Arat-catcher is a person who kills or capturesrats as aprofessional form ofpest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread ofdiseases, most notoriously theBlack Death, and to prevent damage to food supplies. In modern developed countries, such a professional is otherwise known as apest control operative or pest exterminator.
Professional rat-catchers behind a pile of dead rats, during the outbreak ofbubonic plague inSydney in 1900
Rat-catchers may attempt to capture rats themselves, or release "ratters", animals trained or naturally skilled at catching them. They may also set arat trap or othertraps.
Modern methods of rat control includetraps,poisoned bait, introducingpredators, reducinglitter, smoke machines, and clearing of current or potential nest sites.[2]
A "ratter" usually refers to a dog used for catching or killing rats. This includes specially-bredterriers for vermin-hunting, which may be known asrat terriers, although the latter may refer to a breed that was historically developed inrat-baiting.
Rats are rarely seen in the open, preferring to hide in holes, haystacks and dark locations. A rat-catcher's risk of being bitten is high, as is the risk of acquiring a disease from a rat bite.
In theDC Comics Universe, one ofBatman's enemies is the Rat Catcher, aliasOtis Flannegan, who was employed as a real rat-catcher for Gotham City. The Rat Catcher occasionally orchestrates rat plagues using his uncanny ability to control rats.[3]
Serafina, the Chief Rat Catcher of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. Serafina is a fictional character created by author Robert Beatty and was first introduced inSerafina and the Black Cloak, a spooky, historical fiction novel. Serafina's mysterious adventures grew into a trilogy (Book 2: Serafina and the Twisted Staff,Book 3: Serafina and the Splintered Heart) and the fourth book in the series is due for release in summer 2019.[5]
The humorous ballad "The Famous Rat-Catcher" (c. 1615)--sometimes referenced by the first line, "There was a rare rat-catcher"—evokes both the material culture of contemporary ratting and the verminous conduct of a particular practitioner.[6] A fellow rat-catcher also carries treatments for venereal disease; it is not clear from either the song or the editor's commentary whether this was a common part of the rat-catching trade.
^"Books". robert-beatty.com. Archived fromthe original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved2019-01-23.
^The text and woodcut illustration of this broadside ballad were reprinted in Hyder E. Rollins, ed.,A Pepysian Garland: Black Letter Broadside Ballads of the Years 1594-1639, Chiefly from the Collection of Samuel Pepys (Cambridge University Press, 1922), pp. 60-65. The Library of Congress holds an original broadside:https://www.loc.gov/item/2007681612/. The text appears, with melody, inRoss W. Duffin,Shakespeare's Songbook (New York: W. W. Norton, 2004), p. 326 et seq. The Baltimore Consort's performance is included inA Trip to Killburn: Playford Tunes and Their Ballads (Dorian, 1996; DOR-90238).
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