Bats and Rats

Just saw a couple of young men, teens I suppose, carrying a bat that had apparently fallen from a tree outside Bread Basket Cafe. They kept trying to put it back on the tree but it kept falling. Then they tried placing it in the crook of two trunks of the tree, but it fell from there as well. 

The whole thing became quite comical, because if it wasnt dead before they  tried to save it, it likely would be after they had finished with saving it. Ultimately, they wedged it into the crook and covered it with a large leaf, just to keep it warm during the night, I guess.

Speaking of bats, we were surprised during our stay at Louis' villa to find their wingless cousin, the rat, inside the place. On the one hand, one would not expect to find rats inside a luxurious villa, but on the other hand, I couldn't help but wonder why there wouldn't be, given that the property is alive with plenty of nifty rat hiding spots such as bushes and plants and bamboo and what not. In fact, I had asked Nengah, the maid, whether she hadn't seen a rat in all the time she had been working there. No, she answered, she had not.

Well, on our second day at the Villa, Evelyn found what appeared to be rat poop in the kitchen sink. I really didn't understand how a rat would get up onto the counter and into the sink; nonetheless, I purchased some sticky traps at the nearby mini market and set one out that night. Sure enough, in the morning we had captured a small rat, not in the sink but on the counter where we prepare food.

Now how would they get on to the counter? It's not as if there are any ladders for them to climb. We found no evidence of grappling hooks, or parachutes. How can it be?

We once again set a trap that night, and lo and behold, in the morning we had a second rat, this one much bigger than the first.

By this time, Etta, their dog, had become intensely interested in this situation as well, to the point of obsession, really. Although for Etta, this was a fruitless obsession, because of course she, being a short little dog, could not get up onto the counter even if the rats somehow could.

We caught one rat per night for the next three nights, each seemingly larger than the former, and each on the countertop.

Needless to say, after receiving this news, Louise and Wayne are looking into buying some of these electronic rat repulsor devices. I've never had one, because they're rather expensive, but I hear from friends that they do a bang-up job.

I've mentioned that I hate rats, right? Yes, I'm sure I have.

Strangely, aside from rats, we didn't see any other kind of wildlife at the Villa, not even the gecko type creatures which are usually ever present in any other house here, including my own. But they are just small little guys and don't bother anybody. One hardly even notices them as they run up and down the wall or on the ceiling or wherever.

But as if I hadn't had enough of rats, as soon as I got home to my little house yesterday evening, I saw a big rat climb up the bougainvillea tree in the yard and then run along a ledge under my bathroom window. As I watched, the rat suddenly disappeared. Where did he go? Well, on inspection the next day I found that there  is a hole in the wall just big enough for this rat to squeeze into. Happily however, as far as I can tell anyway, there is no way for it to actually enter the house. So it turns out that my one room house is rodent free whereas their sprawling spanking new villa is not. Something to be said for simple living.