animals in the roof - help

[Quiggers]

apologies this is off topic, but whatever the animal is, is driving me crazy - and spooking the kids

it's now 1030pm and i've been around the house looking for an entry/exit point - to no avail

found a good size green tree frog in the narrow roof gutter - it was carefully removed and sent down the backyard...


nearly walked on a bloody cane toad - first time i've seen one of those around here - it was despatched...

back in the house and there's the sound of not so little feet... in the roof cavity

i can't find where it gets in or out and i'm at a loss - i suspect its a possum

getting into the roof cavity for me is damn near impossible - it's low overall and the total area is enormous, but very cramped

any ideas on how to get rid of my 'house guests'?????

(i dont have a prob with snakes but putting a python up there is problematic - as in where to get one for starters and then to get it out once the job is done)

the house is a typical recent (early 90s) speccy jobbie and seems sealed but is apparently not.......

any thoughts or helpful hints would be greatly appreciated

cheers, GQ

[hiline]

any thoughts or helpful hints would be greatly appreciated

make sure your insurance is paid up :D :D

then burn the little bugger :D ;)



if it is a possum try your local council for a possom trap
they lend them to you free

[DEFENDERZOOK]

check none of the roof tiles have moved......?


place some food in a place you can get to.......and wait.....

[FenianEel]

Quiggers,

My money is on a possum.
It's amazing how these bastards can contort themsleves and how they can get in and out of small spaces.
The entry point will prob. be roof related, .ie where it overlaps, joins the walls, or more often than not, somewhere around the guttering,or eaves.

You need to find the hole/entry spot first - obviously.
Leave some sweet fruit outside, away - but near the house - when they go out, block the hole - easier said than done, I know. May take a few days.

Other 'unpleasant' suggestions :twisted:
1. 'bait' the fruit, or throw some 'baited' fruit in the roof - this will result in a bad stench and you have to find the bodies.
2. a .22, a torch, and yourself in the roof space - hopefully only you come out alive.
3. A big carpet snake or a little terrier is the go - they will generally scare them off - or eat them;)
4. Call a 'possum man' - they'll sting you about $100 though:(

Good Luck

[Quiggers]

Thanks guys, what do possums eat? I actually dont know.

I'm trying to avoid the possum man as this roof cavity is a total bugger - its a huge cramped maze and crouching around in there is fraught with danger

where the creature is - is around the eaves, internally - which is just about big enough for a possum

i'll be on the roof in the early a.m. looking for a entry point

hiline: burning it may be a bit sus as ive just bought it and its all brick, good idea tho:D :D :D
dzook: i wish i could see it
fen: instead of a snake i was kinda thinking a cat, but good idea! i've got a few neighbours with smart little doggies!!!)

any ideas on this: I have a light which is 3000 watts - if i run it up in daytime (given the roof cavity is dark) may i upset (and therefore eject) the nocturnal guest?

GQ

[hiline]

funny you should mention a light

its supposed to work at deterring them


any sweet fruit will do the trick for bait

[Frenchie]

The light is supposed to work but just make sure you don't set fire to the place. :eek:

[Quiggers]

thank you ray - you may have explained why we've suddenly got visitors after six years or so - the pawpaw trees are going well...... and the bats love these prizes, if we dont get them off first - didn't think of possums tho'.........

cheers, GQ

[dmdigital]

Buy a large python and place in the roof space... that will almost guarantee nothing else in the roof :D

As for Cane Toads - Spray with diluted solution of Detol. They last about 3 hops :twisted:

[abaddonxi]

If you have possums there should be pretty obvious tracks on the trunks of nearby trees.

Get a possum trap and put it just inside the roof cavity access so it's easy to get to once the possum is caught. There shouldn't be any possum food already in the cavity, so something tasty should catch 'em pretty easily.

They bite and scratch.

They also make scary noises in the night.

:D

Cheers
Simon

[dmdigital]

They bite and scratch.

They also make scary noises in the night.


So do Saltwater Crocodiles :eek: :D :twisted: :eek2:

[isuzurover]

If you have possums there should be pretty obvious tracks on the trunks of nearby trees.

Get a possum trap and put it just inside the roof cavity access so it's easy to get to once the possum is caught. There shouldn't be any possum food already in the cavity, so something tasty should catch 'em pretty easily.

They bite and scratch.

They also make scary noises in the night.

:D

Cheers
Simon

How do you put a possum trap in the roof cavity????????????

Put the possum trap in the yard near the house. The possum must come out sometime during the night to feed. The trap just needs to be a weldmesh cage with a door which closes when the possum starts eating the food at the other end.

[RobHay]

I will lend you "Chook" the attack cat.:o :D

[Quiggers]

"They also make scary noises in the night."

Thanks, I remember this from when I was a kid. The family house in Ryde in Sydney was rife with possums - one took a chunk out of dads finger.

None of those noises and no easy access trees around the eaves/gutters.

could be a yowie..... or a rat?

It does sound quadrapedal...

I like the idea of putting a trap at the manhole area - but getting to the manhole is an issue (which I'm not going to explain) - so i'll go with the idea of a trap in the backyard, first - note to self: contact local ranger re trap

a food source in the roof is possible - if they eat timber, cables and cardboard and old paint cans

and having said that it sounds like i need to clean out the roof cavity -

and rapidly find the access point for the guest

thank you everyone for your worthwhile ideas - i'll let you know what transpires - a pain in the butt, this little noisy drama.....

