# Rat in m garden



## ctenidae (Aug 10, 2009)

So, something's been eating all my cucumbers, adn a fair number of my tomatoes. For weeks, I've been thinking it was a racoon, or local squirrels or chipmunks. Found out today what it really was- a rat (and where there's one, there's many, right?) Saw him this evening when I got home, climbing up a tomato vine, the bastard.

So, how do you get a rat out of the garden? Don't really want to go the poison route, since I don't want to kill squirrels, chipmunks, local cats, or small children. There is a compost pile, tool shed, and overgrown area I can't get to in close proximity (abutting, actually) the garden, so that makes it all the harder.

Any ideas, anyone? Maybe I can borrow a fox to come pee on everything?


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## FRITOLAYGUY (Aug 10, 2009)

thats weird rats i didnt think liked most of the things that grow in a garden whatever u do if u use poison i wouldnt eat those veggies near it even after washing them


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## mondeo (Aug 10, 2009)




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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Aug 10, 2009)

hire Marc..


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## TheBEast (Aug 10, 2009)

A have-a-heart trap.....or one of those big RAT traps (that look like the smaller mouse traps)....

Get the bastards.


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## dmc (Aug 11, 2009)

FRITOLAYGUY said:


> thats weird rats i didnt think liked most of the things that grow in a garden whatever u do if u use poison i wouldnt eat those veggies near it even after washing them



Funny... So you think rats are picky eaters..  haha....


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## Marc (Aug 11, 2009)




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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Aug 11, 2009)

Marc said:


>



Marc this is a family site..


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## Glenn (Aug 11, 2009)

I'd vote for shooting it, but Mass (and CT) have some strict rules regarding how far from a house or road you can discharge a firearm. (Never stops "da thugs" though!) So a have a heart trap may be your best bet.


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## dmc (Aug 11, 2009)

We had a dog when i was a kid that killed a couple rats...  Killed em good...


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## wa-loaf (Aug 11, 2009)

Terriers are god rat killers.

Cats are too.


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## ctenidae (Aug 11, 2009)

I have a mastiff, but he's only here sporadically, and he doesn't go in the garden. Or off the deck when the grass is wet. Or outside if it's very warm. Or off the tile floor if the AC isn't on. Or out of the bed if we don't notice. So, all in all, not a vry good rat deterent.

I think I know where the rat lives, so if I get home in time, I'm going to turn the compost, find the hole, fire off a few fireworks into it, and then plug it. Maybe channel my inner Spackler.

If that fails, I'm going to buy a tiger.


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## marcski (Aug 11, 2009)

Isn't the song Rats in the Kitchen?   

Good luck.  We just have deer that eat everything in site..even things that deers aren't supposed to eat...they've been eating lately!


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## dmc (Aug 11, 2009)

Groundhogs, Chipmunks  and Deer eat our garden...
Fishers eat the chipmunks...
Bears eat our apples and blackberries.
Eagle eat the fish from the creek...


I love living in the hills...


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## Paul (Aug 11, 2009)

A large (min. 5 gal) bucket 1/2 full of water. Smear some peanut butter on the inside just above the water-line. Put a ramp up the outside to provide access to the lip of the bucket for the rat.


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## wa-loaf (Aug 11, 2009)

Paul said:


> A large (min. 5 gal) bucket 1/2 full of water. Smear some peanut butter on the inside just above the water-line. Put a ramp up the outside to provide access to the lip of the bucket for the rat.



Brilliant.


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## o3jeff (Aug 11, 2009)

Paul said:


> A large (min. 5 gal) bucket 1/2 full of water. Smear some peanut butter on the inside just above the water-line. Put a ramp up the outside to provide access to the lip of the bucket for the rat.



The Old Bucket of Death

Also works well for chipmonks


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## ctenidae (Aug 11, 2009)

Paul said:


> A large (min. 5 gal) bucket 1/2 full of water. Smear some peanut butter on the inside just above the water-line. Put a ramp up the outside to provide access to the lip of the bucket for the rat.



