Have you tried Eco Rodent Killer?

Rural living gives you a different perspective on so many things to that of a city dweller. Take rats and mice, for example. The sight of a mouse running across one's living room whilst entertaining guests in suburban Sydney would certainly raise a few eyebrows and you'd be sure hear a few screams (from the women as well). If it was a rat, hey, all hell could break loose!

Country folk are made from stronger stuff. You don't feel ineligible for a 'good housekeeping' award if you see or hear the pitty patter of tiny feet at night. It's just a fact of life. In fact last spring, mice were at plague proportions, with estimates as high as 8,000 mice per hectare in Western NSW (though fortunately not as many here). Our friend who has made the tree change to Mudgee referred to them as her 'moving carpet'. With around 16 hectares, imagine having a hundred thousand or so in your backyard? That's a lot of ratsak.

Enter Mr or Mrs Python. Whilst we'd prefer to not have a number of Australia's most nasty snakes in this part of the world, we are fortunate to have the lovely 'non-venomous' Carpet Python. Although you might not see them at first, their presence is instantly noticeable due to fact that the mice and rats just disappear.

Unfortunately, you can also tell they're around by the disappearing chickens, guinea fowl, the failed attempt at the rabbit, just to name a few. There's nothing like finding a 10cm 'lump' moving down the pythons body, when, if only you'd been there 10 minutes earlier, little Miss Chick could have been saved to go on and lead a long, productive life.

Of course, the outcome would have been the same whether I got there earlier or not. Dare I say it.......I'm not a python wrestler. Fortunately Gareth is. Once we've decided that we've endured Mr or Mrs Pythons feasting on our non-target species for long enough, or at least more than what we consider acceptable payback for rodent reduction, Gareth finds them a lovely new home a few kilometres away down the hill.

Experience tells us that it won't be long before our little furry friends make another appearance and begin their cycle of annoyance. But we take comfort in the fact that we know something they don't. As with a lot of properties up this way, time share is very popular. The next Python to take up residence is probably at most weeks away............