[Quiggers]

if you were a little closer id take you up on that Rob!

GQ

[Quiggers]

sweet fruit - apart from the pawpaws theres sweet citrus here too, thanks fen - i was wondering why theres a trail of fruit around the place... even the lemons have been 'chewed'.........

GQ

[dmdigital]

Just don't do what they did at one place I worked many years ago.

Problem: birds inside large corugated iron building messing up everything.

Solution: Hire exterminator who went around with a small bore shot gun getting rid of the little blitters.

Must have been a losey shot because the building leaked like a sieve next wet season :D :D :D :D

...and we still had a bird problem :D

[abaddonxi]

How do you put a possum trap in the roof cavity????????????

Put the possum trap in the yard near the house. The possum must come out sometime during the night to feed. The trap just needs to be a weldmesh cage with a door which closes when the possum starts eating the food at the other end.


Mate if the possum is too large to fit in a trap that fits through the manhole then you're in big trouble.

Bugger the traps, get the hell out of there.

Cheers
Simon.

[DirtyDawg]

In all probability it is common field mice,claws on the gyprock ceiling scurrying under insulation can be quite loud and sound as if it is something bigger, solution buy a dozen wax poison baits and throw them in the roof void, be gone within a week;)

[drivesafe]

Hi QG, I live at the base of the Gold Coast Hinterland and we are forever getting visitors in the roof.

Not long after moving in we had our first so I placed Rat Sack in the roof. Two rats died in the yard, they looked like someone’s pet rats as they were white and tan, but the big problem was ONE DIED IN THE ROOF. Never going to do that again.

Year or so later, had the sound of elephants running around the roof. This time I bought a trap, one where you put a bait on a trigger that will drop the gate whenever something starts pulling at the bait, the problem was getting the right bait.

Tried a number of things but none worked, either the bait was ignored or it got eaten without triggering the trap.

Then someone told me to put a thin piece of wire through a pumpkin seed and hook it to the trigger.

Worked a treat and I caught the first critter the first night.

It was the size of a small rat but a local checked it out, it turned out to be a Marsupial mouse and I had to take it at least 5 kms away or it would find it’s way back.

The very next night, I caught it’s mate and took it to the same place I released the first one.

I can now just about pick by the calendar when we will get our “ Roof Elephants “ making their annual visit and can get rid of all of them within a few days now.

Just buy a trap, if you have them once then there is every likelihood you will get them again.

Cheers

[crump]

possum/cat trap will set you back about $60, peanut butter is a good bait for just about everything.

[Mudnut]

You could check with your local council, if they have any traps. We got one from our's (can't remember if we paid for it) for a few weeks. Fruit didn't seem to attract the possum, but multi grain rolls did the trick the first night. Once in the trap, try and seal up any place that they can enter. Also check what you can "leagaly" do once it is traped.:twisted:
Good luck, and Happy Hunting

Ken

[MacMan]

I am currently waging war with possums. The biggest problem is not so much the possums but the neighbours who "love" them and feed them. Have done for years.

That's great, they're cute and furry and stuff. BUT! They have a nesting box on top of one of their out buildings and what do the possums do? They ignore the 3 healthy yellow gums on their side of the fence and have been utterly destroying one of our three. They come out and leap from tree to tree to get into ours. I've spoken to the neighbour who feeds them (they're disliked in the whole street it seems because they've done it for years) and they won't stop feeding them for fear of "mass possum starvation". Even when they have now admitted that a) they shouldn't have started and b) they are rooting our tree they won't budge! :mad:

So far I have tried wrapping parts of the tree's in aluminium flashing. They still get to the new growth everywhere because they can leap across from the treetops. They're also breaking the tips off all the remaining growth while they leap around. I've hosed them out of the tree back over the boundary before but last night (it was our watering night!) I tried but couldn't budge one of them. I had some success heaving clods of dirt too but that makes too much noise on the roof late at night. I can't shoot them and I dunno how I will manage to trap them.

I HATE THEM! I've tried explaining that the possums will move on if there is not enough feed for them but I can't think of a way to regrow a 35 year old yellow gum without the 35 years bit.

Suggestions!??

[Bigbjorn]

Possums can get through an incredibily small opening. They flatten themselves out and wriggle and pull through. Ever watched a cat squeeze through under a fence? Possums are the same. Go out just on dusk and watch your electricity or cable TV service wires. These are what they use as the possum super highways. In Qld. a trapped possum must be released no further than 25 metres away from point of trapping.

[Quiggers]

That last bit sounds like something from Monty Python, Brian.

I'm buggered if I can see where its getting in or out.....

When the roof dries, you'll know where i'll be...

Thanks Drivesafe, will keep that in mind. I am only making an assumption as to possums, as there is a fair amount of possum poo around the yard and I've seen a few in the trees, but that was a few years back.

I've been thru the 'dead animal in the roof' issue before - stinkorama!!!

GQ

[abaddonxi]

I am currently waging war with possums. The biggest problem is not so much the possums but the neighbours who "love" them and feed them. Have done for years.

