There has been some rather disconcerting behaviour going on at my place lately.
On three occasions now, I’ve walked into the undercover downstairs sitting area and found one of the couches partially shredded. Every time, the cushion has been ripped up and the stuffing torn apart. What could be responsible?
We started shutting the gate, and it didn’t happen again. However, it’s not so easy to keep the gate closed when people (kachra-wala, tiffin-wala, mailman) are coming and going throughout the day.
Today, I was shocked to see the couch ripped up again. Not only that, the day’s newspapers were scatted all over the floor. A friend was visiting, and I complained to her about it. “Oh, I just saw a dog leaving as I was coming in. It was white and fluffy”, she told me.
Ah. That could only mean one thing. Junior. The neighbour’s pesky Pomeranian. I’d been suspecting the culprit to be the white stray dog that roamed the complex, befriending everyone. And I’d been less than nice to him as a result. However, when I went outside the gate, sure enough Junior was lurking there, wet and dirty.
The neighbour, whom I’ve previously written about, was out. Needless to say he received a very irritated phone call.
More recently, I’d been finding the leftover rotis, which I’d carefully placed in a bowl, strewn all over the kitchen bench and with pieces missing. What could be responsible?
This afternoon, I heard a crash of dishes in the kitchen. I ran in to take a look. The semi-eaten rotis were again everywhere. And there it was, right in front of me. The culprit! A huge rat scurrying across the bench.
War is now on. I think the best solution is to get a cat!
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Cat’s a good solution. Or try something like Rat Kill. I had an infestation too a few months ago, and I used Rat Kill. Worked like a charm!
First the cockroaches, now rats!!
The rat ran out the open kitchen window (which is always open) so hopefully if I keep the window closed, it will keep it away.
And you know what the cat will do, don’t you? It will befriend the rat!
:D:
I would get someone in to take care of the rat issue as for the dog issue I would get all up in the neighbour about the issue with the dog. I feel bad for you that the dog is doing that to your hosue and the rat as well that is not good at all. I think the rat and cat would become friends
I have been just WAITING for the rats at our place …
The only problem with a cat is that you run the risk of finding the “culprit” not all the way taken care of (if you know what I mean) since cats so often think they are play things …
I’d go with Ramit’s suggestion and get some Rat Kill!!
Cats will take care of roaches, lizards, and rodents. They’re wonderful! Get 2!
Mortein Rat kill works well, Just keep a few pieces here n there in the kitchen..Be very careful while doing so..keep everything covered, food that is! Best part it, rats run outside the house in search of water when they consume it n die eventually..so u wont have to clean the mess! Try it
http://www.mortein.co.in/pest_control_rats.asp
Hmmm, I think I’m going to have to give the Rat Kill recommendation a try! I had rats in the roof of my house once in Melbourne, and had to get expensive pest control in to deal with them. They were being a real nuisance, making noise and chewing on things.
We get mice where my parents live in the country, but they’re easily dealt with with traps. (Not fun emptying the trap though!!).
Oh, I know I shouldn’t even be thinking of this, but I wonder if the rat kill would work on the wretched Pomeranian as well?
Hi Sharell
get a cat. It´s organic. Natural. And it will protect your home always from everything that moves, all kind of insects. I have one for more than a year now and I´m really happy. No cockroaches any more. Plus cats are fun. Congrats for the nice blog!
Hey Sharell,
Go for the cat…. may be you can get a chance to witness your very own live Tom & Jerry show!!!!!!!!!!!
Pomeranians are the worst. Tell me about it.
In contrast to your rat problem, we have cat problem here, they just multiply like crazy and make that disgusting noise during midday while they mate in their glory. Sometimes it gets really really creepy , they sound like a baby crying in the distance, they don’t pur they cry, trust me i mean it and it is depressing.
Now unlike rats which are resilient to almost all foods and live off of it, cats specifically needs a little flesh meat to survive. One of our neighbours own’s vegetable garden which had a variety of plants and also unwanted weeds too. This could be a perfect place for rats to live rather than infest houses which are difficult to get into and some ma and pa cats on their prowl find their perfect haven and start civilisation on their own.
I am not that bothered about cockroaches that much because i keep the food as securely as possible. Besides when i get water from the fridge every late night i find a roach scurrying to the darkest corner, being a badass i set the bottle down and arm myself with a insect spray and spray the roach to death. It feels very gratifying going to bed thinking that i have one less cockroach to worry about.
Omg Sharell
I would get a cat if I were you it will take care of the problem
I am so afraiid of rats ! Just to read all the comments is making me shiver
Funny thing is I was thinking about THEM many times as I was reading your blogs and wondering if you had ever had that sort of problem … and now I know
as well as any bugs . Glad you found out that the street dog was not the one doing damage in your house as well .
The best way to deal with pests is prevention. Try to seal all gaps your house might have to the outside world. That’ll effectively stop pesty immigration to your dominion.
And to think I’d even taken this particular Pomeranian on a walk previously (I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he might actually be nice)….and that’s how he repays me!!
Rotten animal. He’s obviously frustrated or something…
Go with the ratkill Sharell – I bought some yesterday, and I’ve come home to a dead one in my kitchen…I’m still working up the guts to remove it before I go to bed, but it’s better than a live one knocking over all my jars and containers and scurrying through the cupboards!
Ewww..it’s just all SO gross.
Oh gawd, if the rat dies in the kitchen I will be repulsed. That’s just too much. I really feel for you. Hopefully, there aren’t too many more around.
