Our
never ending battle against roof rats kicked up a solution that I’ve tried to
avoid for several years—removing our pond that rests close enough to the house
to draw in uninvited guests. When the rodents first appeared, they entered
through an extremely small opening by our hot water heater. As time passed,
they found other points of entry that always stayed along the back side of our
house—near the kitchen and laundry, but also near the pond. At one point, the
exterminator suggested that the pond enticed the rats into the area, and their
break-in instincts led them into the house. We’ve tried different traps inside
the house, including our own more successful live traps. The outside of our
house, lined with baited traps by the pond, seemed to work, until this week
when we spotted more rat sign in the laundry area.
Today,
I’ll start removing the pond. Draining it won’t take too long as we’ll the
fountain pump can clear out the water quickly. Reclaiming the gravel from the
interior and edges will take time, and relocating parts of the foliage to
different areas of our yard may consume my mornings for a while. I like to
think of myself as an ant. If I focus on one part each day, I can shift and
move and change.
Copyright 2025 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman
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