the old occupants out. If we had given them paint, I am sure they would have painted the ledge with a colour they liked! They aren't very different in their outlook from us, are they? They want only their own imprint in their residence...!
Though I managed to keep the lid tightly closed and eliminate the first round of rats heartlessly poisoning them, we found them invading our balcony a second time. It was hard to say whether the rats managed to make a home this time for though we saw one on the ledge one day, and we saw the droppings on the balcony floor a couple of times, it was not like the last time, when every morning we would see evidence of the presence of the rats.
Then, two days ago, I felt some Presence in the balcony, some hectic scurrying around, lots of excitement and activity, but couldn't catch the culprit. Lots of rat droppings on the floor the next morning and I felt heavy at having to resort to means to eliminate the menace yet again.
Then day before yesterday, I felt something heavy falling. I rushed to see two squirrels busy cleaning the ledge, pushing all the evidence of the rat presence out of the way to make it its home.
I smiled, and of course, noted my prejudice. I was ready to welcome the new family, and convinced my husband that this will keep the rats away. He promises it will turn out to be a bad decision.
What struck me was the diligence with which the new occupants quickly pushed any signs of the old occupants out. If we had given them paint, I am sure they would have painted the ledge with a colour they liked! They aren't very different in their outlook from us, are they? They want only their own imprint in their residence...!
