from Russell Sage to Frederick Chase , date Oct 5, 2006 11:40 AM subject Re: 68 Years Fred. Die broke with the credit cards maxed out. That's my motto. ..... Today the cement truck and the cement pumping truck are coming. I found and excavated a hugh pack rat den underneath my garage floor. The whole corner of the garage is hanging freely at least 7-8 feet back that I can see but there are tunnels that run out of sight. These little bastards have their own pueblo right under my house. Well the concrete pumper guy says we will entomb them just like Jimmy Hoffa, and also shore up your floor. They plan to pump a couple of cubic yards of concrete back under the slab. I can't wait..... So that's my project for today. Your handyman friend, Rusty from Frederick Chase to Russell Sage , date Oct 7, 2006 2:51 PM subject Pack Rat Pueblo Rusty, At the blueberry farm, groundhogs did pretty much the same thing under the goat shed/garage. They had babies and once I practically tripped over them one morning at the corner of the garage. The babies were really curious and their mother was in the background trying to teach them to watch out. I'd fill up their entrance with rocks and gravel; they'd dig it out. I'd throw lots of mothballs down in; nothing happened. I put gravel mixed with concrete into their entrance; they made a new entrance to the side of it. I blocked that -- and that was when I learned they had a back entrance completely on the other side. You could thump on the concrete floor and it sounded hollow and fragile. I never did get rid of them, so good luck! -Fred from Russell Sage to Frederick Chase , date Oct 9, 2006 4:40 PM subject Re: Pack Rat Pueblo Fred, The concrete was pumped under the garage and the very next morning off to the side where no concrete was pumped a new hole showed up. So I got these things that look like giant firecrackers called, The Giant Destroyer. It's a mix of sodium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal.. (.the same stuff we used to make our gunpowder out of.) -you light the fuze and put the destroyer in the hole and then cover it up and it gases those pests.....and it worked. After three days no more holes. .................. Rusty from Frederick Chase to Russell Sage , date Oct 9, 2006 5:13 PM Good job -- I forgot to mention I tried to flood out my groundhogs. That's a little risky, of course. I did consider gassing them but never got around to it. Was considering carbon monoxide -- from Frederick Chase to Russell Sage date Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 10:36 AM Rusty, Ann sent me the below about her minks, so I sent her the message I'm forwarding to you -- it's a collection of your emails about the Pack Rat Pueblo. -Fred Ann: Again this year I have a family of mink living under the Annex. I think the mother is from last year's brood. She is quite tame, as are her young. My observations do not support the media portrayal of mink [they certainly have a bad press.] I would be enchanted with my neighbors if they just smelled better. Ah well, I guess no neighbor is perfect. I'd like to encourage them to move out at this point - any ideas?!!! Fred: Tell them you're going to convert them into Mink Oil! [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink_oil ] - Show quoted text - from Russell Sage to Frederick Chase date Sat, Jun 28, 2008 at 6:41 PM Hi Fred, Timely email. Just yesterday I noticed my dog, Nina, sniffing around the back of my garage. I have a few things stored there out of sight and on top of the concrete slab that sticks out from the pack rat pueblo. You guessed it. After cleaning things away I scared up a pack rat. He ran down behind some bricks that I had piled up and disappeared. I slowly pulled the bricks out and then I saw a tail down in a tiny crevice between a brick and the wall. I grabbed my old ice ax and was able to impale said rat on the point. Those guys are amazing. They will move in anywhere they find a small hiding place and then drag all kinds of junk in after them. Cactus, leaves, prickly pears sticks,, you name it. I had a pest control guy out here last year,,, his company is called > Mr Pack Rat < and he found 12 nests around the house. They trap the rats then destroy the nests. Since then I have trapped 4 or 5 more and even cleaned a nest out from under the hood of my truck. They can eat the insulation off the wires in your vehicle.. there are all kinds of stories about cars failing to start, brakes not working etc etc all from pack rats. Its a constant problem and you just have to trap them as soon as a new nest shows up. They travel about 75 ft from their nests so that's how far away you need to clean out the nests. So there you have the rest of a continuing story...... I don't know much about minks but I suppose the same principles apply. Get ride of the spots where they can nest. Maybe a Jack Russell would be some help..... ......... Best, Rusty [The following exchange was in the context of discussing what to do with Rusty's old crank telephone. (We'd had two wired between the two homes on College Ave after the crank phones in Michigan were upgraded.)] from Frederick Chase fchase@gmail.com to Russell Sage date Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 10:11 AM subject Crank Magneto Come to think of it, maybe you could hook up your magneto to a pack rat den and shock 'em. Now how to set up two nearby electrodes. Maybe two pieces of flat wire mesh they have to crawl through to get in/out. Hmm from Russell Sage russosago@mac.com to Frederick Chase date Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 1:07 AM subject Re: Crank Magneto The pack rats love peanut butter mixed with oatmeal. After I catch them I recycle them to the hawks and coyotes out along the road...after I drown them in the pool... Shocking fish probably works better than shocking pack rats.... Let me know if you want the phone. Do you think I could sell it for $150? Rusty. from: Russell Sage russosago@mac.com to: "Frederick N. Chase" date: Wed, Jul 4, 2012 at 9:06 PM subject: Re: A thought for Atheists I just trapped two more pac rats. Little bastards just keep coming back. The traps are out again tonight. Too bad there isn't a bounty on them or at least a market for their pelts. Can I send you a hide for your mantle?