An idea with potential

capt_buzzard · Post by **capt_buzzard** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:45 pm

We all hate rats, right? Pigeons without wings, they do nothing other than freak us out and wreck the place.

But in Africa the giant pouched rat is becoming a firm favourite with people trying to clear up mine fields. Having trained them to sniff out land mines, the rats scratch around the surface and allow the field workers to indentify their position.

Good but not great. Why not train them to bite into the mine, thus getting rid of the two dangers at the same time.

rachelg · Post by **rachelg** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:22 pm

I am a true rat hater, and rats are probably the only thing I'm really afraid of. Just the sight of one makes my knees weak, but if you put all the training into the rat, it seems a shame to blow it up. They would constantly be training new ones which could be kind of expensive.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:27 pm

capt_buzzard wrote: We all hate rats, right? Pigeons without wings, they do nothing other than freak us out and wreck the place.

But in Africa the giant pouched rat is becoming a firm favourite with people trying to clear up mine fields. Having trained them to sniff out land mines, the rats scratch around the surface and allow the field workers to indentify their position.

Good but not great. Why not train them to bite into the mine, thus getting rid of the two dangers at the same time.
What a great idea. I'm sure if the rats were big enough, all they would have to do is walk over the mine. BLAM++++POW+++++BOOM no more rat.

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:22 am

rachelg wrote: I am a true rat hater, and rats are probably the only thing I'm really afraid of. Just the sight of one makes my knees weak, but if you put all the training into the rat, it seems a shame to blow it up. They would constantly be training new ones which could be kind of expensive.

Rachelg, i feed my cows near my house surrounded by stone walls. Food gets into the stone walls, i have seen Large Rats there eating. Common in farm areas to have these pests.

An exterminating company comes 4 times a year for (everything) bugs to toads & my father in law feeds them their Favorite D-Con regularly.

rachelg · Post by **rachelg** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:49 am

Paula wrote: Rachelg, i feed my cows near my house surrounded by stone walls. Food gets into the stone walls, i have seen Large Rats there eating. Common in farm areas to have these pests.

An exterminating company comes 4 times a year for (everything) bugs to toads & my father in law feeds them their Favorite D-Con regularly.
Oh, believe me, I am all for vanquishing rats from the face of the earth. They come to eat dog food occasionally too, and since I'm deathly afraid of them, it's nearly like having a heart attack when one of those monsters makes an appearance. I use poison too. I was just saying maybe those that have the landmine sniffing training should be kept for the landmine detecting purpose. Now, if they could find a way to draw other rats from the fields while sniffing for the landmines (like a rat pied-piper) they might be on to something!

Blow them all up!

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 9:21 am

Its all about eating, they like to eat. Manure to probably a dead animal (i think). Yes we have had a rat near our Beagle (Raisin) as they like the you know what? Rats: Large Mice? Good Idea with the potential the thread, but i think there is some work involved here. :-2

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 1:57 pm

So sad how much everyone hates rats. It is a universal hate. I just love animals so much and feel sad for these little creatures that God created. It is really all just in our heads.... a fear like any other. I myself am terrified of cockroaches, so I do think I can understand the feeling you all get when around a rat. I know that flighty feeling is very real and makes you want to jump on a chair! The thing that bothers me is how we react in front of impressionable children. At a ballfield once I witnessed young boys throwing frogs up in the air and kicking them/killing them in the air....and several adults gasped. I believe this type of behavior stems from parents/adults not teaching children respect for all God's creatures. This includes RATS! I also believe this can stem from not having exposure to pets. A boy down the block (in a nice well adjusted family home), intentionally killed a hamster that his family was pet-sitting. This boy, age 6 is not allowed to have pets because they are "dirty"........And the parents wonder why he did this? So what I am asking is just really a reminder...can we be careful about the way we react to things like rats, frogs, mice..... in front of children? Because they are listening and animal abuse is where it starts...next they are killing people and society sits back and scratches their chins, stumped about where it all started!

rachelg · Post by **rachelg** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 6:05 pm

robinseggs wrote: So sad how much everyone hates rats. It is a universal hate. I just love animals so much and feel sad for these little creatures that God created. It is really all just in our heads.... a fear like any other. I myself am terrified of cockroaches, so I do think I can understand the feeling you all get when around a rat. I know that flighty feeling is very real and makes you want to jump on a chair! The thing that bothers me is how we react in front of impressionable children. At a ballfield once I witnessed young boys throwing frogs up in the air and kicking them/killing them in the air....and several adults gasped. I believe this type of behavior stems from parents/adults not teaching children respect for all God's creatures. This includes RATS! I also believe this can stem from not having exposure to pets. A boy down the block (in a nice well adjusted family home), intentionally killed a hamster that his family was pet-sitting. This boy, age 6 is not allowed to have pets because they are "dirty"........And the parents wonder why he did this? So what I am asking is just really a reminder...can we be careful about the way we react to things like rats, frogs, mice..... in front of children? Because they are listening and animal abuse is where it starts...next they are killing people and society sits back and scratches their chins, stumped about where it all started!

That parents cause the fear may be true in some cases, but it isn't the case with me. I love all other animals and have had all kinds of animals as pets. I was always catching bugs and frogs when I was little to have as pets for a few days; then my mom would make me let them go. She said their families were worried about them.

My fear of rats started when I was in our basement one day and I thought I spied a blue rubber toy of some sort in a basket in the dark corner. I picked it up by what looked like a blue rubber foot, but it turned out to be a rat (still very much alive and pissed off) caught in a steel muskrat trap (we lived by a creek and some people trapped muskrats). It's foot was blue because it had been walking throught the blue marking chalk that was used to mark off level lines for building. My parents were still building on the house at that time. When those fierce eyes looked at me, I lost it. I couldn't stop jumping backward and yelling. I just can't get over how much that scared me, I guess.

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 6:39 pm

robineggs, this is the first time i have ever heard some-one like rats? i am not afraid of them, i just stay away & tell some-one when one is around.

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 9:29 pm

LOL! OMG, Rachelg, that WAS a pretty frightening experience! Wow! Can't say I could have forgotten that. I dunno........maybe it was pure luck, but for the most part all of my experiences with animals have been positive. My dad, a doctor, got a minor in zoology in college so he knew a lot--even had a pet rat in the fraternity house! They said she was super smart and never went anywhere without one of the guys. Maybe all the cute stories got me. I always had pet mice, hamsters, guinea pigs...(even have one now), I just don't know. Well Paula, you would never believe.......I am terrified of COWS!!! HA! Rachelg, your story is still giving me goosebumps!