That's great, they're cute and furry and stuff. BUT! They have a nesting box on top of one of their out buildings and what do the possums do? They ignore the 3 healthy yellow gums on their side of the fence and have been utterly destroying one of our three. They come out and leap from tree to tree to get into ours. I've spoken to the neighbour who feeds them (they're disliked in the whole street it seems because they've done it for years) and they won't stop feeding them for fear of "mass possum starvation". Even when they have now admitted that a) they shouldn't have started and b) they are rooting our tree they won't budge! :mad:

So far I have tried wrapping parts of the tree's in aluminium flashing. They still get to the new growth everywhere because they can leap across from the treetops. They're also breaking the tips off all the remaining growth while they leap around. I've hosed them out of the tree back over the boundary before but last night (it was our watering night!) I tried but couldn't budge one of them. I had some success heaving clods of dirt too but that makes too much noise on the roof late at night. I can't shoot them and I dunno how I will manage to trap them.

I HATE THEM! I've tried explaining that the possums will move on if there is not enough feed for them but I can't think of a way to regrow a 35 year old yellow gum without the 35 years bit.

Suggestions!??

Get the neighbours to trim back the overlapping branches of their trees, or do the same to yours. If there isn't a way up the trunk and no way across the branch highway they can't get to your trees.

No idea how you get them out of the trees before you lop the boughs.
:D

Cheers
Simon

[loanrangie]

possum/cat trap will set you back about $60, peanut butter is a good bait for just about everything.

Peanut butter on an apple lures them out.

[loanrangie]

We had a big fat bushy tail in our first house when we moved in, the bastard kept us awake for a month gnawing all our timber work. He ate thru some weatherboards and his fur was sticking out so i set fire to it but he just moved else where, in the end my staffie was looking at the kitchen wall funny cocking his head side to side and we discovered he was betwen the plaster and the outside boards. I went and pulled a couple of boards off and wearing long welding gloves i pulled the bugger out by his tail and put him in a cat cage and then went for a little drive and let him out on the otherside of the Yarra to me.

[cartm58]

possums will eat the rind off lemons and leave the fruit intact still hanging from the lemon tree.

possums are fauna and are protected so you cannot legally kill them

possums caught in cages are supposedly taken to new areas and released, research on this practice indicates that possums don't survive long in new areas and die they appear to have habitat terroities.

if you think you have problems with possum try living in a house with a wombat underneath your floor, when l lived in gippsland had on that burrowed under the house and another that burrowed under a water tank. No one from National Parks or Local Council would come and deal with it for me so went to all the extremes of blocking up the burrows with steel stakes broken glass concrete blocks and posion bombs.

wombat can undermine house foundation and cause collapse

possums can destroy your roof its serious problem deal with it as soon as possible.

if you trim neighbour tree branches on your side of the fence remember legally they still belong to him and return them to his side of the fence

[isuzurover]

Mate if the possum is too large to fit in a trap that fits through the manhole then you're in big trouble.

Bugger the traps, get the hell out of there.

Cheers
Simon.


Forgot about the manhole. But he did say the roof pitch is low and there is not much room up there. The trap needs to be a fair bit bigger than the possum.

[UncleHo]

G'day Numpty's Missus:)

sounds like you have a little wallaby too:D they like nice new green shoots, straight down to the ground:( just like sheep;)

How's "Castrol" did you get the cut-off key:)

[Disco300Tdi]

Hi Quiggers, dont use the Possum man as he only catches them, then you plug the hole, then because they are very territorial he releases them maybe only 50-100 metres from the point of apprenhension


If you catch it though I have posted some lovely recipes for you to enjoy........


Wild Possum Kabob

Ingredients:
1 Still breathing, corn-fed Possum
3 Ripe but firm tomatoes
1 Large white or yellow onion
1/2 pound large mushrooms
2 large green peppers
1 package meat marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
12 skewers (sticks are okay in Tasmania)

Preparation:
The possum must be alive so that you can scare it, giving you the "wild" taste from all the adrenaline it produces. It is best to hit it over the head with a large object in a humane manner. Boil the possum for 3 minutes to loosen the fur then skin and gut it.
De-limb (chop the little knubby legs off) the possum and cut the meat into 1/2 inch square chunks. Marinate overnight in a mixture of meat marinade and soy sauce. Queensland residents who have no fridge can use an ice chest and may use radiator coolant instead of soy sauce.
Thread the meat and veggies onto your skewer/stick in alternating sequences to distribute the delicious flavor evenly. Cook over a barbecue, pit, 50 gallon drum or any other fire till you get the desired result. For added flavor, you can cook it over burning tires.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/
Possum and Taters

Ingredients:
1 young, fat possum
8 sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
salt

Directions: First, catch a possum. This in itself is excellent entertainment on a moonlight night. Skin the possum and remove the head and feet. Be sure to wash it thoroughly. Freeze overnight either outside or in a refrigerator.
When ready to cook, peel the potatoes and boil them tender in lightly salted water along with the butter and sugar. At the same time, stew the possum tender in a tightly covered pan with a little water. Arrange the taters around the possum, strip with bacon, sprinkle with thyme or marjoram, or pepper, and brown in the oven. Baste often with the drippings.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/
Possum Pot Pie


