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> Rats, although abundant, are not easily fooled into traps. They’re wary of new objects. To entice them, the bait was a potent combination of peanut butter, ba
by astrodust 9y ago
> Rats, although abundant, are not easily fooled into traps. They’re wary of new objects. To entice them, the bait was a potent combination of peanut butter, bacon, and oats.
They pulled out the big guns. Bacon!
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoUnless they plant to study them alive or release them when done (ha!) they could have just shot them. It would have been a far better use of everyone's time (and the money of whoever paid for the research) and allowed a more accurate sample of the rat populations as opposed to a sample of the rats that like bacon and don't hate new objects quite so much (the difference in samples is probably negligible but it's still something that must be accounted for). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat-shot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat-shot
- jinushaun 9y agoSitting around and waiting for rats to show up sounds like more of a waste of time. I can point you to several locations in my neighborhood where I know rats live because I see the tell tale signs, but 99% of the time I actually don't see a live rat scurrying about openly.
- klodolph 9y agoThat sounds you'd catch fewer rats per hour / per dollar.
- astrodust 9y agoI don't think the police would appreciate it if you started firing off guns in the middle of the city. It would be a far better use of everyone's time and money to just set traps. Are you thinking people would pitch tents and wait for rats to show up so they could shoot them? That seems harder than setting traps and checking in a day later.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago>I don't think the police would appreciate it if you started firing off guns in the middle of the city. We're talking on the order of a hammer on steel here. I was under the impression. trapping was happening indoors. Go somewhere you know there will be rats, pop a few, toss them in a bucket, wash rinse repeat. Depending on who the research is being done under it would only take a call to whatever department (probably something having to do with trash) you want the undergrads to tag along with for a shift to collect rats. >That seems harder than setting traps and checking in a day later. Going to where you know rats will be once to shoot them is easier than going twice to set and retrieve traps.
- astrodust 9y agoRats aren't just sitting around waiting to be shot. They're very cautious and often hard to spot. Where you can see them scurrying about there's often lots of people and other distractions, equipment or other obstacles that would make shooting them impractical. I don't think the NYC subway crew would take too kindly to people shooting up their equipment to get rats.
- brohee 9y agoYou can shoot rats with an airgun, I don't think he suggested firearms...
- huac 9y agoWhile the grad students might also have preferred running around NYC with guns, something tells me that that would not be a great societal outcome.
- devereaux 9y agoYes they should release them. Such a disrespect for life is troubling. Rats are a pest, but they are also mammals, thus capable of emotions. Many people are opposed to killing lifeforms capable of emotions - especially when there are no valid reason, like food.