Mouse experts?

[Amanda P]

Sound advice. Resist Gordon Brown's advice "Rats can be cooked baked in clay to avoid waste" and make sure that you don't touch it and dispose of it preferably by burning.

Steady on. If rats were all that risky, I'd be dead several times over by now!

You can put the rat in the (outdoor) bin. Wash your hands after you've handled it. Job done.

Weil's disease is carried in rat and mouse urine. As long as it doesn't pee into your mouth or any open cuts, the risk is very small indeed. And since it's clearly dead, it won't be doing much peeing any more. People usually catch Leptospirosis by swimming in ratty water. It is a nasty disease, but readily cleared up if it's recognised. Problem occur because medics don't recognise it in time. If you know you might have Lepto (because you handle rats or you're a sewer worker), you'll have a medical contact card which warns medics that you might have it.

As tdr1nka says, you're never far from a rat. Particularly at this time of year, when there are lots of youngsters about, some of which are a bit stupid and haven't learned to keep out of sight of humans yet. The fact that a dead one has turned up needn't cause you to panic - it's just a bit more visible than the live ones which are about, but keep out of sight. You'll know if they're causing a problem, and if that's the case your local council will have a rat person who'll deal with it.

If this one was indoors, was it brought in by a cat or dog? If not, it might be time to call the rat man in, and a builder to block up the hole it got in through...

 

[Paulus]

My garden backs onto a railway embankment and recently our Burmese cat has found a nest and five biggish brown rats have turned up, 3 on the doorstep dead, two were found in the back room, one of which was just about alive but crocked it's last under the radiator. The cat seemed quite pleased with himself.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Mice have a more delicate flavour than rats, which are a bit gamey

Seriously, it looks like an apprentice rat to me.

 

[wafflycat]

Mice have a more delicate flavour than rats, which are a bit gamey

When eating rats, be sure to eat only the leg meat. This was told to me by my uncle, who had eaten many rats during his time in a Japanese POW camp during WWII

 

[Fnaar]

I shot a rat in 1974, when I was 12. In Ireland. At a rubbish dump. My grandads rifle.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Did you have it stuffed and mounted?

 

[Fnaar]

No, I was young. I didn't realise the opportunities. I think my granny made us tea....

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

No, I was young. I didn't realise the opportunities. I think my granny made us tea....

Traditional Irish rat tea?

 

[Fnaar]

That's the kiddy.... with ratatouille

 

[andyoxon]

That's the kiddy.... with ratatouille

someone call?

 

[Keith Oates]

Rats are daily road kill out here when commuting through the countryside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!