Harris County, Houston Rat Control Situation:
Dear Pest Control Agency, My name is Juan and I am working on my doctoral dissertation in Biology at Rice University, Houston, Texas. I have an undergraduate researcher who helps me with my research, and we both work in the laboratory of Prof. Michael. We have studied rats and mice in Europe, and we use the information to study a number of questions, including how rodent populations are connected between continents or within countries. One part of our work deals with the question of whether rats and mice in the US have developed resistance to rodent poisons, about which little is known. Our hope is that during pest control you will be able to obtain the tail tips (about 1 inch) of rats and mice that can be found at rodent infested sites. These could be collected from dead animals, and of course, we would send you everything you would need (scissors, tubes, gloves, prepaid shipping, etc.). If you decide to help us in our research, we would like to offer you a Domino's giftcard as a thank you for your efforts! We have received a large amount of support from a few pest control agencies so far. It would be wonderful if you would also consider helping us! Attached is a simple spreadsheet where a few details on the sampling are described. We do not need any specific information regarding locations where sampling was done, and no names of owners or of employees, etc. are needed. However, if you would like we would be more than happy to promote your company name in our research paper! Please feel free to contact us by email or phone if you have any other questions or concerns. Thank you so much for your consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon! Sincerely, Juan
Houston Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can A Rat Be A Good Pet?
Rats are naturally affectionate, inquisitive, intelligent, and playful. So if you know you can keep up with the responsibility of taking care of it, there is no harm in keeping a rat as a pet. Rats are very clean animals, which means you won't have to worry much about it dirtying your home.
Just like other pets, rats are very easy to train. This is due to their high level of intelligence and empathy. To do this, all you need is a dedicated trainer with a good portfolio on how to train rats. When you have that in place, you can easily call your pet rat and it will respond to you. There is even some well-trained rat that can fetch balls when you instruct them to do so.
The most attractive quality of rats is their compassion. When another rat is not in a good state or in distress, you will see other rats rally round the rat in distress and show compassion and empathy in their little way. This particular quality is only common with humans and other few animals.
Also, when rats get accustomed to their owner, they tend to create a long life bond. Due to their level of intelligence, pet rats recognize the sight and voice of their owners and will respond accordingly when they hear or see their owner.
The only sad thing about keeping rats as pets is that they are short-lived compared to other pets like dogs and cats. But you will enjoy the little time you get to spend with them.
If you wish to keep a rat and have a pet, you can go ahead to do that. Rats can make a good pet if you are ready to provide all the care they need.
