Hopefully there won't be a "next", when we were dragging some cardboard boxes out of a corner of the garage where they had been nesting (and boy did they stink), one of them disintegrated so I put a new box underneath it and tipped the old box up so that the shredded up nesting material would slide out - out slid a rat and fell into the new box, so now I had a big cardboard box with a very angry rat in it, and a rake in my hand.

The wife asked if it was a mouse and I was sort of hoping it was but when I looked inside the box there was no way that I could pass it off as a mouse but even with a captive rat and a rake in my hand I couldn't kill it so I threw a bag of bait in the box and sealed the lid.

Next morning the bait was gone and so was the rat, we saw at least three in the garage and they took a full box of 24 packs of bait, but we never found a body and frankly I don't care as long as their children don't come back.

How the hell people keep them as pets in their houses is beyond me, they smell so bad you'd have to wear a peg on your nose all day long, or be weird.

I think you have it there, I met a young girl (as in early 20's, not illegal) in Manchester, we dated a few times, meals, cinema, drinks, usual stuff. Then she invited me back to her place one night, I happily agreed, we got there and the rat was just running free in her flat, needless to say I reckon I could have given Usain a run that night, no way was I spending a night anywhere near a rat in a cage, let alone a free range rat.

You big tart! They're only big mice but with longer tails Rats make very good pets, don't smell if you clean their cage and are very often found snuggled around their owners neck nibbling their ears. Or is that what you wish you were going to do instead of it being her rat

Your right mate ... they get a bad press, just like spiders.
Phobias passed down the generations.
Not that they aren't associated with filthy places, just like most of us are ,.,,,

There is of course one big issue that you just can't dance around with the "Rats make good pets" argument - rats pee everywhere, they have very little bladder control and they "mark" everywhere with their urine, your pet rat is pissing down your back while he's sat on your shoulder nibbling your ears.

24 sachets of bait in Wilkinsons for £2 - bargain.

http://neratsociety.co.uk/ Their Rat Forum is about as riveting as this one has been recently.

http://neratsociety.co.uk/ Their Rat Forum is about as riveting as this one has been recently.

Well I'm not giving it to the missus am I?

pet rats and the rats that get into your garage are completely different creatures, imagine taking two identical dogs from a litter and throwing one out to fend for itself (assuming it does alright for itself in terms of scavenging and shagging) and one is kept at home. A few generations down the line you'll have completely different dogs.

I've got some Warfarin for the little blighters if they fancy some.

No need to divulge your sexual complications on here.