Vegetation against the house is always an invitation for creepy things, esp rats.

Ivy is literally choking out our forests, and is only good for spiders and rats.

But there is some debate about eradicating all the blackberry thickets; some birds, especially fox sparrows, depend on the thickets for winter cover in the Pacific Northwest. Therefore, I would encourage birders to leave some blackberry brambles (away from the house) in their yards--especially next to their brush piles.

Someone last year mentioned putting an entire vitamin D dose in peanut butter and putting that peanut butter in the rat run. That mix doesn't hurt birds or cats or dogs, but does affect rats. I tried it when I noticed a rat near my workshed--it worked for me. And I didn't have to worry if an owl, or a cat caught and ate the rat later.

Christine Southwick
clsouthwick at psbo.org
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On Wed, 10 Feb 2010, Bill Anderson wrote:

> Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:04:20 -0800 (PST)
> From: Bill Anderson <billandersonbic at yahoo.com>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: [Tweeters] RE: Getting the rats out of the woodwork - a thankyou
>
> Don't forget eliminating/reducing food, water, and habitat?outside the home:? trim shrubs, tear out blackberry brambles, don't leave uneaten pet food outside, etc.
Bill Anderson; Edmonds, WA. ?
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