Squirrel vs rat

Interesting question.
Kill ALL Rats.

I had to kill a rat in my old Yonkers home after the stupid city dug up my street for a drainage project and the asshole geniuses in charge stirred the diseased little bastards up.
Every house on the block got a rat or two because some morons in City Hall decided drainage on a hillside neighborhood was of the utmost importance. Fuck the government, local, state and federal.

I set a large snap trap and snapped the rat by the neck in my kitchen. I had to toss it out into the alley and stomp it dead with my boot. Rats are tough critters, they don’t die easy.

I’d sometimes get squirrels up in the eaves of my attics, I had two houses at the time, they would try to make nests up there under the shingles. I like squirrels very much but I admit that I’ve shot two particularly stubborn ones that wouldn’t knock it off with their burglary schemes.

A couple of air gun .177 hunter pellets will do for a pesky squirrel but I tended to use a Havaheart Trap and they work just fine. You trap the squirrel and dump it a mile away in a parkland. Alive.

I hate rats and have no problem killing those sons of bitches but I do my best not to kill squirrels.

Squirrels are nothing more than fuzzy tailed tree rats.

This post is very relevant to me. I've only ever had one rat in my house. I finally caught the little bastard in a trap, and he was screaming like crazy, so I threw both trap and rat in a mop bucket and drowned him.

I'd say it's ethical to kill a rat because they invade the food supply and spread disease. However, a squirrel is not a filthy creature, they feed on nuts and live in the trees, so their existence in our backyards doesn't warrant death.

Why kill a rat, when you can trap it and release it by the house of someone you loathe?

All rodents are vermin.

Marmots are also cute.

https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/marmots.htm


From spring through mid-summer, the marmots of Mineral King have been known to dine on radiator hoses and car wiring.

How can you protect your vehicle and marmots?

-Wash the outside, undercarriage, and engine compartment of your vehicle before visiting.

-Physically block marmots by driving over a tarp and then wrapping it around your entire vehicle. Cover the wheel wells. Wrapping chicken wire around the vehicle is no longer advised, as marmots have learned to get around the wire.

- If you visit Mineral King, especially before August, check for possible damage when you return to your vehicle. Before starting your car, look under the hood for marmots or signs of chewing. Check hoses, belts, electrical wiring, insulation, and radiator fluid level. Inspect under the vehicle for signs of coolant or brake fluid leakage.
.
.
.
.
Is brake fluid important?

I am racist (technically a specist ) when it comes to rodentia. I shoot rats and feed squirrels. So I'm going to go with squirrel.

Update.

I thought it was a rat in my attic. I got a cam.
Its a big squirrel. And hes avoided my trap 2 times so far..

Soon he/she will make a mistake. And I'm gonna take it for swimming lessons