Ingredients:
1 cup glazed huckleberries
3 shots gin or moonshine
1 possum
---if roadkill: make jambalaya
---if caught: proceed with recipe
1 pie crust
sliced carrots & cabbage to taste
Directions:
Cover a pan (or any implement you can put in a fire) with the bottom of your pie crust, and place the possum in it. Add the huckleberries and carrots, and shred the cabbage over it. Close up the pie and bake until the neighbors' dogs come sniffing around to see what the wonderful smell is, or until the fire department arrives (whichever comes first). Remove pie from fire/oven, slice, and enjoy.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/
Possum Creole

Ingredients:
1 slightly injured possum
1 cup mayonnaise
8 cups pig fat
2 cups buttermilk
2 fresh green peppers

Directions: Slice green peppers and mix ingredients in a large bowl(exclude possum). Cut possum into chunks or thin strips. Mix possum chunks into bowl. Transfer contents of bowl into a casserole dich and bake under 350 degrees for two hours. Remove from oven, let sit for half an hour, and serve. ENJOY!!


Maybe I have been to New Zealand and had some,
Maybe they where a bit of road kill,
Maybe as a child had some on a camping trip

[Disco300Tdi]

Maybe my post should be in "Camping, Tucker and Bush Basics"

[isuzurover]

Maybe my post should be in "Camping, Tucker and Bush Basics"

Are you from NZ by any chance???



even though they are protected species, some people regard possums as pests, and illegally trap or kill them.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/september2006/

[dobbo]

Get some peaches and soak them for a few days in a decent Cognac. Once their done you have two options

A: bait the possums with the sweet tasting fruit, once consumed they'll be to p1ssed to fight and can be safely picked up, put in a box and driven a few metres next to the local fruit shop.

B: Eat the fruit yourself combined with a nice cigar, then once your a bit invincible get in the roof and wrestle the little B45t4rd5 out. Then to confuse the neighbours who look at you with the fancy 4wd sipping cognac and smoking big cigars all day and invite them over for a redneck BBQ of Cognac marinated possum steaks.

[Quiggers]

dobbo wins...


thank you all for all your replies


i'm not into killing animals so that's why i will make sure it (them) gets out and then cant get back in

the problem is the noise and the appearance of animal urine in the gyprock ceiling

having just acquired this place after renting it for years, i'd like it to be in okay condition for a while yet...

BTW: in this rural suburbia it is animal central - maybe 40 + species of birds, the occasional wallaby, many lizards, a few snakes; spiders and insects

none of which are a concern - except those having a party in the roof....

GQ

[cartm58]

used to be bakery in norther tasmanian on the coast that used to have road kill meat pies and australian funa meat pies, they were very tasty as l recall and lovely bakery sown in snub in south east corner of tasmania tha did the world best scallop curry pies

[FenianEel]

used to be bakery in norther tasmanian on the coast that used to have road kill meat pies and australian funa meat pies, they were very tasty as l recall and lovely bakery sown in snub in south east corner of tasmania tha did the world best scallop curry pies

Would you expect anything else from the state that has a place called "egg and bacon bay":D ?

[Quiggers]

South east corner of tassie? Hobart?

Might be a possum pie around here before too long....LOL

GQ

[Chenz]

A bloke told me once that if I wanted to get rid of the possum out of my roof I should run a trail of food like fruit or peanut butter out to the garden.

Now I have two possums in my roof.

Seriously though my money would be on rats. Had some recently and they sound like elephants with steel capped boots on. Some baits and a trap or two did the trick. Nothing like the sound of the trap going off at about 2am

[Quiggers]

You living in my roof chenz? Described the noises perfectly!


I'm thinking how I can connect up the tailpipe to the roof cavity and gas 'em.......probably need the X1/9 for this - it's pre anti pollution gear -

or i could just stick the mower in there for a while

but the neighbours may think i'm growing grass in the roof

whatever it is must be paranoid as it obviously heard me talking about it and has, for now, disappeared or gone quiet or such......

it's the dinosaur from 'toy story'

see what happens tonight...... when the cane toads arrive.. again.....

i hope it's watching.. and then it will see how handy i am with a seven iron:twisted:

[Bigbjorn]

That last bit sounds like something from Monty Python, Brian.

GQ

I thought so too. That is what the Parks & Wildlife peopole told me, and also a yellow pages possum catcher. I would have put the bugger in a box and shipped it miles away. apparently they are territorial and releasing a possum into someone elses territory causes possum wars and usually the maiming or death of one or both.

[Quiggers]

Yup, I undertand exactly what you're saying Brian.

Around here at the moment we have "Kookaburra wars" as they are territorial and the popluation has increased - I assume a lack of Kookaburra predators has caused this noisy issue - at around dawn each day.

Apparently even the 'house' green tree frog has a territory - local NPWS guy said they also will return to their chosen space, if dislocated.

So, I suppose I need a sign on the roof saying: "Animal House":D

GQ

[Disco300Tdi]

You living in my roof chenz? Described the noises perfectly!


