Ah, Rats............. luckily they appear to have abandoned the parental palace. No visitations for about 6 months. Want some lightly used traps ? I'll wash the splat off them before posting.....
This one was my fault: Had the kitchen door open in a vague attempt at ventilation, with barakta in the dining room to watch for burglars. I came downstairs and asked her what the rustling noise was. "What rustling noise?" was the inevitable reply.
As I entered the kitchen, it scarpered from the mess of plastic bags beside the cooker (containing laundry tablets and agent orange, but probably scattered with low-level cooking debris) and disappeared into the gap between the fridge and washing machine. After futile attempts to evict it by poking with a broom handle, it occurred to me to start the spin cycle, and stand well back, guarding the door to the rest of the house. As the drain pump kicked in, it legged it out the back door.
That's the only evidence I've ever seen of one actually in the house. They can probably get into the floor void, but they don't seem to be resident.
In an attempt at more general rat management, I've sent the council a moan about their general failure to collect the bins for the second week running. It is, of course, excellent weather for it.
