I strongly believe in the 2nd Amendment and its exercise on rats of this size. I put one down around my pond with a paintball gun to the head. You could easily trap it if you wanted to go with a higher expense.
I too support the right to arm bears...I use a bee bee for squirrels, the dogs take care of the rest...
BTW, is the 'pond' a CR pond???hint, hint hint...what do you stock?