I'm thinking how I can connect up the tailpipe to the roof cavity and gas 'em.......probably need the X1/9 for this - it's pre anti pollution gear -

or i could just stick the mower in there for a while

but the neighbours may think i'm growing grass in the roof

whatever it is must be paranoid as it obviously heard me talking about it and has, for now, disappeared or gone quiet or such......

it's the dinosaur from 'toy story'

see what happens tonight...... when the cane toads arrive.. again.....

i hope it's watching.. and then it will see how handy i am with a seven iron:twisted:

Couldn't help myself Quiggers



ROOF RAT PIE roof rats, roof rats, roof rats roof rats, roof rats, roof rats

Take 4 potatoes, boil, mash, season, add cream, line 8" pie shell with them.

Boil six medium sized Roof Rats. roof rats, roof rats, roof rats roof rats, roof rats, roof rats

If the rodents are the right size, you should have 2 cups of rat meat (depending if you've cleaned the carcasses well enough.) Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, add l cup blanched, chopped almonds, l cup cracker crumbs, l egg, (reserve l tsp for topping) making a burger. OPTIONAL: bell pepper, onions, cilantro, parsley, thyme, oregano, l can creamed corn.
Fill the pie. Cover with more potatoes. Use egg/cream to wipe down pie so it toasts brownish in oven. roof rats, roof rats, roof rats roof rats, roof rats, roof rats

Remember, a rabbit is just a big rodent. The taste of the flesh is identical. Ask any concentration camp visitor. roof rats, roof rats, roof rats roof rats, roof rats, roof rats

TIP: when cooking Roof Rats, pre-soaking up to 5 hours helps take away that pesky rodent flavor. AND the longer you cook it, with the other ingredients, the better.



Or a bit of "Toad Rage"



Uncle Bart said Limpy, 'why do humans hate us?'
Uncle Bart looked down at Limpy and smiled fondly.
'Stack me, Limpy,' he chuckled, 'you are an idiot.'
Limpy felt his warts *****le with indignation as Uncle Bart hopped onto the road after a bull ant.
No wonder I've never heard any other cane toad ask that question, thought Limpy, if that's the reply you get.
Limpy was glad the grass at the edge of the highway was taller than he was. At least the millions of insects flying around the railway crossing light couldn't see who Uncle Bart was calling an idiot.
'Humans don't hate us,' Uncle Bart was saying, his mouth full of bull ant and grasshopper. 'What are you on about? Stack me, some of the dopey ideas you youngsters come up with ...'
Limpy waited patiently for Uncle Bart to finish. Uncle Bart was his fattest uncle, and his bossiest. When Uncle Bart had a point to make, he liked to keep on making it until you gave in and looked convinced.
Tonight, though, Limpy didn't give in.
He didn't have to. While Uncle Bart was getting his mucus in a knot about how humans definitely didn't hate cane toads, a truck came roaring round the corner in a blaze of lights, straightened up, rumbled through the railway crossing, swerved across the road straight at Uncle Bart and drove over him.
Limpy trembled in the grass while the truck thundered past in a cloud of diesel fumes and flying grit. Then he hopped onto the road and looked down at what was left of Uncle Bart.
The light overhead was very bright because it had a whole railway crossing to illuminate, and Limpy was able to see very clearly that Uncle Bart wasn't his fattest uncle any more.
Flattest, more like, he thought sadly.
'See,' he said quietly to Uncle Bart. 'That's what I'm on about.'
'Har har har,' chortled a nearby grasshopper. 'Your uncle's a placemat. Serves him right.'
Limpy ignored the grasshopper and turned and watched the truck speeding away into the darkness. From the movement of its tail lights he could tell it was weaving from side to side. Each time it weaved, he heard the distant 'pop' of another relative being run over.
'Yay,' shouted the grasshopper. 'More placemats.'
Limpy sighed.
He decided not to eat the grasshopper. Mum was always warning him he'd get a get belly ache if he ate when he was upset or angry.
To take his mind off Uncle Bart, Limpy crossed the road to have a look at Uncle Roly.
Uncle Roly was extremely flat too, but at least he was smiling.
Which is what you'd expect, thought Limpy sadly, from your kindest uncle, even when he has been dead for two nights.
Limpy reached forward and gently prodded Uncle Roly. He was dry and stiff. The hot Queensland sun had done its job.
Limpy remembered how Uncle Roly had never been dry and stiff when he was alive. He'd always had a warm smile for everyone, even the family of holidaymakers two evenings ago who'd purposely aimed their car straight for him down the wrong side of the road.
'Oh, Uncle Roly,' whispered Limpy. 'Couldn't you see the way they were looking at you?'
Limpy shuddered as he remembered the scary expressions on the holidaymakers' faces. It was exactly the same look of hatred that had been on the face of the truck driver who'd tried to kill Limpy when he was little.
I was lucky, thought Limpy sadly. When it happened to me I'd only just finished being a tadpole. I had a pair of brand new legs and I could hop almost completely out of the way. I only got one leg a bit squashed. Poor old Uncle Roly was completely flat before he knew what hit him.
Limpy felt his crook leg start to ache, as it often did when he was sad and stressed. He gazed down at Uncle Roly's very wide smile and felt his throat sac start to wobble.
Why?
Why would a car-load of humans purposely kill an uncle who had such a good heart that he was still smiling two nights after being run over by a station wagon and caravan?
I don't get it, thought Limpy. I can understand why grasshoppers and other insects don't like us. It's because we eat them. But we don't eat humans. We can't even fit them into our mouths. So why do they hate us?
Limpy felt his warts tingle with determination.
One day, he thought, I'll go to a human place and find out why and do something about it, even if I end up dry and stiff and flat myself.
The thought made him feel weak and sick.
'Time to go home, Uncle Roly,' he said.
Limpy picked Uncle Roly up, heaved him onto his shoulders, and hopped slowly back across the road to Uncle Bart.
'Bye, Uncle Bart,' said Limpy to the damp layer of pressed skin and flat warts on the tarmac. 'I'll be back for you when you've dried out.'
He wondered if he'd find the courage to visit the humans before he saw Uncle Bart again.
I need to get braver, he thought. But how?
'Rack off, placemat,' yelled the grasshopper.
Ignoring all thoughts of belly ache, Limpy ate him.
Practise, thought Limpy as he chewed, that's how.