I like Junior better…a rat does not do it for me!! at all…
Sharell, thank you for emailing me. I noticed some grammar mistakes in my letter. Apology for those. To get rid of rats, get a wooden trap with net. I had a rad 4 years ago in my apartment. Rat Kill, rats are too smart. That little pesky fellow took the rat kill and hid it somewhere. They don’t eat it! The rat trap proved effective and rat got caught it in one night. These traps are sold by street vendors. Get one, keep a piece of roti(since your rat likes them
), set it to so that it locks with even a little jerk and you will have rat in morning. You can set it free or do whatever you want. Chuha pakadane ke liye good luck!
Koi baat nahi, Abhinav. Main ne grammar mistakes nahi deka. Lekin yeh cheez ek chota chuha nahi hai… yeh bahut bada chuha hai!! (There is no word for rat in Hindi is there? Only mouse). I don’t want to catch it alive. It is horrible. It must die!! Maro, maro, maro!! (And preferably away from the kitchen). Anyway, we have again called the pest control in because we have discovered some more, additional, unwanted pests in the house.
Behavior definitely sounds more rodent than canine! Good luck! Yikes!!!
Hi Sharell
I have been reading your blog for about a year and thought i would introduce myself. I’m Emma and I have been married to a bengali man for almost 10 years. We have 4 children. I’m from New Zealand and we lives together in WB for 2 years after we got married but for now (because of my husband’s job” we are living in Port Hedland in Western Australia. I had to laugh about the rat issue because once ants got into a jar of flour so I put it on our apartment balcony and left it there for a while as I was very busy with our first child who was a newborn at the time. Anyways night after night I would heara a noise and then in the morning the jar would be open. One night I sneaked to the window when I heard the noise and a rat was opening the jar with its paws!!! There was 2 of them and when the jar was open they jumped in and started eating…those rats are smart!
Hi Emma, I’m glad you commented.
That is incredible about the rats!! My gosh, they are so clever. You just wouldn’t think that they could do that. Sounds like they were having a ball in there. 
नमस्ते Sharell जी!
आपकी ब्लॉग (‘blog’, I loved your post on trying to read English words in Hindi) सब से अच्छा है! मैं एक अमरीकन गोरा और मुझे लगता है की आप बहुत brave हैं =) So cool that you followed your heart and live in India now!
…and बेफकूफ कुत्ता! मुझे आशा है की you can manage to keep it away and protect your stuff, haha.
Thanks for writing such an awesome blog and sharing your exciting life with the rest of us! The rats sound terrifying though. Maybe you can cut a deal with the dog, where he gets to catch and play with the rats and you get to have unmolested furniture? =)
@ Emma Dey “…One night I sneaked to the window when I heard the noise and a rat was opening the jar with its paws!!! There was 2 of them and when the jar was open they jumped in and started eating…those rats are smart!”
Reminds me of Pinky and the Brain.
Pinky : what do we do?
Brain : Take over the world!
Namaste Charlie, arre vah!!! Aap ne Hindi me likha! Lajwab hai (outstanding). Maza aaya mujhe!
Vo kutta batameez aur baysharam bhi hai. (bad mannered and shameless). I never want to see its face again!! Anyway, main bahut khush hoon ki aap ko meri blog pasand hai. India hamesha dilchasp hai. 
Junior is proving to be more of a problem than the rat and other pests, unfortunately. He was again back this morning. The kachra-wala left the gate open just a small amount, I came downstairs and there he was sprawled on the floor, chilling after another episode of newspaper and couch shredding. My God, I was mad!!!!
@ Sharell
“Namaste Charlie, arre vah!!! Aap ne Hindi me likha! Lajwab hai (outstanding). Maza aaya mujhe! Vo kutta batameez aur baysharam bhi hai. (bad mannered and shameless). I never want to see its face again!! Anyway, main bahut khush hoon ki aap ko meri blog pasand hai. India hamesha dilchasp hai. ”
While reading what you wrote , I was imagining you speaking those sentences in Hindi and really it sounded very cute and sweet.Liked it…
And now I must say , Kafi Hindi sikh gayi ho..
Hi Mohit, apparently that’s exactly how I do sound! But I still need to learn much more. (Especially according to the maid who continually orders me to improve).
@ The person who pressed dislike button on my above post
Just plain curious to know , what was the reason of disliking the comment,when it was meant for sharell only.
P.S. I am counting on sharell ,not to dislike it.
No, it wasn’t me!!!
@ sharell
No, it wasn’t me!!!
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I know it dear..:) thats why I wanted to know , who and why did it?
Is some Michael Mayer on this forum ???
btw , can u see who liked and disliked any comment??
Speaking of pests, a friend of ours in Delhi just had his home invaded by 3 monkeys… they opened his fridge and made a huge mess apparently!!
Oh dont lose heart, I live in Baltimore in a good neighbourhood and recently started finding mice droppings all over the kitchen. The hubs thought he was coming in through the hole under the kitchen sink, so a quick trip to Home Depot and shut the hole, some mice trap under the sink and oven. Only to find more vengeful in your face droppings the next day. I blame the major rennovation the hubs was doing to the master bedroom and bath. (gutted walls, redid closets, put a window in the bathroom, ripped carpets, put hardwood floors etc..). So right now it is a cat and mouse game. Hubs is soo peeved, he said if he finds the darned mouse, he will adopt it as a pet.
LOL…