Are Rats Bad?

[mamos]

Hi All

Besides all the 14th century plague paranoia and the fact that they might spill the contents of your bin all over the yard, what is the actual scientific reason for our hatred of rats.

We have rats living in our garden. We also have birds (including seagulls which do a better job of rubbish distribution), squirrels, badgers, Bats, foxes (that have taken 9 chicks this year), hedge hogs and a host of other wildlife.

Why is it that people have an aversion to the humble rat?

Who was the last person you heard of who died or was even mildly ill from direct contact with rats?

I wouldn't want rats running around my house but then I probably wouldn't want any of the above, or come to think of it most humans running amok inside my house but as long as they remain outside I am happy they are there.

Why do the general public feel the compulsion to deposit poisons at the mere sight of a rat?

This was sparked by a discussion on another unrelated forum.

mamos

[oldjerry]

I think the prob with rats comes when you keep livestock.Because of their capacity to breed,so quickly,they spoil feedstocksand what starts as the odd rat can become an infestation(bit like rabbits really.) I've nothing against rats per se,I've known people keep them as pets,but it's not an irrational hatred,most food producers are far too busy for such indulgencies.

[Millymollymandy]

I don't know why I find mice cute and rats disgusting. Rats are only bigger mice. At the same time we don't want plagues of mice either around our feed bins as I've seen how the little buggers chew through plastic to get at it! If rats stayed out in the wilds of my garden somewhere without me noticing them I'd happily leave them to it, it's when they tunnel into the chicken house that it becomes a problem.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Amongst other things, Rats (and, to a lesser extent, mice) can spread Weil's disease to both humans and livestock (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weil%27s_disease for details & symptoms), which is a very good reason for controlling them. Their gnawing can also do appreciable damage, and they will sometimes take chicks.

Overall, in the garden / farm / home environment, we're better off without them, I'd say. Of course beyond the fence it's a case of live & let live as far as I'm concerned.

[citizentwiglet]

*shudder*

[frozenthunderbolt]

They also spread leptosporosis and the original aversion is that they were the carriers of the fleas that carried plague

[Big Al]

Ratsd are bad simply for the speed of reproduction and the fact that they carry wiels disease. As for the last person to die, a woman in my neighboiurs allotments died earlier this year after being bit by a rat. She was clearing a piece of rough ground and the rat got caught in a bit of netting. Instead of smacking it with a spade she tried to pick it up and remove the netting. It bit her and she died 3 weeks later in excrutiating pain, aparently. Also the rat is the only living thing that a buddhist monk can kill with no comeback.

[cocobelle]

Rats have never done much good in my opinion having kept livestock for some years. They eat and ruin feed, they spread disease that can be passed to human and livestock, and bigger rats have lots of courage and will eat baby chicks; one large dog rat attacked a small cat that I had. I think they'd possibly have the bravado to attack something bigger if needed. Interesting about the rats and buddhists Big Al - I never knew that.

[greenorelse]

Also the rat is the only living thing that a buddhist monk can kill with no comeback.

That's really interesting; thanks for that.

[fruitcake]

For me, they are 'specially bad when the cat brings them in live to play with in the bedroom - 2 days in a row, as she did last week! They were quite cute tho.....

[Thomzo]

I do agree that the amount of hysteria about rats is totally disproportionate to that shown towards other vermin, especially squirrels. In my book (and my garden), the tree climbing versions with the cute fluffy tails are far worse pests than rats.

Zoe

[oldjerry]

But they are so handy for teaching an 11 yr old how to use an air rifle........as ever all compaints, hate mail etc c\o The House of Commons SW1.

[MKG]

Rats are highly intelligent creatures and, actually, rather beautiful when they're in good condition. It's that intelligence which draws them to humans - we do tend to make very attractive rat supermarkets with our endearing habits of waste disposal and slapdash food storage. Yes - they carry some naff diseases (not by choice, I hasten to add), and that means we should discourage then from joining our tidy society. But let's not go over the top and let loose rat Armageddon. They're just animals.

Shrews, by the way, can give you a really nasty bite which will fester for weeks and could make you extremely ill. Parrots carry some particularly frightening diseases. In the UK, we're now gathering together a collection of some spiders which make me shudder. We have scorpions in the south of the country. Rabies - remember rabies? - can be carried around by your pooch or even Tibbles (oh - no, that's a bad example because we have that one under control. Remind me - did we do that by killing every dog or cat that came within range?).

Bats carry rabies, though - where are those screaming for the death of bats?

Here are the figures ... "In England and Wales, leptospirosis..." (that's Weil's Disease) "...is very rare, with an average of 40 cases being reported each year. Since 1996, there have been three deaths from leptospirosis".

By way of comparison ... "There were 5,554 motorcycle riders killed or seriously injured in 2009. This is down from 6,643 in 1999".

We'd all be better off shooting motorcyclists (and they do it voluntarily) rather than rats.

Mike

PS - I'm thinking about shooting every bird in sight next year because they keep stealing my elderberries.

PS2 - for Big Al. Not often I disagree with you, mate, but ...

All living things fear being beaten with clubs.
All living things fear being put to death.
Putting oneself in the place of the other,
Let no one kill nor cause another to kill.

Dhammapada 129

I'd be interested to see the rat exclusion clause.

[oldjerry]

All living things fear being beaten with clubs.
All living things fear being put to death.
Putting oneself in the place of the other,
Let no one kill nor cause another to kill.

Dhammapada 129

I'd be interested to see the rat exclusion clause.[/quote]


I don't rate the total annihilation stuff either,it's much more about the human psyche than any actual threat, but isn't last bit anthropomorphism at it's worst?...no offence,shoot me down if I've got the wrong end of it.

[greenorelse]

All living things fear being beaten with clubs.
All living things fear being put to death.
Putting oneself in the place of the other,
Let no one kill nor cause another to kill.

Dhammapada 129

I'd be interested to see the rat exclusion clause.

I don't rate the total annihilation stuff either,it's much more about the human psyche than any actual threat, but isn't last bit anthropomorphism at it's worst?...no offence,shoot me down if I've got the wrong end of it.[/quote]

I see what you mean, oldjerry - but does it refer to humans or all living things?