Our old farmhouse had a spot in the living room where the floor was settling away from the wall as the old stone foundation settled.... the TV electrical cord kept falling into the crack and getting chewed by a rat that had taken up housekeeping under the house. Why one of our cat herd never got that critter is beyond me; too well fed I guess. My dad had a bright idea. He put a chair in front of the crack, got out his trusty S&W officers model .38 and a flashlight, turned out the lights and waited. When he heard the telltale munching, he got ready and flipped on the flashlight to expose the beady red eyes and let her fly. My mother feigned sleeping on the couch in protest and was not one bit happy with this little escapade. Of course we all thought it was brilliant and made perfect sense. He made a good shot too, with only a small nick in the linoleum floor to show for it. A little electrical tape on the cord and we were back in business and the problem did not again arise. True story! You can't make this stuff up.
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