Slog - Comments on Oh, Rats http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats Until just a few weeks ago, the new King County building on 5th avenue—which houses the health department, among other things—had a rat problem. "[People would leave] a piece of food out, and the next day there was evidence there were rats around," says King County Facilities Manager Laura Locker. The evidence: ‘Their leave-behinds," Locker says. Locker says the rats were probably displaced by construction in the area. Presumably when the rats' homes were converted to condos. When the County building opened this summer, a few rats were spotted by employees but the extent of the infestation wasn't clear until... Copyright 2008 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:11:25 -0800 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:41:27 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Westside forever Here's my best super creepy rat story: a friend has a neighbor with a huge pear tree. The neighbor never harvests the fruit which just drops on the ground thusly attracting rats. The rats then moved on into the friends house. They knew they had a problem but didn't know how many rats were getting into their house. An exterminator they knew said to dust flour on the floor in the basement to find out how they were getting into the house.

The put the flour down and after a night of ratty activity went to check the tracks in the flour to see where they were coming from.

There was NO FLOUR at all left on the floor! My skin still crawls thinking about it.

]]> Westside forever http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c840997 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c840997 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:23:24 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe Rats are awesome.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841027 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841027 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:44:34 -0800 Comment by omg cutest.
picture.
ever.

]]> omg http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841038 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841038 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:53:29 -0800 Comment by Greg The King County building needs its own cat.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841072 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841072 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:16:23 -0800 Comment by stinky pete @4:
You have no idea how much paperwork that would require.

]]> stinky pete http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841109 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841109 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:32:55 -0800 Comment by Sirkowski Rats are TEH awesome!

]]> Sirkowski http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841140 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841140 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:53:38 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle They need to invest in glow-in-the-dark rats.

Easier to spot.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841156 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841156 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:06:06 -0800 Comment by Packratt Yes, I think I will have to abscond that picture for my blog.

Anyway, when I was 12 years young, and lived in a not so great neighborhood, I would put a paper bag with a few bread crumbs next to my bed each night.

If I heard the bag rustle in the middle of the night I would swing my arm over real quick and close off the end of the bag. In one night I caught 13 field mice, which I then took to a vacant wooded area a few blocks away and let them go.

Yeah, I'm a stupid softy.

]]> Packratt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841239 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841239 City Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:21:47 -0800 Comment by herbert browne @8 In 4th grade my friends & I would sit on the hay baler, and jump off to catch the mice that were running away... and I'd take them home in a can, and let them go in the basement...
That pic's wonderful! It's a little hairy piglet- with catfish whiskers (feelyfeelyfeely inna dark) ^..^

]]> herbert browne http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841302 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/11/oh_rats#c841302 City Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:41:27 -0800