I know it's ridiculous...

I delivered him (her?) to his doom (i.e. hawk, owl, coyote or some other meat-eating wild thing needing normal sustenance while undergoing rehab.) I practically crowed that I found an environmentally friendly way of dealing with the pest. And yes, I recognize it's a tad hypocritical of me. That didn't stop me from hurrying through my tasks this morning because I was worried the stupid pack rat was too hot trapped outside on my carport.

Natural Neutralization

Thoughts from J. Bockman

While we're on the subject of pack rats, I thought I'd tell you about how I'm dealing with them.

I really don't like poison, unless it's a black widow spider that I can't squish with something big and heavy. I particularly don't like it when it involves a rat or rabbit or other, well, prey animal, because it's easy to inadvertently do a lot of harm. If we poison the prey animal we're also poisoning the predator who snaps up the staggering, or fallen over, rat/rabbit/squirrel. If we poison the predators, all we get is more of the prey. (Fewer carnivores to catch and eat the dumb ones…)

Last year my husband and I bought two humane traps, the kind that just catches and cages the animal. The basic idea we had: catch 'em, and drive 'em out to the desert. Humane and easy. Except that finding a patch of desert that really is just a patch of desert isn't easy at all.

There are remarkable people, and in at least two parts of Tucson, who rescue wild animals. They don't rescue them like we would rescue a lost puppy. In fact, it's illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet. These folks nurse them back to health and then release them back to the wild. And they're willing to take pack rats, in a way.

Yesterday my two pack rats went to the cause of helping a red-tailed hawk regain its health. I know some who might be horrified at the idea of deliberately delivering a creature to its doom. Of course, I know more who are horrified that I don't just kill them and be done with it. I personally feel this is a great solution. I think of it this way: the pack rats are playing their part in the eco-system…immediately. Another way to think of it might be: poison-free pest neutralization.

Cute, cuddly, vicious little beasties with really big teeth

From the desk of J. Bockman

Every area has its resident "they did what?" pest. Other parts of the country, I understand it's raccoons or possums. For most people within Tucson, it's pigeons, the world's flying rats. Up on Mount Lemmon, in the mountains that serve as a compass point for Tucson residents, it's bears. For outlaying areas of Tucson … I just never knew pack rat was anything more than a human who wouldn't throw anything out but kept it safely in one room so he, or she, could locate it through the chrono-geographical system (aka magic). In fact, a google search on eliminating pack rats turned up a "how to get your spouse to clean up" article in the first ten sites. I think only one site dealt with the originator of the term.

The pack rat is arid country's resident pest. And an amazing beastie at that. He doesn't need a water source--he gets moisture from cacti. He doesn't need a specific food source; he'll eat just about anything, including mesquite pods, cholla, car wiring, and house insulation. Well, maybe the last he just uses to line his nests, like couch cushions. Because his only defense is hiding, and he's likely to get snapped up as a midnight snack for a mistake, he breeds like a maniac to insure species survival.

Turns out he & I have the same taste in landscaping. A mesquite tree here and there, and a nice mix of low-lying shrubs and century plants in decent proximity of each other. No bare spots please. For me, it's a testament to the variety of life in the desert. For the rat, it's an inviting cornicopia of hiding places and food sources. He can get to this neighbor's cholla and that neighbor's mesquite without risking himself in the open too drastically. And my neighborhood provides multiple places that make choice nests, places that simultaneously keep out the sun and foil the coyote. (I am of course reordering my yard before the heat really hits.)

The pack rat is a true desert survivor, and undoubtedly a big part of the eco-system. He's a scavenger, taking what the desert (or the home owner) offers and making the most of it. He's a food source for coyotes, owls, hawks, and snakes. For all his cowering and skulkery, he's incredibly intrepid, exploring his surroundings for anything he might find useful at some point, some where. I'd admire him if I wasn't so annoyed with him.