On Sun, 10 Apr 2016 19:12:59 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote:


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With no rodent intervention or other calamity, rubber (plastic) parts
probably do last that long up north. The tropics change the rules a
bit.
Lots of stuff that works in a 4 month boating season in cold water
don't do as well in warm water and 12 months of sun.

"I am getting pretty good at minimizing my headaches but I am a tad
confused on this rat. He must have got in when I left the console door
open overnight and ate his way out. They usually don't work that hard
to chew their way in. With a dozen neighbors feeding the rats from
their fruit trees, I am getting to be quite a rat wrangler.
I can keep them out of the house and the screen cage but to think they
are not here is simply denial.
I really do like my snakes."


Living in a port city we do see the occasional Norway Rat. In fact one has become especially fond of the bird food that the sparrows toss to the ground from the feeder. Wife just ordered a humane rat trap from Amazon yesterday. We didn't want to take chance on killing the squirrels that come for the peanuts.

These are all roof rats (rattus rattus) AKA fruit rats, black rats,
tree rats or palmetto squirrels if you are not trying to scare the
tourists.

I doubt they are really any more dangerous than gray squirrels in this
environment but they did kill half of Europe several hundred years
ago. They are the rats implicated in the plague and they will make
themselves right at home in your house. They are pretty sneaky and you
might not even notice right away.

I haven't seen a Norway since I left Maryland. We used to see them in
the bird feeders up there quite a bit. One reason why I don't feed
birds.

I have actually had as much luck catching rats in a live trap as any
other method except, maybe a glue trap. Just wash it out well between
rats. They will pee in there with some extra pheromone and alert other
rats that this is a bad spot.