I put a rat out of its misery
Had a bit of an infestation of rats once. We'd trap them, poison them but rarely see them alive. One day I saw a rat walking slowly across the garden - not their usual lightning dashes around the edge. It ended up hiding in the base of a big palm plant. I went out with a large axe to see what happened to it. It then sort of wobbled out, and tried to make it unsucessfully through some thick crab grass. The reason it wasn't moving so fast? was a collection of bot fly larvae emerging on its belly slowing it down. These things were bright pink, about the size of your pinky finger, and there were about 20 of them. They probably weighed as much as the rat.

I dispatched the rat with the axe.

Then watched in absolute vomiting disgust as the larvae (and loads more of their brethren which emerge upon the death of the host) wriggled off into the ground.

Google "botfly and rat" images for some lovely Christmasy cheer.


.
( gp_guineapig, Fri 23 Dec 2011, 1:15, Reply)