I like it. I just so happen to have an extra bucket available.

I stole it from a walrus.


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## severine (Aug 11, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> I like it. I just so hapen to have an extra bucket available.
> 
> I stole it from a walrus.



You sure that wasn't a lolrus?


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## Paul (Aug 11, 2009)




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## ctenidae (Aug 12, 2009)

Severine, Paul, you both rock.

Put the bukkit out last night. Still no rat this morning.


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## wa-loaf (Aug 19, 2009)

You need to plant one of these in the garden:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32478588/ns/technology_and_science-science/


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## drjeff (Aug 19, 2009)

Anyone got any GOOD tips for getting rid of moles???

And I'm NOT talijng about this type of mole


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Aug 19, 2009)

drjeff said:


> Anyone got any GOOD tips for getting rid of moles???
> 
> And I'm NOT talijng about this type of mole



like Guacamole..lol


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## mondeo (Aug 19, 2009)

drjeff said:


> Anyone got any GOOD tips for getting rid of moles???
> 
> And I'm NOT talijng about this type of mole


If you have your own mole with the adversary, give everyone you suspect of being a mole the same basic document with simple stuff different between them, like missing punctuation or spelling errors. Then whatever version you get back tells you who the mole is.

Then tied up in a bag, weigh them down, and toss them into a river. Not overly brutal, but enough to send a message to others considering becoming a mole themselves.


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## severine (Aug 19, 2009)

drjeff said:


> Anyone got any GOOD tips for getting rid of moles???
> 
> And I'm NOT talijng about this type of mole



My dog thinks they're squeaky toys. She's pretty efficient at taking them out and gets quite a bit of joy out of it.


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## ctenidae (Aug 19, 2009)

mondeo said:


> If you have your own mole with the adversary, give everyone you suspect of being a mole the same basic document with simple stuff different between them, like missing punctuation or spelling errors. Then whatever version you get back tells you who the mole is.
> 
> Then tied up in a bag, weigh them down, and toss them into a river. Not overly brutal, but enough to send a message to others considering becoming a mole themselves.



Read much John LeCarre?

Bottle rockets work well on (actual) moles. Find a tunnel, poke a hole, and light a few bottle rockets in it. The smoke clears them out. Plus, smoke comes up at the ends of tunnels, and that's always cool.

You can also stomp down all their tunnels, and hope to squish one.

Really, both methods are of dubious efficacy, but they're fun.


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## ctenidae (Aug 19, 2009)

By the way, the rat didn't fall for the old peanut-butter-in-the-bucket trick. Killed a lot of ants, though.


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## mondeo (Aug 19, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> Read much John LeCarre?


Tom Clancy, plus general interest in spy craft.


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## Paul (Aug 19, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> By the way, the rat didn't fall for the old peanut-butter-in-the-bucket trick. Killed a lot of ants, though.



Hrm... may need to suspend better bait over the water.

Moles... Put down some grub killer now, make sure you use grub preventer next July. Grubs are moles primary food source.


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## drjeff (Aug 19, 2009)

severine said:


> My dog thinks they're squeaky toys. She's pretty efficient at taking them out and gets quite a bit of joy out of it.



Might need to borrow your dog for a few days


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## drjeff (Aug 19, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> Read much John LeCarre?
> 
> Bottle rockets work well on (actual) moles. Find a tunnel, poke a hole, and light a few bottle rockets in it. The smoke clears them out. Plus, smoke comes up at the ends of tunnels, and that's always cool.
> 
> ...



I'm a big 0-2 on those methods.  No grubs in my soil either.  Actually had a soil sample analyzed by the folks at the UCONN agriculture dept, and when they heard the description of the level of mole activity in my yard from the landscape design person my wife hired last year, the folks at UCONN apparently contemplated sending out a pH.D student to do some reasearch   Apparently moles two main food sources are grubs (unhealthy lawn) and worms (healthy lawn) and my yard is in the healthy category.  Basically every year, me and my neighbors on either side take turns trading off the moles for 4 to 8 weeks at a time over the course of the grass growing months.  Just one of the joys of having a farm field at the back of my property I guess.