[Quiggers]

Yours: "Limpy remembered how Uncle Roly had never been dry and stiff when he was alive."

Poor guy was an alcoholic!

Well written there, 84RR!!!!!!!

I'll only eat lobster, ever again..........:D :D :D

GQ

[Bigbjorn]

And quiggers is dead right about the bloody frogs too. they used to make so much noise calling to each other when they were getting it on that I started going out into my paved barbecue area, catching them and taking them down the end of the street, 5 houses plus a road width and releasing them in the bushland reserve which has a small creek. The bastards were back in their holes at my place before I was!

[Quiggers]

Hello everyone who helped and made this discourse valuable.

It was a rat and it still is.

Having lived 'up there' for a while, i saw a rat run across the loungeroom floor and right into a hole in the gyprock wall, didn't even know it was there (the hole).

The rat found the pantry and chewed a bag of flour.

I sealed the pantry.

Another bag of flour was gnawed, the next night.

Today, I went in search of another hole - in the pantry.

I found a rat - asleep behind some pantry junk at my eye level.

It shot off over my left shoulder and disappeared.

The rat still has four working legs and I have one.

The right leg, as I jumped, cramped and is 12 hours later, agony, torn my calf muscle.

Rat 1. Quiggers 0

JohnE just happened by, and came back later with rat baits.

Amazing what happens on AULRO, thanks John!

I won't be walking for a week, calf muscle is cactus. JohnE smiles, SWMBO is well, umm, unsympathetic, the kids dont take any excuse for not driving them wherever, and the dirty rat is somewhere laughing at this circus.

GQ:D :eek: :twisted: :p

you can all laugh, I'll take it

there'll be a rat muster in my pantry over easter, for those of you, who have no other easter plans or excuses:D

[abaddonxi]

There's never just one rat.

Cheers
Simon.

[JohnE]

i may as well add a bit to the saga of the elephant in the roof.
too bad i didn't read this when it was first posted, alas i was in adelaide,
Now don't laugh poor quiggers is hobbling about relating the tale of his survival after being attacked by a sleeping rat, looked sore, but i couldn;t help laughing.
I only found out yesterday morning when i popped around to say hello, and noticed the hobbling walk.
yes definately a rodent, without seeing it. Funny after now seeing all your respective comments, i talked about nearly all of them.
I guess by know it would have been dispatched.
I did offer to help, but the matter was in hand, revenge is sweet.
A couple of Tomcat red baits, on a coathanger, will help see if the mate is in the roof.
And so the tale of the elephant in the roof has been solved, access points have been fixed and one intrepid home owner injured.

BTW, quiggers forgot to bring over a piece of gyprock, for the hole next to the powerpoint. Will do that later in the week.


john

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Dontcha love happy endings:D:D


oh,, except for Quiggers:angel::p:p:p

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Please tell us you caught the beer:eek:

[Quiggers]

It's still in the house John - it must have escaped the pantry in the melee of me collapsing, (or there is another hole in the pantry, somewhere).

The little bugger returned and chewed on the block of wood outside the pantry door for a while last night but didn't go near the bait or the trap which was peanut buttered.

Dunno where it is now, and daughter reckons she heard noises in the roof above her bedroom last night, as well. (You may well be right Simon)

Time to contact rent a snake, cat and terrier doggie....

This saga is becoming something akin a Warner Bros cartoon....

And the leg is no better, arrgh!!!!

GQ

[Pedro_The_Swift]

sounds like your days as a professional athlete are numbered:angel:

[Ace]

we get rats in our roof, problem is the roof is a flat type so no man hole, i am going to take a few sheets of tin off in the hols and throw some baits in.

[JohnE]

Oh no its running free, but where behind a bookcase, near the Tv?? in your office? and went back to the food.
a couple of traps set around the kitchen maybe, don't put the tomcat in the house just in case, it does have nibble.
Or maybe open up the entry/escape hole and let it get back into the roof , then let the tomcat baits do the rest.
i guess it would be really hungry by now, try the flour on the floor trick, so you can see what direction it comes from.
I could bring around the little ratter, debras maltese, he can sniff them out, but then he finds them he doesn;t know how to chomp on them. i taught the bugger to find them but thats about it. He has been really successful over in the bails and the workshop. Then i have to chase and flatten them.

