Smart Rats

Have just checked the live catch rat trap I have set beside my compost heap to find the smart little buggers have tunnelled beneath it to take the bread bait from below. I had caught two earlier in the week and the remainder are obviously shy of entering the trap door. I have now moved it to a different location and placed a board beneath it. Hopefully this will prove successful.
A good friend informed me this morning that his doctor has now confirmed from blood tests that he has contracted Weils disease. This was almost certainly due to contact with rat urine or faeces as his pig unit was overrun with rats until a recent extermination program cleared them out. Needless to say I now wear gloves when attending to traps or working in areas where rats are known to frequent.
Fortunately my fruit and vegetable store is vermin proof but when checking a store of Discovery apples I found a few damaged ones had spread mould to their neighbours. I'm aware Discovery are not suited to long term store but these were only picked two weeks ago.
After 25 years faithful service the greenhouse has finally deteriorated beyond repair. Once tomatoes and peppers are harvested it will be replaced by a poly tunnel.