Pack Rat: Captured And Relocated

      A couple of days ago, I blogged about suspecting that I had a Pack Rat trying to take up habitation  in the upstairs floor of my barn.  I saw the telltale pile fresh leaves that Pack Rats generally collect when they are planning to settle in.  Yesterday I cleaned out all of the leaves and then set a live trap, hoping to capture the beast.  I baited the trap with some fresh lettuce leaves, the heart of a red cabbage, and a scattering of sunflower seeds.  I don’t know which of those foodstuffs attracted the rodent, but when I checked the trap this morning, there the poor critter was, nervous, and wondering what it had gotten itself into.

    I put the live trap with the Pack Rat into the back of the car, then put Kona, who always enjoys a car ride, into the back seat.  Although I couldn’t smell any odor from the Pack Rat, which are known for having really smelly nests, Kona immediately smelled the critter and got all hyper, even though she couldn’t see it in the back of the car.

    The natural habitat for Pack Rat nests are spaces made by boulders and rocks, so I drove down the road where I found a place I thought might be suitable for the beast (photo below).  When I opened the trap, the Pack Rat made a beeline toward the big rock slab and slipped underneath it, hiding in the dark.  

    I was happy about being able to trap the Pack Rat so quickly, and finding what seemed a better home for it.

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