Chicago, Rats and Feral Cats

 Its almost as though the news is following me!

A cat looks out of its pen at the Humane Rescue Alliance shelter on 19 June, 2019 in Washington, DC

(AFP via Getty Images)

A charity in Chicago has released hundreds of feral cats into neighbourhoods around the city in an attempt to conquer the area’s historic rat problems.

The Tree House Humane’s society’s “Cats at Work” programme has released more than 1,000 furry felines into residential or commercial settings to hunt the pesky rodents, WGN9 first reported.

Working cats hunt pests for the small fee of food, water, shelter, and wellness from their sponsors and often become “beloved members of the family,” the humane society says.

The organisation explains the hunters are feral cats who can’t live in a home or shelter environment. “By placing them in Cats at Work colonies, we’re able to make sure they’re living their best lives.”

The project is a “green” humane solution that removes sterilized and vaccinated feral cats from hostile environments and avoids the use of rat poison and dangerous traps.

According to Tree House, such chemical and mechanical methods are “ineffective short-term solutions” that can be “dangerous to children, pets and the environment.”

“We’ve had a lot of our clients tell us that before they had cats, they would step outside their house and rats would actually run across their feet,” Sarah Liss of Tree House Humane Society told WGN.

The cats’ mere presence in the neighbourhood alone repels the rodents, Ms Liss explained, spurring them to leave the predators’ territory.

“They are actually deterring them with their pheromones,” she told the broadcaster. “That’s enough to keep the rats away.”

While the cats will hunt and catch rodents on occasion, they won’t usually eat them as long as they are fed in line with the programme’s guidelines.

Chicago has long been infamous for its hard to tackle rat infestations, with the city having been named the “rattiest city” for six years in a row.

In 1977, a $1 bounty was offered for rats in the city as part of a “war on rats” after a borough official estimated that the rat population in one constituency outnumbered its 85,000 human population,The New York Times reported.

Now, residents are seeing a further spike in suburban rat populations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Forced closures of restaurants in urban areas cut off rodents’ food supplies and forced them to search further afield for sustenance, with many even resorting to cannibalism.

So, Let's Talk About Rats

 I have seen on Face Book today someone stating they have rats. Theresponsewas to put a plate of baked beans outside with poison in them. The other suggestion was to put coca cola out as "rats can't burp so they explode" -now that is village idiot level advice.

If you have rats in the house you can drive them off as there are sonic devices you can plug in and you cannot hear the sound but the rats and mice can and it drives them mental and they leave. I've used these for two years now because of mice and altghough you might hear them rarely they are soon gone.  You can buy plug in ones or ones that operate by battery such as this one...

I have lived in an area with rats and I have had them in the spaces between walls so totalling up all those years comes to 30+? The sonic devices sorted out the problem.

Better Homes offers this advice:

https://www.bhg.com.au/how-to-get-rid-of-rats-in-your-garden

It may be tempting to use traps or poison, but they can pose a risk for dogs, children and native wildlife. It's better to employ methods that deter rats and offer a permanent solution.

Here are six ways to rid your garden of pesky rats for good.

1. Peppermint oil

Rats hate the smell of peppermint oil, so it’s an effective way to drive them away. Moisten some cotton balls with 100 per cent pure peppermint oil and place them in various spots around the garden, including the garage and shed. Reapply the oil a couple of times a week. 

2. Catnip

Get some catnip from a garden centre and plant it in several spots around the garden. Be strategic with your planting and look for signs of rat activity like nests and pellet droppings.

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3. Remove food and water sources

Rats will seek out any sources of food or water in your garden. Make sure your taps aren’t dripping and don’t use a bird bath. Remove bowls of pet food or water at night. If you like to compost, keep it secure and bury any organic material deep in the bin. Make sure lids are tightly closed on bins and don’t leave garbage bags outside for long periods.

4. Keep your garden clean

You can deter rats by keeping your garden clean and tidy. Remove piles of wood and garden clippings; pick up any fallen fruit, berries or vegetables, and cut back overgrown areas.

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5. Soil netting

If you want to protect a new garden from rats, lay a piece of netting just under the soil. This will prevent rats from burrowing and eating roots and bulbs. Determined rats may chew through the netting, so keep an eye out for it. 

