Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[rachelsflock]

So I've been trying to make sense of what I've seen and then a few nights ago I saw it again.

I live in the Detroit metro area and there are rats everywhere-daytime, night time, never leave anything out, kill as many as you can. The other day at the bus stop while I waited for my son I saw what looked like a small white ferret running around, but I couldn't believe it.

A few days ago I spotted a rat in my run again, so I got out my traps and snapped the said rat over night, but that night while the traps were out I got up at some unholy hour because I could not sleep, and I saw it again, sitting on my run fence, just staring at where I'd placed the rat trap. The moon was bright, and it was a white, long, weasel critter.

We can't possibly have weasel-things here too, can we? I've got to be seeing things!

PS: The black walnut trees on the street have just about run out of nuts. I haven't seen bread and garbage dragged in my yard for a long time now. I believe I've killed all the giant rats, so we're down to the small brown guys who try to store every wild birdlover on the block's birdseed in my garage in nasty nooks and crannies and poo everywhere. I replaced the garage seal and added a threshold and am sealing the door that sometimes bounces back open. No more new poo after cleanup. I think the rats are receding for the year, so things are going wonderfully. I refuse to think too much about my rat tally.

 

[aart]

Got most the sunchokes 'harvested' today.
Someone who wants to eat, and plant, them helped.

 

[aart]

We can't possibly have weasel-things here too, can we?

You could, tho don't think they'd be white yet....first thought was escaped ferret.

 

[rachelsflock]

It could be an escaped ferret. It was white and brown, but the brown was around the edges, if that makes sense- definitely tail, maybe feet, it was fast. I wonder if it's been what's been raiding my traps and pulling out the snapped rats and leaving the rat parts all over the acre for me to find and clean up.

 

[RaZ]

So I've been trying to make sense of what I've seen and then a few nights ago I saw it again.

I live in the Detroit metro area and there are rats everywhere-daytime, night time, never leave anything out, kill as many as you can. The other day at the bus stop while I waited for my son I saw what looked like a small white ferret running around, but I couldn't believe it.

Taylor has a huge rat problem. There is a town meeting going on right now. One of of our members of the MSFC is speaking there. She reported that WDIV is on-site filming for a news broadcast. You might want to watch the news tonight.

Don't know what to say about the ferret-creature you saw. Maybe someone dumped a pet?

 

[rachelsflock]

Well, as long as it can survive cold, not get hit by cars, and no one poisons it, it will probably get fat, just like my fall fox, which has also since moved on. As long as it keeps away from my birds I will leave it alone.

 

[RaZ]

Well, as long as it can survive cold, not get hit by cars, and no one poisons it, it will probably get fat, just like my fall fox, which has also since moved on. As long as it keeps away from my birds I will leave it alone.

I don't know much about them. Part of the weasel family I think. I haven't seen my fox since Feb/Mar. She had a den about a half-mile east of here. I had a few predators over the summer that might have been weasel or mink. Not sure about that.
At least my new coop seems to be secure. More to do though just to be safer.

Owls should be migrating through here soon and the hawks have been ever-present. I'm hoping to get the fence posts set this weekend for the out-side run. For now, the chicks are fine inside the coop.

 

[rachelsflock]

Watched the tv report on Taylor just now online. I wonder if this is just a rat year. I'm not in Taylor, but I've never had as big as an issue as I have this year, and our property is clean of food sources and I've been seeing lots of rats all over town. It makes my skin crawl, but that's life and I can deal with it by killing them. And apparently feeding weasley things. We sure do have a lot of hawks in the area too. We've even had a bald eagle in one of the trees that had to be told off for eyeing chickens.

I hope no one gets citation happy. The rats are EVERYWHERE and everyone's problem. Everyone should just shore up their own properties and businesses and kill as many as they can until the traps sit empty. That's how to get rid of rats as far as I can tell.

 

[RaZ]

I didn't see it. The lady from Ferndale, Laura, is a friend and a very good speaker. She has been working all summer on the rat problem there. Maybe this is a peak year for the rats. I've killed dozens of chipmunks here. The dogs and cats have caught a bunch as well.

 

[aart]

Had a few rats here this spring/summer, 3 over 2 months.
Never had them before in 20 years here on rural 15 acres.
1 killed by dog in yard, 2 over 3 days by snap trap after seeing poops in coop shed 2 months later.
Have been scouring yards and sheds for any sign and have not seen any(knock wood).
Think they were displaced from land clearing nearby.

ETA: one of the best things about moving from the city to the country was greatly reduced numbers of squirrels and raccoons.