Rats? Here’s one resident’s helpful hints

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One Magnolia resident, who has had his fair share of rat problems has these helpful reminders for neighbors on how to keep unwanted visitors at bay. He writes:

Now that cooler weather is approaching please be aware that there are many rats in our area that are looking for warm homes for the winter. Make sure that if you are composting yard waste to use at a later date that it is in a covered, sturdy trash container. The best way to dispose of dead branches is to cut them into 4-feet lengths and placed in the yard waste container provided by the City for yard waste use. A brush pile is a castle to a family of rats. Do a perimeter check of your house and garage to make sure there are no small spaces that rats can squeeze into.
I speak from experience. I live in a neighborhood of nice, clean upscale homes. There is one neighbor who has chickens and many piles of tree refuse. We are now seeing evidence of rats in our yard and have caught four in the last three days. If you feed the winter birds, be diligent about cleaning up discarded seeds and hulls as this is a harvest dinner for rodents. Be on the lookout for rats and do not use rat poison as other animals feed on the dead animals and the poison continues up the food chain. Trapping rats with spring traps is the only way you will know if you have eliminated them from your area. If emptying the traps is distasteful, just throw the trap and rat in the regular garbage.

– Anonymous Magnolia Resident