6. Sealing gaps

Rats will try to enter your home through any gaps or cracks in external walls. Use an appropriate sealant to block any nooks and crannies. 

Now you may laugh at the Peppermint poil suggestion -I did- but it works. During fine weather in 2020 we had a female rat keep coming under the fence from neighbours and we had two oils to hand (or my sister did); peppermint and citronella.  I thought I'd try the citronella first so covered some cotton wool in it and put it at each of the entry points the rat used. It appeared. Sniffed. Went away. That was it.  A week later the best rat deterrent/killer you can have (the cat next door) took care of one there. Foxes will also take rats as part of their natural diet.

My neighbour asked for advice one day. The builders next door to her aged aunt had dug up drains and were making a lot of noise. While upstairs putting things away she noticed rats had chewed a big hole in a bedroom floor (the age aunt slept downstairs) and found traces of rat in the kitchen.  I gave her a bottle of citronella and she put drops down the holes she had found and also wiped over areas of the kitchen with it. A week later I was told that there were no fresh rat signs and a month after that still no sign. I wish I had known this worked years ago!

Putting commercially purchased rat and mice poison from stores should be illegal and this is because, firstly, the rat poisons used are inhumane despite what pest controllers might tell you. However, the biggest problem is that mis-use by people of these poisons kill many species each year.

Baked beans, bread or other food will be eaten by hedgehogs which are a critically endangered species and it will kill them in a very nasty way. Foxes will take the free meal. Cats will lick at the tomato sauce. Next door's dog gets out -free food! You explain in court why you put poison out where animals could get it and pay the costs financially. Birds will also peck at such food and I have known a number of magpies and crows killed because they ate rat poison. 

Go the natural route and if you are not keen on cats there is one guaranteed killer of rats.  A Jack Russel terrier. Any rat or mouse shows its head then the dog will kill it. 

Oh and That's Farming offered further advice: https://thatsfarming.com/farming-news/farm-hacks-deter-rats/

Farm Hacks – How to deter Rats using home remedies

Many farmers have reported an increase in rat sightings around their farmyards in recent weeks, due in part to feed supplies been kept there.

Using rodenticides on a farm, especially where there are smaller and pet animals, can prove extremely dangerous. This is why many farmers are now seeking other alternative methods of ridding rodents from their property. Check out the number of different home remedy rat deterrents below!

1 – Dried Urea – Did you know that Cow dung is a natural rat repellent? When ingested by the rats, they become extremely ill and begin to vomit, eventually resulting in death. To keep rats away, simply place an old cow ‘pat’ near where some recent rat droppings have been discovered.

2 – Mothballs – Mothballs are actually useful in keeping both rats and mice away. They are poisonous not only to the rodent but also humans, therefore be careful when using Mothballs. Again when using this method, simply place moth balls near any area where rats may be located on your farm.

3- Peppermint – Seeing as rats have a highly sensitive sense of smell, using fragrant plants, herbs and oils are a good way of keeping them away. One such smell which they despise is peppermint. Like the previous methods, Peppermint oil (On cotton balls) or tablets should be placed near where rats have previously been seen or where you know they reside.

This should push them out and keep them away as peppermint will instantly affect the lungs of the rat, killing them in the process. Minty toothpaste is also another option, while others have used other fragrant oils such as caster oil, clove oil and other fragrant products such as toilet cakes. Another option is pepper from the kitchen which produces a pungent aroma which rats detest and once they inhale it into their lungs they die.

4 – Bay Leaves – Rats are attracted to the sweet smell of bay leaves, which is what makes them the perfect trap as Bay leaves are highly toxic to rats. Once ingested they will die. Like all of the other methods, placing bay leaves in areas where rats frequent will help keep them away and at “bay”.

5 – Vegetables – Certain vegetables can also be used effectively to keep rats away. Onions are one such vegetable which have a pungent smell and one which rats and mice hate a lot. They will instantly run away from the smell, making it an effective method.

Peppers are another vegetable which can prove effective as it contains Capsaicin, which is the compound that gives peppers their heat. This heat is also a natural rat deterrent.

6 – Ammonia cleaning products – Sticking with the sense of smell theme, ammonia cleaning agents make for excellent rat repellents. To use, mix 2 cups of ammonia with 200mls of water and 2-3 spoons of detergent and place in a bowl near locations where rats are commonly found.

