Occasionally, rats make interesting news. In a recent incident in one of our cities, they foiled the plan of a person to smuggle liquor bottles through a postal parcel. The rat that cut through the pack was lured not by liquor but by packets of snacks kept with it to serve as bites for consumers.
The "national pest" plays havoc both in farms and homes. Loss of foodgrains due to rats both in fields and warehouses is enormous. It has been estimated that on an average, six rats eat one person’s food.
In homes, rats and mice eat leftover food, vegetables and fruits. With strong teeth, it gnaws at hard materials such as lead and plastic pipes, insulation and electric wiring. This habit of the rodent causes short circuits, leading to fire accidents most of the times. It burrows deep under houses, damaging sewage and pipelines. It could also merrily chew away car engine wires and Internet cables. On the whole, rats are a blight and a great health risk transmitting diseases such as plague and leptospirosis.
From time immemorial, rats have been a thorn in the flesh and no effort was spared to get rid of them. As is well known, the parasitic flea of the brown rat is the source of the bubonic plague. Students of history will remember how in 1665, London was ravaged by the Great Plague. An Act of 1921 placed on householders in England the onus of destroying rats and mice on their premises under penalty of a fine.
In recent times, South Central and Central India were struck by bubonic and pneumonic plagues during August-October 1994, causing deaths and untold misery to residents.
These rodents are a pesky menace in cities and towns world over. The Corporation of Greater Mumbai had to appoint "night rat killers" to eliminate rats in public places. "So many rats regularly lurk on a sidewalk in Brooklyn," ran an article in the New York Times, that it is the humans who avoid the rats, not the other way round".
Our farmers catch rats manually because poison can kill livestock. Rat-catchers who use specialised trapping devices are hired to catch rodents such as mice, rats and bandicoots. Upset at the loss created by bandicoots, disgruntled farmers place poisoned food or set up live wires around their farms.
It is the domestic rat or mouse which the average householder has to contend with in homes. These rats or mice could play havoc between dusk and dawn thanks to their olfactory sense and phenomenal nimbleness.
Having found vegetables and fruits nibbled in the nights, a thorough search for the rodent was organised at our apartment. Not intending to hurt by catching it on a sticky pad or killing it, the traditional one-door traps with tomato and onion as bait were set in three places. However the traps always remained open indicating the wary rodent had skipped them.
As advised by a friend familiar with the psychology of rats, I placed the trap near the balcony door with fresh onion as bait. The onion spread its aroma all round. In the dead of the night, there was shrieking and squeaking that ended with a bang. The next morning, a rat was found pitifully looking at me from inside the trap. With childish delight, I carried the trap to a nearby ground and safely let the rat out.
On a closer examination of the balcony area, rat droppings were noticed below the door indicating that the rat had negotiated the gap between the door and floor. I promptly arranged to install bristle strips at the bottom of all doors.
On the bright side, rats are instrumental in saving many lives by their use in scientific research. They have certain similarities to human beings in physical, behavioural and social characteristics. There are many interesting stories about rats in children’s story books highlighting their clever role in the animal world. Rat is a pet as well to some animal lovers.
