Oh rats

[BTB 500]

Mine have only come out at night for some time now, so I use a thermal spotter to find them then an infra-red day/night sight on the rifle. This is a tiny vole using thermal in pitch dark (no, I didn't shoot it )

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I have to keep an eye out for these guys too

 

[ALFAitalia]

You do have to watch out for those and cows.....my father has had wiring eaten in his tractors by horses (and cows) on more than one occasion. They are unlikely to be able to creep under your car bonnet and chew the ECU loom like mice though.

 

[BTB 500]

What I found most fascinating, is that in the video the mouse seemed aware that he was being watched from the camera
- Insomuch as he kept pausing to stare directly at the camera every now and again ( as if to gauge whether what was watching him presented an immediate threat or not).

Or maybe that's just me ?

Virtually all infra-red cameras use 850nm illumination ... imaging sensors are most sensitive to this wavelength, so you get the best range and image quality. The downside is that although the IR itself isn't visible the emitter shows a very faint red glow, and the mouse is likely reacting to that.

940nm IR illuminators are typically used for more sensitive/covert applications. These are essentially invisible, but don't perform quite as well. The scope on my air rifle is available in both 850 and 940nm versions, and I have the 850 one. I've not noticed anything reacting to the illuminator, but it also has an IR laser rangefinder and rabbits sometimes seem to notice when I paint them briefly with that to get the distance.

 

[Bellow]

Mouse filmed tidying up man's shed every night

Retired postman Rodney Holbrook never expected to capture a Ratatouille-style scene in his own shed.

www.google.com

Working up an appetite.
Thing I don't get is people say that when mice chew plastic/rubber/foam rubber they are using it to build nests. Why then do they leave it all behind?

 

[BTB 500]

They are unlikely to be able to creep under your car bonnet and chew the ECU loom like mice though.

Hopefully not as they have got great big teeth

I have actually used the horses as cover when stalking rabbits out in the open

 

[BTB 500]

Working up an appetite.
Thing I don't get is people say that when mice chew plastic/rubber/foam rubber they are using it to build nests. Why then do they leave it all behind?

AFAIK rodents need to keep gnawing on stuff as their teeth grow continuously and have to be worn down. That's why they're so destructive.

 

[Bellow]

AFAIK rodents need to keep gnawing on stuff as their teeth grow continuously and have to be worn down. That's why they're so destructive.

That to me understanding is 100% true for rats. Never heard it said of mice but it would be hard to refute. But, what does chewing on foam rubber do for tooth wear? Foam air filters (chainsaw/strimmer type), insulation foam on AC parts - they utterly destroy. Only the pile of chunks left behind inform me that the whole part was even there in the first place. Why don't the little bastards chew on bricks?

 

[BTB 500]

But, what does chewing on foam rubber do for tooth wear?

I suspect it's just a general reflex to gnaw on stuff. Mice went for the loft insulation in our house, which is equally pointless!

 

[Sub8]

My other half insisted on putting a hedgehog house out in the garden this year.

Was convinced we had hedgehogs as food was gone every day. I was not, as our dogs are expert at finding hogs and letting us know...

A trail cam showed the true horror...yes of course, entire community of rats being supported

 

[Sub8]

Ford Mondeo of mid-2000ish had NVH material in the wheel arches that was irresistible to squirrels. Listening to German engineers trying to say squirrels, in english, so funny......

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Hopefully not as they have got great big teeth

I have actually used the horses as cover when stalking rabbits out in the open

Could you also ride the horses and shoot one handed like John Wayne? That would add an extra frisson...!

 

[BTB 500]

Listening to German engineers trying to say squirrels, in english, so funny......

There are even YouTube videos of Germans saying 'squirrel'. My wife is German and manages it fine though

There's actually a German expression: "the devil is a squirrel" (but in German of course ). It basically it means ‘the devil comes in many forms’, or ‘don’t be fooled by something that looks harmless’

 

[Sub8]

I have a vague memory of a monty python sketch as well

 

[BTB 500]

Could you also ride the horses and shoot one handed like John Wayne? That would add an extra frisson...!

Haha more likely I'd end up in a heap on the floor with the rabbits wetting themselves with laughter!