Ammonia is a super cleaning agent, but it acts as an excellent repelling agent to the rodents.

7 – Owls Feathers – A natural predator of rodents, using owl feathers which have been placed all over your farm will ensure rats and mice do not want to stay there long. Using human hair is also another useful option, as rats and mice tend to stay away from predators.

Other Options – There are many other options available, such as catch and release traps, electric shock traps and much more.

Some farmers also use sound as an effective repellent. Sharp sounds are hated by rats and rodents, causing death on most occasions. Another two options one could use is Baby powder and baking soda. These can both be sprinkled in areas where rats reside, though are not as effective.

One final method used by some is Plaster of Paris. When you mix 100gms of plaster of Paris with 100gms of cornmeal, you created a homemade rodenticide.
There you have it, there are plenty of options available to farmers to help keep rats and mice at bay. No need to jump for the rat traps quite just yet.

DO NOT BE A POISONING IDIOT!

What We Are Now Learning About Urban Foxes

 

Photo Alan Seymour

 There is unique information on urban fox behaviour that you do not read about in the books. This is because 99% of them are dedicated to the wild foxes and so repeat, cut n paste and repeat again old material.

Why? Because no one has seriously studied them. They are "just foxes".

Urban foxes and fox feeders are not mentioned in any of the text books up to or after 1990 that I have. The reason for this is simple. As wild canids foxes used to raid the old dustbins for scraps of food and this was also done by domestic cats and domestic dogs....not to mention the occasional tramp!

In 1976 there were no known fox feeders. Most people had no idea that a fox might be skulking around their gardens. Certainly they would not be deliberately buying food for foxes. Some might be putting food out for hedhehogs as they were (unlike up to the early 1900s when there was a bounty on killing them) "the gardeners helper" -taking care of slugs.

Even up until the 1980s I had never heard of fox feeders only of naturalists counting the number of rats or mice the foxes were estimated to kill each week (one farmer-naturalist did this by counting the number of rat tails he found; the only part foxes did not consume). Sadly, poisons put out for rats almost certainly killed many hedgehogs and foxes.

It appears that some time in the late 1980s, and certainly by 1994/1995, people had started to secretly feed foxes coming into their gardens. Often left overs but later on chicken, fruit and eggs. Some people even started keeping recordes of the foxes that visited them and can trace some foxes in 2021 being descendents of ones they began feeding in the 1990s.

In 1994/1995 a major outbreak of mange was estimated to have killed off so many foxes in Bristol (with the largest urban fox population outside of London) that only around 6% survived. It was this point in history that feeders wanted to stop the suffering and treatments were found for mange from homeopathic (for early stages) to more chemical meds for worse cases.

This meant that not only were foxes becoming habituated to humans -NOT a good idea since it makes them easy victims for the anti-fox people- but they were getting well fed -way about the 100 cal or so they need per day. It also meant that they were denning in gardens or close to the feeders. Cubs still die but their chances of survival are greater now than at any other time. Many foxes -from what I have learnt and can estimated (and it is a "guesstimate")- around 200+ per year in the UK are treated for mange and survive it and go on to create new generations.

It is VERY STRONGLY advised that feeders never coax wild foxes into their homes as this could be disasterous (for the fox) in the future.

My very first sighting of an urban fox in Bristol was as I was walking along Pennywell Road in Bristol at about 0630 hrs one summer morning. I heard the fast padding behind me and thought a dog had gotten loose. Then a fox rushed by looking as though it was running for its life and it was a largish dog fox. I turned to see a VERY determined looking big tom cat in pursuit of the fox. How it ended I have no idea but the fox was faster!

I wondered about fox-domestic cat interaction after that. I can say that from 1976-2021 the only genuine incident of a fox with a dead cat in its mouth I have heard of involved a cat killed by a car and it was in the gutter over 24 hours. Foxes eat road-kill, Its convenient food and some feeders do look for dead birds and other road-kill to feed foxes.

What many people see are not dead cats carried off by foxes but cubs being moved to another location -natural fox behaviour. There have been claims of "two foxes killed my cat and tore it to pieces" and "I have the fox killing my cat on CCTV" but questions pop up straight away such as WHY the person stood there watching their cat being attacked and ripped up by foxes? Or; WHERE is the cctv footage? Challenged, those making the posts either delete them or are not heard of again and their social media accounts are very basic or are connected to hunt groups.

