Buddha Or Rats?

[Travel2003]

Im a part owner of a Thai pub/restaurant.

You know, one of those with a stage, and a lot of round tables with bar stools around.

Band and dancers each evening.

We have a problem with rats inside and outside the building now.

Reason is simple.

Every day my Thai partners (and the employees) put out these little bowls with rice, spices, the glass with water (or whiskey), and the incense stick.

This is placed on 3 different locations (entrance and 2 nearest trees).

Then one more inside the building, the floor above the pub.

This practice has now started to attract a lot of rats.

The rats know where they can be fed, and of course returns every afternoon/evening when the bowls are placed out.

Trying to reason with my friends, and ask maybe only go with the whiskey and the sticks, would be better.

They just dont seem to understand, and keep telling me the food is for Buddha, and this can not be tinkered with.

What to do?

Anyone experienced similar situation?

[bkkjames]

Employ a couple of cats mate.

[Chonburiram]

Hm,

why not wait until the sticks fumed up and than take the foodstuff from the offering place?

Btw, it's not for Buddha it's for the "Ghosts" and these only come for dinner while the sticks are burning and the food is

offered in all humbleness.

After the sticks are finished you can take the food away without risk, they only get really pissed when you not leave

the whisky, cigarettes and bethel nut at the place...

If this is not an option, why not hire someone to watch the

sacrifice? Or use some unused workforce in your staff for this task? Not possible? What about covering the food?

No? Than maybe artifical food? Arsen?

[dave111223]

Get a Buddha house with a large overhanging platform that the rats cannot climb onto, and instruct people to only leave offers on the Buddha house.

[canuckamuck]

Poison the food, maybe you will take out a few ghosts while your at it.

[Soutpeel]

Poison the food, maybe you will take out a few ghosts while your at it.

good answer

hows about rat traps, or a resident cat

[Kwasaki]

Sounds like you are part owner of some rats, sorry my little joke.

Best advice here is cats, wife has four cats no rats or mice and her customers don't mind cats, you pick them up cheap or mostly free.

[lovelomsak]

Poison the food, maybe you will take out a few ghosts while your at it.

That sounds like the best idea of all. That or cats.

[buddy]

Sounds like you are part owner of some rats, sorry my little joke.

Best advice here is cats, wife has four cats no rats or mice and her customers don't mind cats, you pick them up cheap or mostly free.

You will have to take into account the size of the Rats if you are considering introducing Cats as the answer to your problem.

Cats are natural cowards and will generally only kill young animals or animals smaller than themselves.

If you have "Big" rats then you may just be introducing cats to the Zoo for no reason as the cats wont tackle them.

[wolf5370]

My cat eats the rats - he actually goes to a smal river near my house and catches them and brings them back to eat - big buggers some of them - he only leaves their instestines. He also eats the crows too. He is a Maine Coon (brought him from the UK and a great hunter - impervious to fleas and ticks also it seems (the dog gets ticks all the time, but the cat never does) - they have a very thick double coat (but the heat never seems to worry him either) - big heavy cats (he weighed 7.5kg when I shipped him here - he's lost a fair bit of weight over the year or so he's been here I guess because of the heat (he is wormed regulalrly).

I would either use human traps and release in a field somewhere - or put down poison (apart from the offerings otherwise the Thais may not be too happy) - there is poison that they take back to the nest and it wipes out the young too so lowers the rats population.

Why are the rats inside if the food is outside? Make sure your staff clean up and put everything away before going home and not the next day before openning

[gotlost]

This is one argument you/we will never win. Take the cats.

[Travel2003]

Thnx for the replies guys.

First, yes true it is for the Ghosts as well.

Have been thinking about a cat.

The rats are fairly small, as I have observed them when they come for feeding.

Not the size one can see on the docks around the world.

I heard the cats bring whatever they catch home, and just leave the corpes around, and the dead animals start to stink out the place.

Not sure if this is the case.

Will the cats drop (toilet) outside?

How would the Thais react to poison (the ghosts as well)?

Been thinking about maybe start to offer at daytime (daylight), as the rats are more nocturnal animals (right??).

Not sure about the ghosts. Are they considered as only nocturnal as well?

Regarding the cleaning.

This is something i have to be on top of all the time.

Strange, but cleaning floors, walls, and ceilings seem to be on the bottom of the priority list among my partners and employees.

Doesnt matter how much I tell them.

I need to be present at all times, which I cant.

Covering the food might be an idea, but rats and mice easily sense the food and will try to eat through the packing. So they will appear anyhow.

Strangely enough, I am more upset about rats outside then the customers.

They normally just point and laugh.

[Kwasaki]

You will have to take into account the size of the Rats if you are considering introducing Cats as the answer to your problem.

Cats are natural cowards and will generally only kill young animals or animals smaller than themselves.

If you have "Big" rats then you may just be introducing cats to the Zoo for no reason as the cats wont tackle them.

I guess your right in some ways buddy but I'm talking four against one.

It's working so we have some brave cats.

Thanks for the info it puts a price on them now if someone wants a kitten.

[metisdead]

Will the cats drop (toilet) outside?

Get a big pan and some kitty litter. One local brand name is Catsan. Of course, will have clean out the droppings once a day or so.

[SamritT]

Rat glue paper.

[Travel2003]

Rat glue paper.

Can do inside, although not considered as decent (human).

Outside not an option.

[wolf5370]

Cats are very clean animals - if they have access to outside they will drop outside. They also tend to eats most of what they catch here - unless you over feed them and make them lazy (don't starve them either - they will not hang around if you don't feed them at all, they will hunt for fun and to suppliment their intake - fat cats will just sleep). Cats is the best answer for you as they are free, easy to keep and clean up after and people like them (more than they do rats). Some small dogs are also good, Jack Russels for example, but they will just kill and not eat - so dead bodies - perhaps presented at your feet!

