There are rats on my property.

Yup, rats.

Along with squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks.

Varmints. That’s what they are. Eating my tall phlox, chewing my zinnias … but I digress. Back to the rats.

At first I thought the rats were cute. There were only a couple and they were small. Yes, I know, small rats become big rats, and rats, like rabbits, breed like, well, rabbits.

In truth, I’ve owned rats. They make better pets than hamsters or gerbils. Believe it. Male rats are docile and trainable. Just check out the videos online of the many rat pets.

Rats are cool.

Except when they try to take over.

Then they are RATS!

Now, I’m not stating I have an infestation of rats. The number of chipmunks far out-number all the other critters on my property, the groundhog included.

However, a new turn of events has occurred. Yesterday, I watched a rat kill a chipmunk. When the screaming stopped (me and the chipmunk), the rat dragged away the still warm body. The chipmunk, not me.

Seriously. The rat held the chipmunk down and bit into its neck like some weird zombie rat.

According to Google, rats will kill and eat all sorts of animals.

• Natural predators: Rats are natural predators of mice and will actively hunt them. 
• Attacks on other pets: Rats have been known to attack pets like hamsters and birds. 
• Livestock: Rats can injure or kill baby pigs, lambs, and calves. 
• Birds: Rats will attack and kill birds, including domestic fowl and wild birds. 

Gotta love the circle of life.

It would help to remember that the circle of life includes other animals too. Hawks and owls. And rats and chipmunks are part of this larger circle. WBUR https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/03/31/rat-poison-birds-massachusetts-pest-control posted a great article about this very topic and the use of poisons to control rodent populations.

If you have varmints on your property, please consider humane trapping before you put out poison.

But you have to admit, they are so damn cute.

Blessed be :}

Mi manchi profondamente, mio ​​amato immortale.