Rats

[nailit]

I live on the edge of a woodland/wildlife preserve.
Amongst the wildlife that are seen regularly are...

Birds
Bats
Foxes
Badgers
Squirrels
Swans
Ducks
....and rats.

Just curious as to why rats get a bad press?
I cant see that rats carry any more disease that the other wildlife mentioned?
I know that people dont (generally) like them (I used to keep pet rats but thats another story) but why the dislike when other animals such as those listed above can be equally 'destructive'?

[Psybbo]

Rats scare me.

[nailit]

//Rats scare me//
Think thats why they get a bad press psybbs...
As pets they were great. My son (and stepson) loved them. Think its the tails that put people off!

[Psybbo]

But don't sewer rats carry diseases, Nailit? Not worried so much about pet rats.

[nailit]

Thats what im trying to find out psibbs, they probably do but any more disease than the other wildlife ive listed?
I think grey squirrels carry more disease than rats.
And foxes arent that friendly.

[Mamyalynne]

I live alongside most of those too and I don't mind any of them in the wild, not too keen on some of them invading my home.

Though I have had Ducks in the lounge and squirrels try to get in too.

[melv16]

Weils (sp) disease to name just one thing that rats can give you.

[Psybbo]

Look up Weil's Disease, I know at least one person who has died from it.

[Psybbo]

Sorry, Melv, didn't see your post.

[yogi-bear]

I remember seeing a film when young, nailit...think it was called either 'Ben' or 'Willard' ....all about an evil rat and ever since then, not really my favourite creature.

The Great Plague of London didn't help much for rats popularity either.

Gimme a hamster with bulging cheeks anytime. :-)

[Mamyalynne]

Interesting recent thoughts re various Plague outbreaks.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31588671

[237SJ]

Horrible things. I remember going to a party at a farm when I was little and my friend put her hand into a hessian sack in the farmyard and when she brought it out there was a rat hanging off her hand by it`s teeth. She still has the scar to this day. They kill off other wildlife as well. The puffin population on Lundy Island has flourished since they got rid of the rats.

[RATTER15]

I agree nailit, I think rats are delightful creatures, thats not to say I want them in my house.

They do however carry some very unpleasant diseases.

Sewer rats and pet rats are actually exactly the same species of rat, (Rattus norvegicus) or Brown Rat.

[Mosaic]

Rats have long since learned to get food from around humans. So insanitary human settlements mean easy pickings. Where we see a sewer, a rat sees a linear food court. It isn't really the fault of rats, they're simply opportunists, good breeders and excellent parents, rearing intelligent offspring. But because of their environments they spread disease, exacerbated by territorial urine-marking, hence the Weil's Disease that accumulates in standing water.
And cos they scurry on the edge of your vision, some people are freaked out by them.

[-SharonA-]

I am petrified of rats and mice. I can faint at the sight of one.

[Baldric]

Exterminate, Exterminate!!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat#As_pests

[Togo]

Rats will cause immense damage to property and crops unless controlled, besides being the carriers of diseases which are deadly to man. They would literally eat you alive if you were incapacitated. Ask a WW1 veteran who was in the trenches with them. Lead poisoning is the best control.

[237SJ]

I can`t say that I have seen rats destroy crops. The deer tend to do that.

[Baldric]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7234213.stm

[237SJ]

That`s Bangladesh though. My Grandfather (farmer) never really had a problem with rats destroying crops. Good farmers keep on top of these things. If you ever fly into Delhi or Mumbai, have a look at the massive brown rats outside of the airport. Lovely!

[RATTER15]

Many years ago I hunted rats with a ferrets and a pack of terriers for sport and for work, hence my name, My best terrier marked a hole so i put my ferret into the hole and she backed straight out, I had never seen her do that before, I encouraged her to go back in and again she backed out, So I got my spade and started digging, suddenly a rat appeared at the hole and raced back in, I turned over another spade full of soil to see this rat run right at me, she attacked my boot and bit it savagely, she then ran back and stood over her nest of pink babies. She got my respect that instant, I covered her, and her babies and never hunted rats for sport again.
She taught me a lot that day.