After observing that slug pellets in the greenhouse were being eaten at an alarming rate, we decided we needed to investigate. What better tool to use than our Brinno timelapse camera.
The time-lapse video camera can run on its own power source for over a week and works in low light conditions, perfect. So we set to work rigging it up in the greenhouse, and putting an extra-large pile of pellets down to tempt who or whatever it was that was devouring them. We set it to a 1 frame every 2-second interval.
It creates films at 30 frames per second, so every second of film you see on the final time-lapse equates to 1 minute of real-time action. So we left the camera and the greenhouse undisturbed for 24 hours. When we returned we saw the “bait’ had gone, so all there was to do now, was to play the video back and see who / what it had caught in the act.
Rats! Caught in the Act
For the first few hours of the time-lapse video, there was nothing particularly exciting, a few slugs, then as the light began to descend, activity. I think you’ll agree this video evidence clearly shows a rather large brown rat munching his or her way through the pellets.
In fact over the 24 hour period, it returned to the greenhouse on 8 occasions, a cheeky little critter. So now it leaves a dilemma – what do about it, what do you think?- we’d love to hear your thoughts. And does this mean we have a rat burglar?