BTW, over the years I've tried (and failed) with
a) Smoke Bombs
b) Solar powered mole stakes
c) Mole "food"
d) Chewing gum
e) Mole pressure spike/spear traps
f) flooding 
g) Mole gel (causes them to bleed out if they injest it)
h) Mole spray
i) heavy rolling of their trail network

and probably 1 or 2 other things that slip my mind right now

Because of their loose similarity to gophers with their destructive abilities, it's almost tough for me to watch _Caddyshack_ anymore


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## ctenidae (Aug 19, 2009)

mondeo said:


> Tom Clancy, plus general interest in spy craft.



You should check out LeCarre, then. I'm pretty sure he coined the term before Tom Clancy did (Wikipedia notwithstanding). At the least, I knew what a canary trap was before I knew who Tom Clancy was.


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## Glenn (Aug 20, 2009)

drjeff said:


> I'm a big 0-2 on those methods.  No grubs in my soil either.  Actually had a soil sample analyzed by the folks at the UCONN agriculture dept, and when they heard the description of the level of mole activity in my yard from the landscape design person my wife hired last year, the folks at UCONN apparently contemplated sending out a pH.D student to do some reasearch   Apparently moles two main food sources are grubs (unhealthy lawn) and worms (healthy lawn) and my yard is in the healthy category.  Basically every year, me and my neighbors on either side take turns trading off the moles for 4 to 8 weeks at a time over the course of the grass growing months.  Just one of the joys of having a farm field at the back of my property I guess.
> 
> BTW, over the years I've tried (and failed) with
> a) Smoke Bombs
> ...



Ex-Lax.....I'm serious. Put a few of the chocolate ones down their hole. A little mole eating one of those will shit itself to death.


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## drjeff (Aug 20, 2009)

Glenn said:


> Ex-Lax.....I'm serious. Put a few of the chocolate ones down their hole. A little mole eating one of those will shit itself to death.



I'll buy a box or 2 and just place them OUTSIDE the perimeter of the invisible fence I have installed for my dogs.  The last thing I need is the 2 of them digging up a couple of ex-lax squares and sh$t-bombing the house!


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## ctenidae (Aug 20, 2009)

drjeff said:


> I'm a big 0-2 on those methods.



There's only one option left, then. Take off, and nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


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## Glenn (Aug 20, 2009)

drjeff said:


> I'll buy a box or 2 and just place them OUTSIDE the perimeter of the invisible fence I have installed for my dogs.  The last thing I need is the 2 of them digging up a couple of ex-lax squares and sh$t-bombing the house!



LOL! Very good idea! I could only imagine your next post if you didn't do that. 

"So Stanley Steemer won't clean my house...."


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## ctenidae (Aug 20, 2009)

Glenn said:


> "So Stanley Steemer won't clean my house...."



Because Stanley left a steamer in my house...


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## drjeff (Aug 20, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> There's only one option left, then. Take off, and nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.



I actually saw a segment on the news a couple of nights ago about some people in various parts of the country are starting to have their natural turf that they have great difficulties keeping growing due to various grading and/or shade issues ripped out and their yards covered with field turf!  Definately caught my attention


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## drjeff (Aug 20, 2009)

Glenn said:


> LOL! Very good idea! I could only imagine your next post if you didn't do that.
> 
> "So Stanley Steemer won't clean my house...."





ctenidae said:


> Because Stanley left a steamer in my house...



That would most definately be a NON picture TR if it ever happened!


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## Glenn (Aug 20, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> Because Stanley left a steamer in my house...



LMAO! Post of the day! :beer:


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## mondeo (Aug 20, 2009)

drjeff said:


> I actually saw a segment on the news a couple of nights ago about some people in various parts of the country are starting to have their natural turf that they have great difficulties keeping growing due to various grading and/or shade issues ripped out and their yards covered with field turf! Definately caught my attention


If only all of SoCal would do that, we'd never have to hear about water shortages again.


