One word. Cats. Look up Health, in your county agency directory; there will be people whose business it is to eliminate rats from the neighborhood, most likely. And from bubba: If you poison rats they tend to die in the walls and you have to put up with the smell or rip open the walls. Rats are _smart_ and trap shy so lay some traps with bait but not set, when you see that they are taking the bait set the trap. You may also want to use different kinds of bait, I have found that peanut butter works very well.

I used peanut butter last summer and it's work. But first of all you have o find by where they get in. Every hole in witch the rat or mouse can put is head, will be an introduction door.

yuk! Hope I never have to deal with this problem!

We just got rid of these unwelcome guests by using the poison, and let me tell you, the house positively reeked for 2 weeks. Next time I would definitely use a professional (or move). Nice to communicate with you en anglais for a change, yves!

Cats: decidedly the coolest way! Reasons: Obvious side benefits... Downside: some drag in mice to play indoors. Wouldn't be a prob, if they wouldn't occasionally lose them, and YOU'd have to catch 'em instead of ole killer paws! Also, sometimes they don't lose them, and you might notice it, becasue somebody didn't finish supper (for best effects, use wall-to-wall-carpeted homes...).

or, live trap them, butcher them, stuff them, wrap them in bacon, and slow roast them... when done, serve with a nice garlicky Hollandaise...

Well, Wer, you shoulda know me better by now - I'm not the guy to pounce on a mousie till it's flat as a stamp! Of course I catch 'em alive! But you can't eat 'em all - some are what we call a Spitzmaus, in these cases even Gartenspitzmaus, who are not tasting all that great, as they eat everything, incl. insects and rotting dead stuff. Cats wouldn't eat these either, just ferociously kill them, but never eat them. For a nice tasty treat, try the smaller Haselmaus-variety, which has the cutest round ears, a furry tail and pretty eyes (if you can get over this and kill them). Downside: Might gain you reputation as rather heartless chap with your guests, esp. the female, roundish eared, pretty eyed-sort). P.S.: Ever thought about how most carnivores wouldn't eat other carnivores?

hmmm...no...hmmm...

Well, give it some thought, and report back here! (See, I'd like to thing about it, but I am too busy today, so I have to, hmh, outsource this neuronal activity.)

mind if I add this to my resume?

What, something like this 1999 - today Neuronal Services Outsourcing Partner to Alexander Schuth, Spring ???? Or what do you mean?

yep, dat's what I meant, and you worded it so well!

Well, go ahead, but don't think you'll impress anybody with that line! At least not in the culinary areas, where I have during my brave but disastrous attempts left a trace of victims...