I SMELL A RAT!!!!

[Human Nature]

You sure that isnt stem rot of some sort??

I have a similar thing happen once ina while when my medium @ the stem base never dries out [hydroponics] the stem gets mushy and scarred-up kinda like what I saw...

The plant will look totally healthy growing right along, then I get in there to spread them out or reposition a plant or two, and and entire plant just rips off in my hand, or falls over and snaps off!! The first time it happened I was HORRIFIED! Did some reading, now I have a few preventative measures!


Sound like everyone in here jumped on the rat bandwagon, instead of offering other possibilities??

 

[ShroomDr]

i think it looks like Animal damage because of all the stray fibers you can see. Unless it was rubbed vigorously, i dont think you would see all the fibers going in different directions. Just MHO



And I was kinda joking about the antifreeze. It will kill them, but i dont think it will be immedatly. This means the rat will crawl away and die (possibly inside your wall where it will decompose, and stink your shit up for a while).

 

[captainjack]

man that is the worst smell in the world.
anything larger than a mouse is grotesque and lasts forever
as in, your lucky if the 'after-smell' is ever gone from in the wall, or where ever it may die.
needs to be removed immediately and the whole ordeal is a mess.

best to just use the snap traps.
ive been fighting rats and mice in the home for years. our area has it bad,
so whenever the weather changes they find their way in.
only way to truly be secure and know they aint comin around is to get an indoor/outdoor cat or dog
in my experience

 

[BlindDate]

Thanx for all the good advice guys,

I did some reading on rat behavior and the experts all agree that the best thing to do is build them out of the room. Unfortunately, my situation does not allow for that. I don't want to go into the details of the building, but can only say there is no way that I can keep them/him from getting inside. The next best thing to do is kill and trap. I bought a bunch of these expensive Rat Zappers and I wrapped metal strips around the lower stem. I hope this works.

 

[dre86]

*waits for update*

 

[Guest]

Sound like everyone in here jumped on the rat bandwagon, instead of offering other possibilities??

Not rats, but house mice. Make sure your traps target house mice, not rats...

 

[BlindDate]

They say that the RatZapper works better on mice since they are less wary.

 

[minds_I]

Hello all,

The antifreeze shuts down the kidneys of the animal or human that drinks it. Its a slow death- good for rats i suppose but liek was mentioned it may die in the wall and stink.

A 3 dollor rat trap and some care withyoru fingers should take care of the problem and you won't risk kitty drinking it.

minds_I

PS. on a side note- in small cabs like mine, a cage of rats could be benificial- CO2.

 

[BruceLeeroy]

man that sucks. rats. mites. mildew. does it ever end? if it's not one pest it's another. are those kbs trees? if so, how on earth do you have the feed lines that clost to the stem without them being overwatered? lol. also, if those girls are destined for tree style greatness, i'd be real careful you dont choke off the stem with that metal tape as it grows. best of luck to you!

peace

 

[dre86]

yep pests / mold / ... sucks
Prevention > cure

 

[Guest]

they had a show on I think the discovery channel about rats not that long ago....one of the things was how they retrace there footstep during there trip...when the find food they retrace their steps in their mind...had helmets and everything on to show the brain patterns....was really cool...another thing was they setup 5 different dishes on a table and let a rat loose...he went to each plate and smelled to he got to the best one...when they sent the rat back to it's home with another rat it let the other smell it's breath...then the other rat went the same way as the last one and went straight for the good dish...skiped the others.....plus they can swim for 3 days straight....even reports of people in NY getting a bite in the butt when going to the bathroom...was crazy...stay safe and get that rat before he tells the others...

 

[Mibri]

Hi BlindDate
That really sucks. My guess is also mice. Surely those traps you bought will catch'em. Otherwise the snap traps work nicely. Don't bother wrapping that around the stem. Mice and rats are excellent climbers and won't even notice the wrapping if they want to drink the sweet cannjuice.
You can put some flour or (talcum) on the floor to find out excactly what animal is eating your plants. Just check the footprints. Here are some rat's footprints:
http://www.skullsite.co.uk/prints/Rat/rat.htm

Good luck catching the little suckers!

 

[Guest]

Get yourself a cat but you better keep an eye on them too!

 

[dre86]

rofl

 

[BlindDate]

Yeah...They are KBS trees. The feed line barbs can be twisted towards or away from the plant. So far the dirty rat has not returned. Like I read, rats are extreamly wary of new things. I hope that includes my metal strips.

 

[GREANTHUMB]

fuck rodents

 

[snowkitty]

I like the cat idea.

I just was working on my a/c unit and left a hole in the side of my house one afternoon. We saw a mouse inside that very night...and you'd better believe I set a dozen traps from walmart at the crack of dawn the next morning. Then I figured out he might have come in the hole I was too lazy to patch...so I stapled plastic over it...and we've heard nothing scurrying since. I guess my house was just a nice rest stop, but the mice hadn't made it their home yet.

Thank god...I don't want any gnawing action. Just scurrying was bad enough...

 

[XIII]

This thread wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it would be...

I read "I smell a rat" and I imagine Icmag organizing a mass beating of an informant...

 

[biggertom]

Me too!

 

[nnnnghhhhgnnngh]

Seems that every other thread I check is one being revived from two years ago.