Just a clarification,

I didn't mean to imply that you actually want to encourage rats for the
owls, or that you shouldn't discourage rats so as not to dissappoint the
owls. Of course you don't want to poison the rats that the owls, cats and
others eat. That said, if you do have a "rat feeder" it is a good place to
watch for owls at night.

Stewart Wechsler
West Seattle
mailto:ecostewart at quidnunc.net

-----Original Message-----
From: TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu
[mailto:TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Bruce Whittington
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 3:19 PM
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: rats


Things I've learned about rats:

- they can jump, more so if they're trying to escape
- they can swim through the trap on a flush toilet
- they can climb up or down the INSIDE of a 4 inch plumbing pipe
- they can squeeze through an opening the size of a quarter if they
have to
- they will chew through a gyproc wall in seconds to escape - it's
astonishing
- I am told they never stop growing - I have caught them 16 inches to
tip of tail
- if you have one, you have a lot more than that
- if you don't think you have any, they're probably there anyway

Do whatever you can to discourage them - owls or not. In my experience
the owls only take the young ones.


Bruce Whittington
Ladysmith, BC
mailto: fieldnat at pacificcoast.net

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