Tom Cat does the (gruesome) trick

The recent deluge has persuaded the members of the local rodent community to seek drier hunting grounds in our house. This has not pleased Steve, in particular. I too am slightly unsettled by the sight of rats the size of a small fox terrier scampering across our loungeroom floor. We woke this morning to find mouse poo on the wooden venetians in our bedroom and the other morning we woke to find a beautiful avocado had been half eaten by a marauding rodent. I was also angered by the rats that have managed to chew through the once-rat proof metal lined bins I store the chook food in. Last Tuesday evening I went out and lifted the lid and stared face to face with five of the varmints.
Now we did first try and use traps. Those big, nasty, angry traps that take two hands to push down the wire trap part and whihc terrify me that I will have my fingers broken if I accidentally set one off. These were baited with peanut butter and rolled oats but the rats proved too clever, managing to eat most of the bait while still maintaining unbroken necks. So we had to go the posion option. Colleagues at work, and our friend, Glen, all advised one product: TomCat. So we've been using Tommy on and off now for the past few months, but this afternoon Steve set up numerous TomCat stations around the house. He's had enough. The downside of course of using TomCat is when the rats have died their ratty stench pervades the house. Hopefully it won't be as bad as it was for a few days during the summer, when I would have happily clogged my nostrils with plaster of paris to shut down the stink.