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## ctenidae (Aug 20, 2009)

Glenn said:


> LMAO! Post of the day! :beer:



Worst thing about moving to the Northeast- eating steamers, and having Stanley Steemer clean your house.

I love clams, can't eat something called a steamer.


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## Paul (Aug 20, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> Worst thing about moving to the Northeast- eating steamers, and having Stanley Steemer clean your house.
> 
> I love clams, can't eat something called a steamer.



It's even worse in Cleveland


/Yay! Poop thread!!


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## drjeff (Aug 20, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> Worst thing about moving to the Northeast- eating steamers, and having Stanley Steemer clean your house.
> 
> I love clams, can't eat something called a steamer.





Paul said:


> It's even worse in Cleveland
> 
> 
> /Yay! Poop thread!!



Steamers are still better than Gooey Ducks in my book any day!







Wow! that's twice in 1 day with a high degree of relevance that I've got to use this pic :lol:


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## severine (Aug 20, 2009)

uke:

Right now, I'm not doing much of anything. I probably should go finish my errands though.


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## bigbog (Aug 20, 2009)

*if you're in an open area...able to shoot....*

...Without nailing your neighbor while he's watching _Dancing With the Stars_..;-)...maybe you can ramp it down a notch or 10 from *mondeo*'s military level caliber..with just your average low calibre rifle will take a rat out...accurate!  Or maybe take a look at the high-powered BB guns available...y/n?


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## Glenn (Aug 21, 2009)

bigbog said:


> ...Without nailing your neighbor while he's watching _Dancing With the Stars_..;-)...maybe you can ramp it down a notch or 10 from *mondeo*'s military level caliber..with just your average low calibre rifle will take a rat out...accurate!  Or maybe take a look at the high-powered BB guns available...y/n?



You know...that's a damn good idea. I picked up a neat pellet/bb gun a few months ago. I use it up in VT; sit/stand on deck, shoot cans hanging from the clothes line. Ahhhhh! 

Anyway, the thing has some power. I'm sure it could easliy take out a rat. And there usually aren't restrictions on where you can shoot a BB gun on your own property.


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## drjeff (Aug 21, 2009)

2 boxes of ex-lax squares have been inserted into various mole trails (OUTSIDE the invisible fence perimeter  ) as of last night.  Just hope those suckers are hungry AND that they make great fertilizer!


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## ctenidae (Aug 21, 2009)

Glenn said:


> You know...that's a damn good idea. I picked up a neat pellet/bb gun a few months ago. I use it up in VT; sit/stand on deck, shoot cans hanging from the clothes line. Ahhhhh!
> 
> Anyway, the thing has some power. I'm sure it could easliy take out a rat. And there usually aren't restrictions on where you can shoot a BB gun on your own property.



I used to have a .22 pellet gun. At closer ranges, it was nearly as powerful as a real .22, at least near enough to make no difference. Believe me, when I saw the rat climbing a tomato plant, I wanted it back. Alas, it is no more.

Can't wait to hear the results of the Ex-Lax biowarfare, though I can't imagine how you'll know the results, beyond the moles being gone. Might be enough for one of them to eat it, and the rest will move out. I would.


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## drjeff (Aug 21, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> I used to have a .22 pellet gun. At closer ranges, it was nearly as powerful as a real .22, at least near enough to make no difference. Believe me, when I saw the rat climbing a tomato plant, I wanted it back. Alas, it is no more.
> 
> Can't wait to hear the results of the Ex-Lax biowarfare, though I can't imagine how you'll know the results, beyond the moles being gone. Might be enough for one of them to eat it, and the rest will move out. I would.



Should know the success (or lack there of) pretty quick.  Planning on cutting the lawn on Saturday which does a pretty good job of rolling down their trails (Thank you Simplicity Tractor with full deck width lawn roller  )  and if they haven't sh$t themselves to death, those trails (or atleast the active ones) will be popped up once again within 24 hours.  And I currently have 3 seperate and distinct mole trail pods in my yard laced with ex-lax


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## ctenidae (Aug 21, 2009)

You'll know they're gone, but you won't get teh gory details. Probably for the best.


