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Kiko Denzer on Art


Cob: rat runs--cleanliness

Yun Que yunk88 at hotmail.com
Tue Apr 29 21:32:35 CDT 2003 

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<P>Cat here, I could see the terriers, what an image!!  Just a note on the plague, the inquisition decided that cats were associated with the devil and tried to kill all of them as part of their program, if you harbored a cat you ran the risk of being burned at the stake especially if you were a women.  So, the rats took over and disease followed as a natural result of over population.  Someone said once the only way to control nature is to obey her....................... yep!</P></DIV>
<P><EM>for the good of all </EM>Cat<BR><BR></P></DIV>
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<DIV></DIV>>From: lightearth at onebox.com 
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<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: lightearth at onebox.com 
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<DIV></DIV>>To: coblist at deatech.com 
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<DIV></DIV>>Subject: RE: Re: Cob: rat runs--cleanliness 
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<DIV></DIV>>Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 10:46:39 -0500 
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<DIV></DIV>>Never seen them in Cob walls but nothing would surprise me with 
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<DIV></DIV>>rats. I too thought because of the "path of least resistance" that 
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<DIV></DIV>>hollow walls would be much preferred, at least they seem to be for 
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<DIV></DIV>>mice. 
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<DIV></DIV>>Rats and mice attacked a lot of my little planted trees, chewed off 
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<DIV></DIV>>their bark in the winter and killed them by girdling them. What 
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<DIV></DIV>>seemed to work best and easiest in this circumstance was clear 
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<DIV></DIV>>distance between the nearest brushy plant area and my little trees. 
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<DIV></DIV>>It, of course worked to wrap the trunks but just having 2 feet 
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<DIV></DIV>>around the tree open appeared to deter them significantly. Maybe 
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<DIV></DIV>>this would work around a rat-infested house area. 
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<DIV></DIV>>The other wisdom I've gleaned in population control: 
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<DIV></DIV>>1) unsuitable habitat (help them make choices to be away from you!) 
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<DIV></DIV>> i.e. lack of food sources, difficult - steel wool pathways 
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<DIV></DIV>>2) predators (cats, snakes, hawks ...) 
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<DIV></DIV>>3) direct extermination (poison has been the best/unfortunate one 
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<DIV></DIV>>I've found - at least w/mice) 
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<DIV></DIV>>BTW, I saw an unbelievable example of predation by a bred species 
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<DIV></DIV>>down in Indiana, near my farm, where some people brought in a small 
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<DIV></DIV>>'pack' of 5 rat Terriers and then brought down a huge old 
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<DIV></DIV>>clay/hollow brick/cement silo that had been used for grain until 
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<DIV></DIV>>recently. As the silo was pulled down, the rats ran everywhere while 
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<DIV></DIV>>the spastic little terriers went bezerk in the van. Then upon 
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<DIV></DIV>>release from the van the terriers tore into the rubble and 
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<DIV></DIV>>methodically killed hundreds of rats/mice as the people removed the 
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<DIV></DIV>>broken chunks - looked like almost none survived - the terriers were 
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<DIV></DIV>>right on each one - bit their neck, dead, on to the next 
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<DIV></DIV>>etc.....Amazing! 
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<DIV></DIV>>Marlin 
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<DIV></DIV>>-- 
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<DIV></DIV>> Marlin Nissen 
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<DIV></DIV>> - Outta The Box- 
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<DIV></DIV>> lightearth at onebox.com 
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<DIV></DIV>>(608) 213-9405 Cell/voicemail 
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<DIV></DIV>> 
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<DIV></DIV>>"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" - Emerson 
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<DIV></DIV>>-----Original Message----- 
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<DIV></DIV>>From: Priscilla Stuckey <PSTUCKEY at CALIFORNIA.COM>
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<DIV></DIV>>Sent: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 07:11:47 -0700 
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<DIV></DIV>>To: coblist at deatech.com 
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<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: Cob: rat runs--cleanliness 
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<DIV></DIV>>I'm a newbie to the list--Oakland, CA, homeowner, wanting to turn my 
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<DIV></DIV>>half-ownership of a house into a whole house, and probably will 
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<DIV></DIV>>actually be able to afford it if I build "dirt-cheap." 
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<DIV></DIV>>I have PLENTY of experience with rats here in this woodsy 
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<DIV></DIV>>neighborhood--I've spent hundreds of hours and several hundred 
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<DIV></DIV>>dollars rat-proofing my house--so I wanted to clarify something. 
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<DIV></DIV>>Rats show up, at least in urban & suburban areas, not because of 
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<DIV></DIV>>lack of cleanliness, but because, like crows, they are opportunists 
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<DIV></DIV>>and will go wherever there is food or shelter--that is, wherever 
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<DIV></DIV>>there are humans. Here in the Oakland hills that means the basements 
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<DIV></DIV>>of every hillside-clinging, expensive home. The only way to keep 
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<DIV></DIV>>rats at bay is to seal every nook and cranny around your house 
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<DIV></DIV>>(especially around pipes and wiring--the rat/mouse freeways) and 
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<DIV></DIV>>then trap the ones that were indoors. BTW, rats are no less clean 
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<DIV></DIV>>than squirrels. We just like squirrels better because they have 
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<DIV></DIV>>fuzzy tails, and they weren't implicated in the plague. Rats have a 
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<DIV></DIV>>bad rep because, since they are mammals, like us, and live close to 
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<DIV></DIV>>us (closer than squirrels), diseases can pass more easily between 
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<DIV></DIV>>the species. 
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<DIV></DIV>>I have a question, too, regarding rats & cob houses: I was really 
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<DIV></DIV>>surprised to see the rat question come up on this list (you mean my 
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<DIV></DIV>>rat-fighting days aren't blissfully in the past if I build a cob 
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<DIV></DIV>>house?) because I thought that the solid construction would 
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<DIV></DIV>>eliminate the problem. How do rats become a problem with a cob 
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<DIV></DIV>>house? 
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<DIV></DIV>>Priscilla 
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<DIV></DIV>>At 8:38 AM +0000 4/29/03, Brent Flaco Wilson wrote: 
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<DIV></DIV>>>In a permanent culture where things have their place, and homes are 
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<DIV></DIV>>>built intelligently into the landscape major varmint problems 
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<DIV></DIV>>>aren't an issue. But one animal that really keeps rats away is a 
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<DIV></DIV>>>hungry housecat, and for that matter if you live by the river, grow 
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<DIV></DIV>>>a forest for hawks, owls, and eagles, then have coyotes roam thru, 
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<DIV></DIV>>>and your house dog, ok, thats how rats are kept at bay where I grew 
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<DIV></DIV>>>up plus the kleen house and the raised foundation. SO I think lets 
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<DIV></DIV>>>keep parts of this totality in view as equal. So I have also seen 
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<DIV></DIV>>>cob homes in heavy forest with owl, coyote and other predators 
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<DIV></DIV>>>keeping rats at bay, though the rats did crawl on the roof at 
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<DIV></DIV>>>night. And once again a hungry cat protected their neighbors house. 
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<DIV></DIV>>> So cob off the ground with a proper ecosystem suited to the local 
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<DIV></DIV>>>area with a domestic predator is pretty darn safe! flaco 
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<DIV></DIV>>-- 
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