A couple of well placed traps would be better, if you want a hand just let me know.
The old hands around here tell me you have to use fresh brand new traps as the wary rat won't go near a used one.


john


john

[Pedro_The_Swift]

no wonder he didnt talk to you for two weeks,,,,;):p

[JohnE]

No reply this morning,
never got over there yesterday,
I hope the quiggers household is not being held hostage by the rat!



john

[Quiggers]

It was back in the pantry again last night and now its gone to the roof.

Must've made itself an access hole in the somewhere.

Pulling out the goods and chattels of that room is something I'm really looking forward to..... NOT!

Cheers, GQ

[Vern]

Rats love eating the insulation on electrical cables,and you know what that means, exposed conductors and possible fire (believe me seen my fair share(sparky)).
My advise is buy/borrow a jack russell, they love rats

[Quiggers]

Thanks 6.5.

Now I'm concerned, the damn thing's back in the roof...gnawing on something....sounds like timber. So the roof will fall in but we shouldn't catch fire:eek:

Gotta nail this problem...

GQ

[hiline]

Thanks 6.5.

Now I'm concerned, the damn thing's back in the roof...gnawing on something....sounds like timber. So the roof will fall in but we shouldn't catch fire:eek:

Gotta nail this problem...

GQ


if you don't catch it soon :eek:

you'd best get some acro props for your bedroom ceiling;)

[Quiggers]

Thanks Ray,

Traps are set, baits laid... and it's very quiet...

GQ

[hiline]

now waiting game starts :D :D

all lay still listening for the sound of the trap ..............:whistling: :whistling:



then all of a sudden WACKKKKKKKKKKKKK got him :2up:

cop that bloody rat :rocket: :rocket: :rocket:

[Quiggers]

This rat is smart, Ray,

it's probably on the other computer reading the plan of attack.:D

As soon as I go to bed, it'll probably start the tap dancing practice again:twisted:

GQ

[abaddonxi]

Well there's only one thing to do while you're waiting.

Nothing quite like the snap of a rat trap to put you off that magic moment. Gives the girls a big thrill.

Had it happen twice.:eek:

Cheers
Simon

[Quiggers]

Do you think this is the way to bring this saga to a climax, Simon?:twisted:

GQ

[hiline]

This rat is smart, Ray,

it's probably on the other computer reading the plan of attack.:D

As soon as I go to bed, it'll probably start the tap dancing practice again:twisted:

GQ

:D :D :D for a outsider this is really funny i must say;)

we had them a few yrs back in the holiday house :mad:
every night you could hear the bloody things running across the ceiling:twisted:

and across the other-side of the ceiling was a birds nest
they would run across and drag the baby birds out:o
then run back eating them

it was a horrible sound let me tell you

[Quiggers]

That's very encouraging Ray....:eek:

Good thing my aviary of budgies is solid....

Funny? Last night it was having a chat with the siamese fighting fish, I know this because in front of the fish tank stands a small bottle of fish food, which was knocked to the ground, and I don't think the fish is that dextrious.


GQ

[hiline]

Funny? Last night it was having a chat with the siamese fighting fish:eek: :eek:

nah mate thats strange not funny :D ;)

did he tell you that he had seen them running around ........

[Quiggers]

The fish must be on the rats side, wont say a word.....

I'm going to bed, nite!

GQ

[hiline]

take your ear muffs with ya :tease:

your gunna need them ;)

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Funny? Last night it was having a chat with the siamese fighting fish, I know this because in front of the fish tank stands a small bottle of fish food, which was knocked to the ground, and I don't think the fish is that dextrious.


GQ

Is it possible it's a Siberian Hampster? There is a different attack plan for them :p

[JohnE]

quiggers sounds to me like one in the house and one in the roof, and the house rat is pretty nimble to be able to get up onto that cabinet that has the siamese fish tank on it.

I chased a rat in the bails one day after the maltese ratter found it.
the bloody thing ran around the floor with the dog chasing it, then leaped 4ft onto the workbench then 5ft straight up a wall into the roof.
Yours is definately a macca orchard raised and fed super rat.

I;ve got a box of ratshot, in case you want to go spotlighting, although as i said the other day my personal preference these days is the 12gauge, as well as pruning the trees you get more rats per shot.

which reminds me , now that i have started dehusking, its time to do a bait run in the shed again.

The sage continues


john

[Pedro_The_Swift]

that fish is fighting out of his weight division,,,

[JohnE]

Just saw a bit white cat walking across the paddock, it definately wasn't mine, will have to go and investigate, if its friendly , i'll try and catch it for you a free ratter.


john

[hiline]

that fish is fighting out of his weight division,,,


in the blue corner we have one said big rat :D

and in the watered corner we have fighting fish :o


round1......................opps its over :eek:

no fight in fighting fish :D :D

[barney]

i have animals in my roof too. i hear them each morning while i am watching tv before work. we have a flat roof and raked ceiling, they hide right up near the peak of the roof.
i think thay are bush rats or ring tail possums, i think i know where they are getting in, the trick is to block it off while they are out for the night.

[Quiggers]

This damn rat issue is getting tedious - time for some polonium - which apparently does a top job of knocking over defective recalcitrant Russian spies....:twisted:

It's still in the roof and dismissing any baits or traps, smart arrrrse.

