A rat-catcher is a person who kills or captures

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s as a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

form of

pest control Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest (organism), pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the da ...

. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

s, most notoriously the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

, and to prevent damage to food supplies. In modern developed countries, such a professional is otherwise known as a

operative or pest exterminator.

Anecdotal history

A famous rat-catcher from

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

England was

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

, who is known through

Henry Mayhew Henry Mayhew (25 November 1812 – 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine '' Punch'' in 1841, and was the magazine's joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in ...

's interview for ''

London Labour and the London Poor ''London Labour and the London Poor'' is a work of Victorian journalism by Henry Mayhew. In the 1840s, he observed, documented and described the state of working people in London for a series of articles in a newspaper, the '' Morning Chronicle' ...

''.

Techniques

Professional ratcatchers Sydney 1900 Degotardi a147264

Rat-catchers may attempt to capture rats themselves, or release " ratters", animals trained or naturally skilled at catching them. They may also set a

rat trap "Rat Trap" is a song by the Boomtown Rats, released in October 1978 as the third and final single from the band's second album '' A Tonic for the Troops''. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in November 1978, the first sing ...

or other traps. Modern methods of rat control include traps, poisoned bait, introducing

predators Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

, reducing

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...

, smoke machines, and clearing of current or potential nest sites.

Ratters

A "ratter" usually refers to a dog used for catching or killing rats. This includes specially-bred

terrier Terrier () is a Dog type, type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many Dog breed, breeds or landraces of the terrier Dog type, type, which are typically small, wiry, Gameness, game, and fearless. There are fi ...

s for vermin-hunting, which may be known as

rat terrier The Rat Terrier is an American dog breed with a background as a farm dog and hunting companion. They share much ancestry with the small hunting dogs known as feists. Common throughout family farms in the 1920s and 1930s, they are now recognize ...

s, although the latter may refer to a breed that was historically developed in

rat-baiting Rat-baiting is a blood sport that involves releasing captured rats in an enclosed space with spectators Gambling, betting on how long a dog, usually a terrier and sometimes referred to as a Ratter (dog), ratter, takes to kill the rats. Often, t ...

Conditions and risks

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.

Gallery

File:Pied piper.jpg, The oldest picture of

the Pied Piper of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to the Middle Ages. The earliest refer ...

, copied from the glass window of the Market Church in

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

File:FOURNEL(1887) p039 Fig.18.jpg, ''Death to the Rats'',

Edmé Bouchardon Edmé Bouchardon (; 29 May 169827 July 1762) was a French sculptor best known for his neoclassical statues in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, his medals, his equestrian statue of Louis XV of France for the Place de la Concorde (destro ...

File:Rattenfänger F 18Jh.jpg, ''Rat-catcher'', 18th century File:Rattenfänger 19Jh.jpg, ''Rat-catcher'', 19th century File:Frustrated Rat Catcher LACMA AC1998.249.17.jpg, ''Frustrated Rat Catcher'' (Ittan (Japan, circa 1820–1877),

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

In popular culture

Folklore

* A famous fictional rat-catcher was

; different versions of his story have been adapted into a variety of media works.

Comic books

* In the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Universe, one of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

's enemies is the Rat Catcher, alias

Otis Flannegan The Ratcatcher (Otis Flannegan) is a character appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Batman. He belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up the Dark Knight's rogues gallery. O ...

, 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.

Film

* Rat catchers make a major appearance in

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...

's ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' (1998 film). * '' Ratcatcher'' (1999), written and directed by Lynne Ramsay, is her debut feature film.

Television

* Colin "Chopper" Mozart, rat-catcher, was featured in an episode of ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, w ...

'' * The character Charlie Kelly from ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'' was responsible for catching and exterminating rats at Paddy’s Pub.

Literature

* Rat-catchers appear in

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

's ''

The Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in three volumes on 4 April 1860 by William Blackwood and Sons. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Pub ...

'' (1860). * British author

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

's short story, "The Ratcatcher", was collected in '' Someone Like You'' (1953). * 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 in ''

Serafina and the Black Cloak ''Serafina and the Black Cloak'' is a 2015 American literature, American historical fiction and fantasy literature, fantasy novel written by Robert Beatty (author), Robert Beatty. It is the first novel in the ''Serafina Series'' and the prequel to ...

'', 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.

Music

* 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.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, in Ross W. Duffin, ''Shakespeare's Songbook'' (New York: W. W. Norton, 2004), p. 326 et seq. The Baltimore Consort's performance is included in ''A Trip to Killburn: Playford Tunes and Their Ballads'' (Dorian, 1996; DOR-90238). 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.

References

External links

{{Gutenberg, author=Ike Matthewsan , no=17243, name=Full Revelations of a Professional Rat-catcher—1898 account of the tricks of the trade, by a British rat-catcher Cleaning and maintenance occupations Hunters by game Pest trapping Rat-baiting Rats