posted March 29, 2008 09:03 PM         

hantavirus!!!

run run run!!!

seriously, its rare to get it.
I just wanted to join the panic.

posted April 01, 2008 09:10 AM         

I actually see rodents as adorable; their twinkly little eyes, their twitching noses and whiskers, the way they hold their food in their dainty little hands and nibble away......

I'm not saying we shouldn't be careful when it comes to these health related issues; I only wish we would evolve towards humane as possible ways of solving these problems.

I have kept rats in the past, and I can tell you that they are extremely intelligent and affectionate.

Bless all our brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom.

At the end of the day, I know in my heart that all beings are from the same source.

posted April 01, 2008 09:13 AM         

July 5, 2006—It could be the most spirited interspecies escape since The Rescuers. But unlike the 1977 Disney movie, this situation is anything but fun.

Photographed Friday in the northern Indian city of Lucknow (India map), a mouse perches on a frog in waist-deep (for a frog, anyway) floodwaters—a small sign of the early arrival of annual summer monsoon rains.

So far, more than 30 people have died in India as a result of this year's monsoon-driven landslides and floods. Last year's deluge killed some 1,000 people in the financial center of Mumbai (Bombay) alone. Today polluted, knee-deep waters are raising fears of a repeat disaster among the city's roughly 17 million inhabitants.

In drought-stricken areas, too, frogs were playing the role of rescuer.

According to the Indo-Asian News Service, some rural Indians are holding frog weddings in the hopes that the amphibians' bliss will inspire farm-saving storms. After marking the bride and groom with vermillion and turmeric—traditional adornments in human Hindu nuptials—villagers take the supposedly happy couple to a nearby pond to honeymoon.

"If we get the frogs wedded, the Varuna, the god of the oceans, will bless us with rains," Beni Prasad, a farmer in the village of Khapa, told the news service on Sunday.

posted April 01, 2008 09:57 AM         

The severity of wild rodents carrying disease is historical and deadly.
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/b/bubonic_plague/causes.htm

We can treat our pets for disease/parasites but cannot the wild ones. Therein lies the rub. How to keep your family friends /livestock feed and health safe from the rodents and their diseases?

Farmers use natures way, mousers in the form of dog or cat. That causes parasites (like tapeworm) in the mouser and treatment again is needed. So it is a circle that leaves many sad & unhappy.

I have great empathy for your love of our brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom. I share it too and always seek a more humane way to safe guard all animals.

quote:

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I'm not saying we shouldn't be careful when it comes to these health related issues; I only wish we would evolve towards humane as possible ways of solving these problems.

---

Besides letting Nature do her job of control/elimination,do you have any humane suggestions how I may protect the rodents while protecting my four leggeds and home?

*edited
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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted April 01, 2008 10:15 AM         

Mouse Rides Frog in India Monsoon...
That was just too sweet! I had to post a bulletin with that on myspace.

posted April 02, 2008 05:43 AM         

Rat poison on chicken? Eat the whole thing raw. (no, not really - Blue roamer, you're a headcase hun!).

PS I've got a bad case of Weils Disease but hey, I'm hard.

posted April 02, 2008 09:09 AM         

quote:

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Rather than get a cat, I have heard that the smell of pet rodents keeps wild rodents away, can anyone confirm this?

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Interesting and no, I have not heard of this.

Since I have five cats patroling their domain, I don`t have rodents much less spiders or a tiny gnat in the house.

Indeed there is a great difference between a loved house rodent receiving the proper care versus a disease carrying wild one and the two shouldn`t be confused!!

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted April 02, 2008 11:29 AM         

By the way, domestic mice/ rats come from wild mice/ rats.
They might not carry diseases, but the actual character/ intelligence, etc remains the same, or pretty close (wild animals are just not "tame").

You know, there might other races of more intelligent life form than human who consider human life to as "scumbags" too. Look at the mess we've made of this world and how we treat each other, and worst of all, other species!

My point was if humans took time to LOOK for more human solutions to their problems, they would find them.

The truth is, humans can't be bothered because they do not have any respect for these animals. They chose the easy options, the archaic poisons, etc, which cause interior bleeding ("humane" traps are not humane either, since they die of fright).

I'm sure there are scents, etc, that can deter many kinds of animals which may be a problem in specific circumstances. I've heard, for example, foxes will stay away from human urine. Ants dislike lemongrass and other essential oils.

Anyone who only loves dogs or cats, etc, but not other species of animals, can't call themselves true animal lovers.

Every day mice and rats (as well as dogs, monkeys, etc- but mostly mice and rats) are tortured and mutilated, poisoned, and all other manner of horrors are done to them within laboratories. They will test any ingredient on them under the sun because it is a fast and cheap way to get it quickly onto the market. I actually don't agree that we are making any progress this way in as far as medicine goes either- they are just spewing out more and more drugs we don't need. Anti-depressants, for example, have been found to make sufferers even worse. Thalidomide. Enough said.

The majority of human beings think they are above animals, that is is their right to do anything they wish with them and so on.

Well, if you want to live in that sort of world, its up to you, but what goes around comes around.

posted April 02, 2008 11:42 AM         

As I work every day with the blood and guts of human cruelity, I apply myself to what I can DO about it. Lecturing about it is your way, mine is hands on.


I ask you again,

"Besides letting Nature do her job of control/elimination,do you have any humane suggestions how I may protect the rodents while protecting my four leggeds and home?"

If you have a solution, I sincerely would love to hear it.

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted April 02, 2008 11:57 AM         

quote:

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Mice

* Prevent all access to food.
* Once you are sure that they have left ensure that all entry points are blocked. Mousemesh have available a steel mesh which you can use to block any holes that require ventilation.
* They dislike garlic, elderberry liquid or Crown Imperial (Fritillaria).
* See also humane traps and ultrasound

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I will check for other resources, I'm sure there are ways they can be deterred, etc.

posted April 02, 2008 12:03 PM         

quote:

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Ultrasound

There are various devices that use ultrasonic sound to deter mice, rats, ants, spiders, moles; one model covers all. Harmless to birds, cats, dogs and people, although might not be suitable for homes with gerbils, hamsters or other rodents. Can be suitable for home, farm, office and warehouse use. Available from mail order companies e.g. Queenswood Garden Products.

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posted April 02, 2008 12:22 PM         

Unfortunately, they arn`t ment for farm life. ie big barns with hundreds of pounds of feed. I`m talking farm life, not a snug city home where the spaces can utilize the ultra sound etc.

I rescue and foster abused and abandoned animals.

Idealism is a beautiful gift LTT and I too look to the day of the lion laying down with the lamb . But in the meantime, one day, one animal at a time is all I can do.

I can`t save the world but I can make it a better place, in my own little way, and I have comfort in that.

Are you networking for animal rights? Let your voice be heard in a larger media. It does help sooth the heart to know one is doing something and working hard towards this mission.

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted April 02, 2008 12:28 PM         

It is not counting the multitudes of rescues taken in,nurtured/healed and adopted out.

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~