now what about rats - Goa Discussion Forum, Holiday Forums

now what about rats

john woody

2006-05-07 17:50:02

you were all such a great help with the cockroach advice i thought i would just ask one or two questions on this subject although its not one that i'm as worried about but you never know next season i might wish id asked ?

we have had a couple of encounters with rats the first one was during a power cut sat in a bar late at night and once the elactricity went off it was quiet and fairly dark so a rat appeared from the roof but quickly tried to make its way back once it realised people were about , so this did'nt worry me because i thought it wouldnt have been brave if there was'nt a power cut , it just thought it was night time and it could have a scamper about .

but we went in a local bar in agonda at approx 10.00 pm and the rats were sqeaking in the roof i thought they were probably young babies and no adults would actually appear , ( see im not over sqemish) i sat there and had a drink chatting to the owner but as we were talking i could see a huge rat on top of the door behind her , sat large as life looking at me ,
the place wasnt very clean and she did throw the remains of some nuts into the corner of the bar while we were there , which they would obviously eat .

it seems to me that one bar kept them at bay so they were'nt very brave around humans , but the other one didnt seem to concerned about them and they seemed to be thriving in that bar.

the second bar was actually run by a lovely hindu lady and i wondered if it was against their religion to harm them ? anita

gramps

2006-05-07 18:13:45

now what about rats

Acouple of seasons ago we stayed for a night in the cabins on stilts at Devbagh island, we had travelled up by train from Mangalore and arrived late and went straight to bed. No sooner was the light out than the noise in the roof started,there was rustling,rattleing, squeaking, screaming, you name, we heard it. We lay sleepless all night with the light on Peace only came with daybreak, when we complained in the morning the manager said"rats, never, mabey one small mouse!!" It was only later we found out that they had problems with rats in the thatching and could only get them out by reroofing the hut Mind you it could have been tigers the noise they made!!! Alan

irishcolleen

2006-05-07 19:03:31

In november past my husband and I were waiting to go on the sunset cruise in Panjim and a rat as big as a cat was scurrying in and around the empty bottle cases............ :omg

..... :yuck.. hubby said say nothing to the people I was chatting to we didnt want to cause a stampede to abondon ship :yuck

Martin_d

2006-05-07 19:03:44

I saw the biggest rat in my life this year. It was the size of a cat, it calmly strolled up the stairs in the bar, went into the bar decided it didn't like the music and came back out and up the side of the bar. Everyone was screaming the place down, including a 6'5" tall guy who refused to put his feet back on the floor

narial

2006-05-07 20:58:26

Rats

I thought we weren't going there :lol:

Load of rats stories - our Goan neighbour shouted to my husband to go to the chemist to get her some rat cake as there was a large rat sat on her table - we thought she was kidding saying "cake" but when we went to see her there was an enormouse rat just sat there as if it had been invited to tea.
We have seen them in some of the better restaurants scurrying under the tables but the worst story was last season when friends rented a house and during the first evening heard the usually scurrying but being old Goan hands knew they had rats in the roof. What they were not expecting was the sight that met them in the morning - the rats had come through the roof and into the kitchen and had gnawed through the bottom half of the kitchen unit door to get to the food in there. They had paid the rent for 3 months so decided to stick it out and those rats went through a box of rat cakes before they got rid of them.

hapi

2006-05-08 04:37:53

Rats in Goa? Same as the cockroaches - they're everywhere. Squeak Squeak.

sunnypop

2006-05-08 19:03:02

After a couple of glasses of wine we were walking back to our cottage when what i thought was a cat jumped off the side of an appartment, Im saying to my daughter look at the cat and pointing as it was running toward us. Just as i realised it was the biggest rat id ever seen there was a power cut. I couldnt move i was so scared. After that we both went everywhere lighting the paths with our torches. :oops:

gramps

2006-05-09 18:08:18

now how about rats

On a more serious note, it was reported in the press while I was in Goa this spring that Rat Fever or Weil's Disease is a major problem in Goa and as far as I can remember the figures. including fatilities. were far in excess of any figures for the likes of Rabies. The disease is spread from rats urine.either directly contaminating food that is not properly stored or from water such as in rivers and lakes, The early symptoms are a flu like illness and treatment is by antibiotics after comfirmation with a blood test Untreated it can be fatal. As most regulars to Goa know there seems to be an abundance of rats around, not surprising with the garbage position there so it's a big problem, and when you are in Goa you should be aware of it, especially if you come down with flu symptoms!!! Alan

KatieB

2006-05-10 00:36:20

An abundance of rats ? Sorry, but considering how much rubbish there is round I you are lucky to see a rat, I have been going for 15 years now and can count on one hand the number of rats I have seen.

gramps

2006-05-10 09:47:57

now what about rats

I must go out and buy some lottery tckets right away as my luck must really in. Iv'e been going for about 15 years too and i've never been but i've seen them. This year I saw about a dozen including the ones who get off roofs on to the palm trees to nibble at the young nuts, best seen just as darkness falls, from a balcony, as they only appear then Alan

john woody

2006-05-10 19:01:02

hi alan are you sure your seeing rats because there are the equevelent of our squirrels out there that climb the coconut trees and eat the nuts and they look quite sweet

gramps

2006-05-10 19:33:30

now what abou rats

definatley rats, all shapes and sizes all equiped with long ratty tails They get on to the trees by going along the palm fronds if they are touching the roof tops. When my wife spotted them the first time from the balcony I didnt believe her, and when I saw them it freaked me out as I have a phobia about them All the locals thought it a great joke, to them it was just a normal occurance, and kept shouting rats every evening as we went out to eat!! Alan

puddd4

2006-05-10 22:20:51

Gramps you are so right we were having a romantic meal at the Bambolim Beach Resort - You can just imagine it lovely balmy evening, slight breeze, Food superb,table under the trees. Suddenly a loud thud - yep you've guessed it a big rat had fallen out of the tree, right beside us. Not a pretty sight, blood and guts everywhere. Certainly put us off our meal. Waiters great just came and scooped it up but sort of put us off our meal :roll:

So be careful, maybe a table under a tree is a step to far.

GEC

2006-05-15 10:46:04

We've been to Goa 4 times and have seen rats on 3 of our visits. We didn't see any last year. They are really big and black. First time we saw one, it ran into the grounds of our hotel in Calangute. We didn't know what it was. We asked the waiters (who were frantically shooing it out) and they said "Big Mouse, Big Mouse!!!".Turned out to be a pretty "Big Rat." Mind you seeing them hasn't put us off Goa at all and we'll be back again next year all being well.

Gail

del949

2006-05-18 15:25:06

ok
we've done cockroaches (which I hate) and rats (which don't bother me) now what about the worst of all....SPIDERS ....:yikes

anyone seen great big, hairy, man eating, ones?

del 949