[bkkjames]

Rat glue paper.

Can do inside, although not considered as decent (human).

Outside not an option.

dont go for band aid solutions like this, remove the problem, catching one cockroach is no guarantee that others wont takes its place.

[wolf5370]

btw do you know where they are coming from? Often its a kerb rain drain, but sometimes its a hole that can be sealled.

You can follow them back and leave rat poison in their hole or near it (try and cover it a bit - a large water bottle or even a cage - so soi dogs don't take it)

[Travel2003]

btw do you know where they are coming from? Often its a kerb rain drain, but sometimes its a hole that can be sealled.

You can follow them back and leave rat poison in their hole or near it (try and cover it a bit - a large water bottle or even a cage - so soi dogs don't take it)

The pub/restaurant is next to a major road.

Furthermore, the neighbour shops, etc, are connected.

I think the only sollution would be to try to remove the free food for the rats.

The ghosts can always eat other places, so hopefully plenty of whiskey would still be appreciated by them.

[buddy]

My cat eats the rats - he actually goes to a smal river near my house and catches them and brings them back to eat - big buggers some of them - he only leaves their instestines. He also eats the crows too. He is a Maine Coon (brought him from the UK and a great hunter - impervious to fleas and ticks also it seems (the dog gets ticks all the time, but the cat never does) - they have a very thick double coat (but the heat never seems to worry him either) - big heavy cats (he weighed 7.5kg when I shipped him here - he's lost a fair bit of weight over the year or so he's been here I guess because of the heat (he is wormed regulalrly).

I would either use human traps and release in a field somewhere - or put down poison (apart from the offerings otherwise the Thais may not be too happy) - there is poison that they take back to the nest and it wipes out the young too so lowers the rats population.

Why are the rats inside if the food is outside? Make sure your staff clean up and put everything away before going home and not the next day before openning

Your imported killing machine sounds like some mean dude that aint the normal run of the ranch feline, Whats its name..... SIR?

[Richb2004v2]

Surely once the ghost situation is under control you will be able to do away with the offerings. If the ghost situation continues maybe an alternative deterrent is needed anyway. Explain this to the wife. It's a win win situation, right.

[manarak]

Strangely enough, I am more upset about rats outside then the customers.

They normally just point and laugh.

That was what I wanted to ask when I read your thread-starting post.

Rats are normal in Thailand, it is not like in Europe, where the presence of rats would indicate a hygiene problem.

So... what is exactly the problem with having some rats around?

[Travel2003]

Strangely enough, I am more upset about rats outside then the customers.

They normally just point and laugh.

That was what I wanted to ask when I read your thread-starting post.

Rats are normal in Thailand, it is not like in Europe, where the presence of rats would indicate a hygiene problem.

So... what is exactly the problem with having some rats around?

They have started to enter the building itelf, which in the long run affect both hygiene, and the fact I discovered they have been chewing on some of the electrical cables to the lighting and music equipment.

Btw, whats up with mice and rats chewing on electrical cables/wires?

Pretty sure I have heard about this before as well.

[wolf5370]

My cat eats the rats - he actually goes to a smal river near my house and catches them and brings them back to eat - big buggers some of them - he only leaves their instestines. He also eats the crows too. He is a Maine Coon (brought him from the UK and a great hunter - impervious to fleas and ticks also it seems (the dog gets ticks all the time, but the cat never does) - they have a very thick double coat (but the heat never seems to worry him either) - big heavy cats (he weighed 7.5kg when I shipped him here - he's lost a fair bit of weight over the year or so he's been here I guess because of the heat (he is wormed regulalrly).

I would either use human traps and release in a field somewhere - or put down poison (apart from the offerings otherwise the Thais may not be too happy) - there is poison that they take back to the nest and it wipes out the young too so lowers the rats population.

Why are the rats inside if the food is outside? Make sure your staff clean up and put everything away before going home and not the next day before openning

Your imported killing machine sounds like some mean dude that aint the normal run of the ranch feline, Whats its name..... SIR?

Erm, rather embarrassingly, its "Sugar" (not my fault, blame the kids! - He doesn't realise, so shshshshsh!). I have lived in 3 houses in Chiang Mai since he came - and each time he has cleared an aea around our house where soi dogs do not wander - he frightens the crap out of them - they are used to seeing those skinny little Thai stray cats that run from them, but he was brought up with my Dogue De Bordeaux (60Kg) so those little unwashed muts learn that he is far from scared and stands his own. He is solitary too, so doesn't tolerate local cats either.

[Chonburiram]

Btw, whats up with mice and rats chewing on electrical cables/wires?

The same like humans sniffing glue - they get high on it!

[buddy]

Your imported killing machine sounds like some mean dude that aint the normal run of the ranch feline, Whats its name..... SIR?

Erm, rather embarrassingly, its "Sugar" (not my fault, blame the kids! - He doesn't realise, so shshshshsh!). I have lived in 3 houses in Chiang Mai since he came - and each time he has cleared an aea around our house where soi dogs do not wander - he frightens the crap out of them - they are used to seeing those skinny little Thai stray cats that run from them, but he was brought up with my Dogue De Bordeaux (60Kg) so those little unwashed muts learn that he is far from scared and stands his own. He is solitary too, so doesn't tolerate local cats either.

The thought of the viscious ruler of the Soi with such a sweet name as "Sugar", hahahahahahahahahahaha that got me.

I,m intrigued now,any photo?

Pssst, please dont tell Sugar I am laughing at his name will you?

[yabaaaa]

Put rat posion in the food they offer buddha, solves 2 problems at once.

[Peterbigeyes]

Can you cover the offerings up with a net or something?

[stander]

Buy a high powered ultrasonic vermin repeller.