Rats and Mice

[AmericanSteel]

It would be kinda cool to add rats and mice to some of the homes. You could have anything from a lone mouse to an infestation, which could add a different dynamic to the game (cough.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hantavirus.. cough). Mice could also nibble on some of your food if left out or in certain containers (like cabinets).

I think having mice as nuisance/pest would be the best way to go as you would have to kill a ton of them to equate a meal. Rats are a different story. Wolves killing and eating rats around Coastal Village could be one of the main reasons why so many of the are about. Would also give wolves something to chase, not that they would leave any rat corpse. They just eat them whole. Another place you could easily find rats is the Barn in PV.

[MrGodd2K9]

I like the idea of a pest in the game that could steal bits of your food and that, but would it not be too cold for them to survive ?

[AmericanSteel]

I like the idea of a pest in the game that could steal bits of your food and that, but would it not be too cold for them to survive ?

They survive the winters now. I don't think the Geomagnetic Event made it colder. Just wacked technology.

[caverdude]

Mice and rats survive everywhere though there are a lot of species.

[MrGodd2K9]

Ah right my bad yeah I think a pest would be a good addition would give you another thing to do rather than just sleep lol

[BigJayA]

Ok... We are going to need a pellet gun.

[caverdude]

Mouse traps.

[AmericanSteel]

Mouse traps.

1. Fix a mouse trap inside wooden box or wire cage

2. Attached some tough line from the kill arm of the trap to a hinge that will pull closed a door (I used wire)

3. Bait trap

4. Live catch any small game you can bait for

When the trap is sprung the kill arm swings and pulls the hinge door closed. It stops before it can complete the kill motion as the line goes taut and the door closes. The taut line keeps the door closed so the animal cant get out.

I built these out of wood and put a plexiglass top on them when I was a kid. You could use a tight wire mesh (like chicken wire) for the top too. That way I could inspect the trapped animal before I opened the door. Don't want to open the door only to discover I trapped a skunk (did that once). I have "live" caught rats, mice, birds, squirrels, skunks, rabbits, armadillos and a few cats with this sort of trap. I caught a few snakes too but the trap pinched a lot of the snakes. Which ended in a pretty slow death near as I can tell OR until I dispatched them after I found them in that sorry state.

My point if we have a mouse trap, we could "live" catch rabbits! Would be kinda cool to forage for grass (or go loot a hay bale) to keep some live animals about.

[bethany]

I just moved into a new place, and found mouse traps in the utility space. Great timing.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll make note of it and pass it along.

[AmericanSteel]

I just moved into a new place, and found mouse traps in the utility space. Great timing.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll make note of it and pass it along.

Looks like we need a house warming party for Bethany! Looks like cheese might be off the menu though.

[Nemesis]

Cockroaches! They can withstand a nuclear winter, surely they can handle a measly geomagnetic storm.