GQ

[abaddonxi]

i have animals in my roof too. i hear them each morning while i am watching tv before work. we have a flat roof and raked ceiling, they hide right up near the peak of the roof.
i think thay are bush rats or ring tail possums, i think i know where they are getting in, the trick is to block it off while they are out for the night.

Sounds like they don't like your choice of morning TV.

Maybe you just need to get together with them and find an amicable compromise; cartoons maybe.

Cheers
Simon

[Pedro_The_Swift]

"time for some polonium - which apparently does a top job of knocking over defective recalcitrant Russian spies....:twisted:"


ooh , dont give away the plot Quiggers---:p

[Quiggers]

The rat is now an ex rat.

A rat trap placed beside the man hole cover and smeared with peanut butter was the rats demise.

Now I have to retrieve it.

Thank you to all who assisted.

The end.....

GQ

[S3ute]

Hello from Brisbane.

Hope this old thread is a good starting point.

Seem to have acquired a possum in the roof of the residence. First in about a decade, so previous efforts at proofing the place had until now been reasonably successful.

I am looking for a possum trap to borrow if anyone has one. You used to be able to hire them from the local catchers or I would use one from work. The work ones no longer exist and you can't free hire possum traps any more.

Anyone able to help out there?

Cheers

[wrinklearthur]

Hi Neil

My place is a renovation never ending story and I have beaten the little B's.

First, I have made my possum trap's out of bit's and pieces I had laying about and finished they look as good as a brought one. They probably work better than the shop variety as well.

The cage is made from weld mesh WG423 50 x 75 x 4.00, I had brought for making tree guard's, a easy way to fold this is to clamp length's of timber both sides and strain the wire in the direction of the fold and hit with a hammer the bend in each one of the wires in turn to square off the corner. The sliding door is a piece of cement sheeting that slides down in a aluminium frame salvaged from a broken glass shower screen. The trip lever to let the door drop, is a bit of number 8 fencing wire, hung as a pendulum at the end of the cage, that the piece of apple is attached to the hook formed in it and in turn another wire is used as a rod to release the door.

To prevent a fresh ( or smelly ) re-infestation in my roof, I stapled chook netting around the roof frame where the ongoing renovations have left the roof cavity exposed. But I made a boo- boo in my selection of size and the sparrows can still get in, so to fix that problem I have cats, now the there are too many cats and the possum trap has been upgraded to be called a cat trap. Now I have too many trees to mow around. :angel:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

are you out there Quiggers??:confused:

[Saitch]

Hello from Brisbane.

Hope this old thread is a good starting point.

Seem to have acquired a possum in the roof of the residence. First in about a decade, so previous efforts at proofing the place had until now been reasonably successful.

I am looking for a possum trap to borrow if anyone has one. You used to be able to hire them from the local catchers or I would use one from work. The work ones no longer exist and you can't free hire possum traps any more.

Anyone able to help out there?

Cheers
I've got two types!
You're welcome to either if you want to pick them up.
I'm N-W of Brissie.
Steve

[S3ute]

Hello again.

Might take you up on the first option.

I am in Melbourne for a few days and back in Brisbane on Friday night.

We have plenty of the second option in the neighbourhood and occasionally on the roof - but the ladies of the house would be a bit reluctant to have me start stuffing the roof full of snakes.

Cheers,

[Hoges]

A large possum can crawl through a 3" gap...
It will go out at night for food and return just before dawn. Wire mesh over the entry will dissuade return visits.
Just make sure you are in stealth mode when you remove and relocate the offender with "option 1". The possum cuddlers in the Qld bureaucracy are back in the top seat ...$10k fine or thereabouts for a DIY remove/relocate job if you are brought to their attention.... hence the reason why you can't hire traps any more. You can buy a "cat trap" ;) however for $60 off the back of a ute...and he delivers!:angel::wasntme:

[S3ute]

Hello again.

Yes, I am aware of the critters ecology. And did successfully free the estate roof of them for nearly more than a decade.

The latest seems to have breached the barricades which will require looking into - easier said than done with a Queenslander of many roof sections and set quite a height off the ground.

Permits are required to trap and have yet to peruse the rules but assume that Joe Average getting said permit will be a challenging task. A bit like when I tried to reduce the kangaroo population on our farm in NSW during a prolonged droughts from around 500 neo-permanents to the historical near zero - offered 15 tags.....

But keen to at least get the beastie out of the roof and into an adjacent tree - noting the 25 metre release rule.

See what emerges.

Cheers

[1950landy]

Hello from Brisbane.

Hope this old thread is a good starting point.

Seem to have acquired a possum in the roof of the residence. First in about a decade, so previous efforts at proofing the place had until now been reasonably successful.

I am looking for a possum trap to borrow if anyone has one. You used to be able to hire them from the local catchers or I would use one from work. The work ones no longer exist and you can't free hire possum traps any more.

Anyone able to help out there?

Cheers
I have one but am using it at the moment .The possums drive the dog mad at night . You could borrow mine once I catch the one that is hanging around at the moment.

[zulu Delta 534]

Possums detest the smell of mothballs. Place enough in strategic positions in the ceiling and they will leave.
Regards
Glen