Attached to our carport is a long, narrow storage room. The room was built with gaps between the walls and the floor. The gaps permit rats to haul in acorns, on which they fed while while they are in the shed’s shelter.
Rats, being what they are, are very untidy animals. We have used Rat-be-gone and other toxic techniques. The poison gets consumed, but we have never found a dead rat. Well, that’s about to change.
Long ago we once had a rat fall into our toilet. The Rat-be-gone had left it dehydrated. The open toilet was the only source of water available. The rat didn’t survive it’s all night swim. So, when I came across this idea, I had to build one. It may be a solution for our shed problem.
Meet Bucket Buddy. No. It is not a miniature diving board. This is a rat’s plank walk. On a quest for the morsel of food at the end of the plank, the rat will climb the ramp. With rat-like agility, it will advance to the plank. As the rat’s nose leads it to the reward at the end, the plank will suddenly dip into the bucket.
At this instance there are two things for the rat to look forward to: 1. It will be cleansed by the partially filled bucket of water, and 2. The small morsel of food will provide it with a last meal.
I have attached a counter-weight at the rear of the board. Hopefully the weight is enough to permit the rat to take its own weight beyond the pivot point of the plank.
