Silly question about finding treasure with rodents

[Greg407]

Some rodents (eg wood rats) have a nasty habit of stealing (or otherwise collecting) shiny objects to decorate their dens. I'm wondering what one can find in an old den from, let's say, the 19th century.

Has anyone here ever thought about seeking out these dens to see what might have accumulated over the years? Or better yet has anyone ever done it?

 

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[redcobra8u]

Not sure the risk is worth the reward. I'd avoid places with rodent droppings unless I was wearing a mask. My bet would be there wouldn't be much there anyhow.

 

[dirtlooter]

I don't know about that, found my class ring, 3 inch 12 ga mags, contacts(in storage container), a knife and other stuff in a pack rat's nest inside a my parent's shop where I had been storing stuff during a move. I was surprised at how much and how heavy of items the rat had moved and was extremely glad to get it all back.

 

[CladGrabber]

I am currently working on training seagulls to attack beach goers in packs and tear of jewelry off of them. Will post results soon.

LMAO!! Thank you for the laugh.

 

[hunterbill]

Yeah, I think it's a great thought. One time I found like 200 fishing bobers stashed by squirls in the rafters of an old building. What about ravens?

 

[mitchellf]

I am currently working on training seagulls to attack beach goers in packs and tear of jewelry off of them. Will post results soon.

I'll buy 5 gulls. Thanks 😁

 

[John Winter]

My first real metal detector was called a Jackdaw. Sounds like the name for one of those cheap Chinese imports but this one was super efficient with discrimination second to none.

Jacky (imaginative name) was acquired as a fledgling from the local quarry and ensconced in a rough and ready-made small cree hastily constructed by my father. You could tell the boys who kept jackdaws by the running streak of black and white droppings down the back of their jerkins - for some reason the bird would involuntary defecate when landing on your shoulder.

I reckon that if all the birds in the world took an intelligence test, then the jackdaw would top the scores. It is a well-known fact that he will fly off with any pretty little object that catches his eye and Jacky often returned home with spoons, rings and other bright shiny objects that he had stolen. One day he returned with an Acme Thunderer whistle he had snitched from a guy refereeing at the local football match. That was his undoing. An irate fan downed Jacky with a catapult when he returned for a second forage. I cried for a week. You never forget your first metal detector!

Test results for the Jackdaw
Ergonomics – very light, able to fly and well designed, but can be quite messy - 9
User Friendliness – comes when called. Operates better without supervision – 10
Build Quality – rather fragile, I suppose. Avoid catapults and stroppy pigeons – 8
Weather resistance – you’ll never have to put it in the airing cupboard to dry off – almost waterproof - 10
Performance – discriminates well. Avoids dross and other dull crap – 10
Value for Money – Minimal initial outlay – 9
Battery Life – Perhaps its Achilles Heel – needs frequent and constant top-ups
of grubs, black beetles and centipedes – 6
NB - the Jackdaw is not available at your usual stockist.

 

[DigIron2]

I am currently working on training seagulls to attack beach goers in packs and tear of jewelry off of them. Will post results soon.

 

[DigIron2]

I would like to find a nest made from some ferrets like those one's from that old movie The Beast Master!