Recently, someone posted that foxes were trying to kill his cats. Then it was his three legged cat. Then it became focussed on the three legged cat which froze as foxes approached (its front leg was ripped off by a dog years ago we were told). The only food in the garden were bird feeders. Did the poster have any video footage that could be studied so that we could see what was going on -was the interaction the foxes trying to play with the cat (plenty of videos of that) and it was misconstrued as "attempting to kill" the cat? If two adult foxes were brave enough to they would have. The poster just said he'd go somewhere else for advice and that was it. It seems almost fox hunt trolling especially when viewing the poster's social media (lack of) profile. Why did he not respond to advice or requests for him to video or submit any video footage he had so that we could offer more appropriate advice?

Foxes are well fed -rather like feral cats- if not deliberately then from stealing left out cat food or food left for hedgehogs. There is also plenty offootage of foxes who visit feeders killing rats and also mice. Foxes are well fed and to risk injury by attacking a cat makes no sense and there is really no evidence for such a thing and even scientific surveys have shown that a cat being killed by a fox is at the bottom of the list and really only included "in case" -all other threats tend to be disease or human related.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of urban foxes is that feeders do not see unusual fur patterns or colours just a fox. Feeders have inadvertently supplied so much information that it will take a while to sort through but totally over turns all previous data on British foxes.

Even reportsfrom Bristol have surprised me. Either "a fox is a fox" meant everyone just assumed that meant the"little red dog" and we have always had the variations noted or something major has happened to the British fox population from Scotland down to the very south of England.

Without funding the work is slow but it is oming together.

Should You Keep Your Foxy Visitor A Secret?

 Photographer unknown

Hi, All.

There was a bit of a discussion about why people hide the fact that they have foxes visiting their gardens. Now those conversations tend to get a little heated so, as someone who has studied foxes and their history since 1977 and written a book on them I hope that I can make some points to clarify the situation.

Firstly, the only reason not to keep a location secret is if you sight a black fox (silver fox). These are purely bred to be domestic pets and they do not have the savvy of wild red foxes. They tend not to survive long because of this and fall prey to shooters and even snarers (I will refrain from saying what I think about them) -a couple months ago an escaped silver fox lost part of its front leg because of a snare. They do not survive long so if you do see one you should report it to Black Foxes UK who can try to catch and return it to its owners or rehouse it with a qualified wildlife or rescue group. The sooner a black fox can be rescued the better.

When it comes to wild foxes and even urban foxes there are still problems. From 1977-2013 I was an exotic wildlife advisor to UK police forces and this meant that I also had the opportunity to see what was going on around the country with wildlife. In the late 1990s in Birmingham there were gangs using dead cats as bait to catch foxes to stage "city hunts" and these took place in parks. As far as I am aware that stopped but there are people who snare and kill foxes for their fur and make a good bit of money from it. They have operated around towns and villages where they know foxes are active.

There are people who love to shoot anything and they feel like big game hunters when they can pose for a photo holding up a small fox they have shot.

There are people associated with hunts who spend the cubbing part of the year trying to find and snatch cubs. I had one snoop around my garden one night but foxes do not reside in my garden and I put the word out to people.

So there is no excuse not to report a silver fox (a photo will show if it is a pet or wild black fox) because reporting it will save its life £a few have also been killed by traffic because they do not have the fox savvy).

There is a need to keep foxes in your garden and its location quiet, though the fox may be visiting other gardens.

For my work I need to know where a fox was photographed as I need to put everything on a private map to chart distribution of certain fox types, etc. I work with no one else so if anyone contacts you and says they do -let me know and block them. What I ask is simple: date, how long foxes have been coming to your garden and location. I never ever ask "What street?" All I need to know is the area so "South London"/"Bournemouth" or even just the county so that it is a large area and does not say exactly where you are.

My work aims to try to get foxes recognised as important parts of the eco system and some form of protection and is NOT for any official body (especially not DEFRA).

Unless you know what is going on re foxes (and sadly badger baiting is still going on and I will not say what I think of that).

So when someone asks "Why keep the locations a secret?" there is a reason so please just explain to them so that they understand and PLEASE keep a cool head. The more people know the score the more we can work together to keep foxes safe.

Thank You