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Published on 01/15/02

There's Something on the Porch!

"James! There's something on the porch!" I heard my mom say to my dad late one night. Dad had already been attacked and bitten once, so he kept a rifle close by.

I was just a kid, and we lived in a 150-year-old, two-story farmhouse in Jackson County, Ga. Our nearest neighbors lived about a mile up the road.

Just knowing that there was "something on the porch" sent chills up my spine, because Jackson County was the territory of the dreaded and terrible "Wog."

The Dreaded Wog

According to the history book of Jackson County, the wog was an animal about the size of a small horse. It had a bear-like head, red, repulsive eyes and white teeth that were never covered by its lips.

Dogs, horses, cattle and even the chickens would all run away whenever the wog came around. But what gave me the creeps was that it would come up at night and stick its long, forked tongue through the cracks in the log cabins!

No Wonder I Was Scared

Heck, no wonder I was scared to know there was "something on the porch."

Dad flipped on the porch light and ever so slowly opened the door. And there it was. No, not the wog. A big, old rat.

It had managed to chew its way through the screen wire in the corner of our porch and was looking for something to eat. My dad had found out by experience that a cornered rat can put up a really good fight. That's how he'd got bitten. And that had made Dad mad, so he'd shot the rat between the pots and pans in the cabinet.

German Shepherds and Rats

This time we decided to see what Brandy, our German shepherd, would do with the rat. So I turned Brandy loose on the porch with it. That was a big mistake.

It's a wonder there was anything left on the porch that wasn't broken. Chairs, canning jars, flowerpots, you name it -- whatever the rat ran behind, Brandy knocked it over. Whatever the rat tried to climb, Brandy tried to climb -- including me.

That porch was way too small for me, a German shepherd and a rat all at the same time.

Mice, Rats Visiting

I'm telling you all this stuff because every year about this time, mouse and rat populations are at their peak. Most species mind their own business and stay outdoors. But house mice, Norway rats and roof rats may try to come into houses.

If you see one or evidence of one, set snap traps at a right angle along the wall, so the bait is directly in its path. Bait them with pecans, peanut butter, bacon, cheese or anything that has a strong odor. Sticky traps are good, too.

German shepherds, though, will wreck the place. Don't use them. And if you happen to see a wog, run!

Mike Isbell is the Heard County extension coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Mike Isbell
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