Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-01-01
THE RODENT HUNTER

He Uses Traps, Tongs, Ferrcts or His
Hands ana ing, as Circumstnncrs
Mny Dictatc-The Method of Attack
ing q Strsle Described.
Professional rnt catchers, who devote
| themselves exclusively to freeing build !
ings from rats, are found in only a few
of the very largest cities of the country.
There are rats everywhere, and SO it ]
comes about that the rat catcher is more
| or less of Traveller. Trips of 90, 100 200
| miles and more III various directions out
1 Of the city are not Sc unusual as to he
| considered remarkable These include
! trips to cities and towns and places in
the country The structures that are
! freed from rats include not only private
houses in city and country, but also fac
tories, and ships, and stores, and hotels,
and storeho,ises, aud stables, and in fact
buildings OF I'LL sorts. The rat catcher
makes contracts to free a building of
rats. and also to keep it free, by the
4 month or the year. A rat catching con-
tract running up into four figures. that is
to say Of $1,000 and more, would not be
an unhcard of thing.
City rat eatchcrs lay their work ont III
routes for greater convenience III han
ding. and the places on these routes arr
visited as often as may be necessary to
keep ihcni free of rats. There are three
or four professional rat catchers in the
city, each employing Il number OF men.
ilats are caught III traps and With
tongs, the greater number with traps.
Both cage traps in which the rats are
~ oil; ttpY
them When cailght. are used, the larger
number OF the traps used being OF the
4 last described kind Fcrrets are also
sometimes employed in rat catching.
The means adopted for catching the
rats may depend on the place aud the cir
cumstances The rat catcher looks the
place over and determines on the way i'll
which to 20 about it. Perhaps he stops
,,p most of the holes and establishes what
). are practically runways that lead the
rats to his traps. There may have been
" dozen traps in the house and rats
caught in none of them. 1t might be that
d trap would he set right over a rathole
and that IL rat would come up and crawl
!, underit to get into the hole. but keep ont
of the trap 1t is not likely to be so with
the rat catchcl's traps. He knows cntic-
in. baits or a preparation to put on baits
:. that makes them so attractive that the
rats cannot resist them, and he catches
: rats when the amateur IN that line. the
householder, fails. The rat catcher varies
the trap arrangements according TO CIR
cumstances and uses; the tongs in various
II places perhaps in Kitchens or in picking
rats off pipes or elevated places or reach
s ing into reccsses, and tongs might be
II used in catching rats in stables.
Il In a stable the bait would be scattered
i in various places where ii would be con
). yenent To get 1T the rat with thc tong:
= while it was feeding. The feed, sccntc,
" with the anticins preparation. is put II
Is the same places and ut the same hour fo
q two or three nights III succession. Th'
= bait is not in large chunks as of bread o
s cheese, THAT the rats could pick UP ant
carry off. but it is perhaps oatmeal
! which it can pick up only a grain at
time AMI which it must STAY there to ca,
The preparation put upon il Is so attract
i've that it might induce !: Wild rat to tax
the food from the raj catchcr's band. ih
lights are Ill turned down, and this staDl
: work is not done Oh moonlight nights
when moonlight coming III through ei5e
doors or windows o., spaces might Gus
Y, shadows that would alarm the rats. Tli
70 operator carries a small lantern with II
inner rejecting sursace so fixed as I
throw but sieiiaer beam % iisils
q hen everything = really ne throw
this heanl upon the place Where me f;i'
~ are feeding to locate theai. There ma
he be one or here may be more 81 theii
The light dazes the rats Tor a second
ly so. and the mt hits up Its head TO iool
as In TINT brief period the rat catcher gel
u it with his tonss II there Is more ina
to enc rat, ne sweeps the fiist one ca,is'
he around the other. on the srohiu, Whls
~ helps 70 keep the other there until he ca
reach for IT, lie may have arranged e
a.. places in the stat'le aud gets rats IN cvei
do one. lie viii reach into tie manner WI
Ell his hand, where there may be two
three rats. and sweep them together.
,;s such manner that he can GRASP I!
a.. bunch by tilc tails. lie iiIts theni !
~ with swing that da2es them for N
ment, at tie same time calling to a koe
IS. CT who goes With HIM Oh such occasion
- holding the b;ts INTO which the i've IA
~ ~ are tossed
This bag has attached to it at the e
tape, not as a gathering string. {
ny there wouldn't be time 20 close the b;