Bon Air Estates Neighborhood Association

Oh Rats!

Apr 30, 2009

Rats!

Well it?’s that time of year again. People are starting to get outside from under our icy winter and stir about. With our new ventures into the outdoors we often come into contact with nature in all of its varieties and realities. More specifically, I?’m referring to rodents - rats ?– both the four-legged and the two-legged variety. The former being a health and quality of life issue, the latter being a pest of a more human sort. Our neighborhood will do well without either kind so here?’s some ideas that may help.

For the four legged kind

For better or worse we live within a huge drainage basin for our region of the state: The Beargrass Creek Runoff area. The biodiversity of this area is pretty impressive consisting of almost every kind of animal common to the state of Kentucky including two that may surprise you to find in your yard in the Bon Air Estates area: deer and rats.

Rat holes may appear on neighborhood yards in the form of holes in the ground an inch or more in diameter. If there?’s an entry hole there will be another exit hole nearby - usually. Ground squirrel boroughs will sometimes become hijacked by rats who are more aggressive than the chipmunks and run them out. Once rats have taken over, the borough will become larger in circumference and have a tailing pile of dirt at the entrance to the hole. Crush, destroy and fill these if you see them in your yard.

The best way to prevent rodent infestation is to reduce habitat that is favorable to them. All mammals need food, water and shelter. Please try to reduce the amount of wildlife food that you put out, especially in the spring. Rats will come to your property in search of any food that mat be found including: peanuts, bird seed, corn cobs and other types of squirrel food (squirrels are rodents too), excess pet food you have out etc. While it seems kind to feed birds and wildlife- they really don?’t need extra food the way humans sometimes do. A little goes a long way. Feeding or caring for the occasional poor lost stray pet is a very kind and humane thing to do ?– please be sure to collect any extra food that they don?’t eat once they are finished though.

Now the human kind of rat

These kind live everywhere, unfortunately. The usually like to hide behind stronger humans who they hope will provide them with cover and shelter from the degrading of human relationships that they like to cause. We have a bit of this in the Bon Air Estates area but, fortunately, it isn?’t as bad as it can get for several reasons. One, it is usually very difficult to get other human rats to breed with them, so they usually act alone. Often they will attempt to hide behind groups of people and use very effective camouflage to appear well meaning and well behaved. Their destruction usually takes place when they are alone in their boroughs.

The best way to prevent their destruction is to avoid them completely. Our association was effected by the actions of at least one of these last February and the aggrieved victims came to the meeting very angry with the Neighborhood Association. Please remember ?– the Bon Air Estates Neighborhood Association is run by the board of directors who make decisions as a group. None of us has the authority to act on behalf of the board alone. This is to help preserve the good will of the association to its members, foster positive community relations in our neighborhood and to discourage rats.

If you have been affected by a human rat ?– they usually will be found hiding behind a large legitimate group ?– there are some do?’s and don?’ts. The most important thing to do is to talk to your fellow neighbors and try to resolve things if you can. Don?’t - show up mad at the group the rat is hiding behind and vent there ?– we usually can?’t help much - but we do feel your pain. Do ?– contact the governmental agency they usually try to hide behind and write a Freedom of Information Request. Any citizen can make this request to any governmental agency and they have to respond in a reasonable amount of time. This will help to identify who your human rodent is and then you can take the necessary steps to deal with them appropriately.

Thank you and enjoy a pleasant spring!

Kevin Downs
President