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## Glenn (Aug 21, 2009)

"Sorry Dr. Jeff...we here at Stanley Steemer only do interior carpets. You'll have to call someone else to come steam clean the lawn. But we are happy the moles are gone!"


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## drjeff (Aug 21, 2009)

On a side note, as I was making the mega ex-lax purchase the other evening, I was really glad that that the girl at the cash register at my local CVS and the folks infront + behind me inline weren't patients of mine! Could only imagine what they'd be thinking of that sight! :lol:


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## mondeo (Aug 21, 2009)

bigbog said:


> ...Without nailing your neighbor while he's watching _Dancing With the Stars_..;-)...maybe you can ramp it down a notch or 10 from *mondeo*'s military level caliber..with just your average low calibre rifle will take a rat out...accurate! Or maybe take a look at the high-powered BB guns available...y/n?


But with my method you don't have to worry about how close to a house or road you are, becuase you can hit the thing from a mile away. And no disposal either, just instant fertilizer.


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## Glenn (Aug 21, 2009)

drjeff said:


> On a side note, as I was making the mega ex-lax purchase the other evening, I was really glad that that the girl at the cash register at my local CVS and the folks infront + behind me inline weren't patients of mine! Could only imagine what they'd be thinking of that sight! :lol:



You can bill this under your FSA......  :beer:


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## bigbog (Aug 21, 2009)

*....*



mondeo said:


> But with my method you don't have to worry about how close to a house or road you are, becuase you can hit the thing from a mile away. And no disposal either, just instant fertilizer.


Can't disagree with anything there...LOL.


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## drjeff (Aug 22, 2009)

Game on!!  36 (12 3 sqaure segments) sqaures of ex-lax have been inserted into various mole trails around my yard!


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## drjeff (Aug 23, 2009)

Trails are back up, hoping those suckers got a good chow down on the ex-lax as they were re-opening them.  I'll stamp them back down tommorrow and see if 2 days of hopefully non-stop mole sh$tting has done the trick!


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## RootDKJ (Aug 23, 2009)

drjeff said:


> On a side note, as I was making the mega ex-lax purchase the other evening, I was really glad that that the girl at the cash register at my local CVS and the folks infront + behind me inline weren't patients of mine! Could only imagine what they'd be thinking of that sight! :lol:


I had a similar experience buying up all the CLR (9 bottles) in a Pathmark and a bucket of leftover fried chicken.

Edit:  The 2nd half of this thread really delivers!


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## drjeff (Aug 23, 2009)

RootDKJ said:


> I had a similar experience buying up all the CLR (9 bottles) in a Pathmark and a bucket of leftover fried chicken.
> 
> Edit:  The 2nd half of this thread really delivers!



If I'm lucky enough I'll snap a pic of a dead sh$tted out mole in the next few days and this thread will head to the ranks of "AZ EPIC!"  :lol:


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## campgottagopee (Aug 24, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> I have a *mastiff,* but he's only here sporadically, and he doesn't go in the garden. Or off the deck when the grass is wet. Or outside if it's very warm. Or off the tile floor if the AC isn't on. Or out of the bed if we don't notice. So, all in all, not a vry good rat deterent.
> 
> I think I know where the rat lives, so if I get home in time, I'm going to turn the compost, find the hole, fire off a few fireworks into it, and then plug it. Maybe channel my inner Spackler.
> 
> If that fails, I'm going to buy a tiger.



Mastiff's are friggin cool!!!!


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## severine (Aug 24, 2009)

My sister has one. As big as that dog is, I can't imagine her killing anything. She's pretty lazy.


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## ctenidae (Aug 24, 2009)

severine said:


> My sister has one. As big as that dog is, I can't imagine her killing anything. She's pretty lazy.



Too true.

Jack, with a cat outside:







And, without:


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## severine (Aug 24, 2009)

Hers is a French Mastiff:





That was her as a puppy a year ago.


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