Cob: rat runs--cleanliness--floor height--glass

[Brent Flaco Wilson]

In a permanent culture where things have their place, and homes are built 
intelligently into the landscape major varmint problems aren't an issue.  
But one animal that really keeps rats away is a hungry housecat, and for 
that matter if you live by the river, grow a forest for hawks, owls, and 
eagles, then have coyotes roam thru, and your house dog, ok, thats how rats 
are kept at bay where I grew up plus the kleen house and the raised 
foundation.  SO I think lets keep parts of this totality in view as equal.  
So I have also seen cob homes in heavy forest with owl, coyote and other 
predators keeping rats at bay, though the rats did crawl on the roof at 
night.  And once again a hungry cat protected their neighbors house.  So cob 
off the ground with a proper ecosystem suited to the local area with a 
domestic predator is pretty darn safe! flaco






>From: "Kim West" <kwest at arkansas.net>
>Reply-To: "Kim West" <kwest at arkansas.net>
>To: "Cob List" <coblist at deatech.com>
>Subject: Cob: rat runs--cleanliness--floor height--glass
>Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2003 17:18:24 -0500
>
>BlankI don't think that building up off of the ground or keeping everything 
>clean is the answer to keeping rats away. My mother is a clean freak--her 
>walls are white, her carpeting is white, and she even washes trash before 
>throwing it away! She is so freaky in fact that if clothing coming out of 
>the dryer land on her spotless floor she puts them back in the washer for 
>another go around. This isn't exactly normal behavior and it is so 
>extensive that most would classify it as obsessive/compulsive.
>
>Why am I saying all of this? Because several months ago her dishwasher quit 
>and she called in a repairman. It seems that a rat had chewed out the area 
>of the bottom tub that surrounds the drain in an attempt to get into her 
>house. Her home is about 2 feet off of the ground, and as I've explained, 
>spotless inside and out. The thing is, while I moved out into the boonies 
>after getting married, she still lives in my hometown which is built along 
>the banks of a river--one place where rats tend to live.
>
>No one in their right mind keeps a home cleaner than my Mom does, and not 
>many people have first floors over 2 feet above ground level, yet in spite 
>of her cleanliness in a properly built home, she has still suffered from 
>the damage inflicted by the varmints. It would be nice if there was a 
>cure-all for the rat problem, but the only thing that will work is a 
>merciless extermination program, and even then rats can and will return if 
>you live in an area where they live.
>
>I agree with the other posters about the glass. I hate the stuff and have 
>none other than what is necessary such as for windows. I've had a few 
>pieces too many buried in my feet and the last piece, even after being 
>removed, formed a cyst that had to be surgically removed because I could 
>not walk on it. To tell you the truth, I've had minor and major surgeries 
>in various places on my body, some that the docs were amazed that I felt no 
>discomfort while they shot the site up with a *caine product, but the 
>surgery on my foot was the absolutely most painful I have ever experienced.
>
>Kim
>
>PS: Apologies if I grossed anyone out in my previous post about rats. I 
>guess it was thoughtless. That stuff doesn't bother me. Handling manure, 
>human or otherwise, bothers me--makes me lose my stomach--but blood and 
>guts doesn't. :D
>


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