Exterminator

Dean came today in response to our call about rats. Dean is a salesman for Terminix. He is the first responder for people who need to remove rats. You have to sign up for his service. “Only $400.00 per year, guaranteed. Call us anytime, we are open 24 hours (but don’t call us in the middle of the night)."  It also includes protection from ants and cockroaches.

Dean is an interesting sort, as are most people we have met so far who are about our age. He told us all about his career as a salesman.  Before coming to the islands to sell exterminator services, he was in Sacramento selling water. Then he was in San Diego selling air conditioning. He has the career figured out – sell people what they have to have.  His wife, however, didn’t get the system. She went into window treatments. They lost their 401K. You can live without window treatments, but not water, air-conditioning and exterminators.

So the appointment for the actual exterminator is next week. Meanwhile, we are gathering more evidence that the gifts we have been given in the form of brown oval specks are more than likely due to geckos. The solution for this is found online. They need to be potty trained. It is reportedly very difficult to do, however. Maybe if we bought more GEICO insurance, we would be assured of civilized geckos in the house.   Geckos are not included in the service plan. We were told by our neighbor that you can control geckos with Pinesol.

Rat evidence found in kitchen drawer

Madagascar geckos area bright green with a rainbow shimmer and red stripes on their backs. Here they are about 5 inches long from nose to tip of the tail. They can stay in one spot for hours and catch flying ants and other insects, so you kind of want them around. Our friend Steve on Oahu feeds them banana and has images and sculptures of geckos all over the house. Needless to say he loves geckos.

Then there are rats. The exterminator comes next week to take care of that. My traps are ready, but they need a professional to place them and check them on a regular basis.

Professional rat bait stations

 And thanks to Dean, we are now on the plan.

New License

Today I got my Hawaiian license plate for my car.

In order to do this, you must present the receipt from Young Bros. shipping to show when the car was received in Hawaii.  You must present an Hawaiian certificate of insurance.  You must present the previous registration, and a safety inspection report.  The safety inspection is given at some gas stations, not all.  You must make an appt.  Bob, at Dixson’s 76 auto  body did my inspection. 

You then go to the Hawaiian department of motor vehicles which is located in their new state satellite headquarters near the high school.  The buildings are marked A, B, C, D etc.  No other markings are found.  You must visit each building until you get the right one.  The first time I went, it was Furlough Friday.  The second time I went I found out about the blue safety inspection requirement.  The third time I went the computers were down. 

 Finally, yesterday, June 30^th, I waited only half an hour in line and was able to register the car and get Hawaiian plates.  You must then return to Dixson’s auto shop and they install the plates and put on the safety inspection sticker (which I have not found on my car or anyone else’s car).  I was lucky because the cost of registration doubled starting July 1^st (from $5.00 to $10.00).

Rat Trap Fever

I found fresh rodent leavings in the Mill house yesterday. Priorities changed and the rodent (dare I say rat?) situation was on the schedule for today.

The first day we were here we found evidence of rats in the kitchen. David cleaned out the drawers but the rats will follow a trail left by other rats. An exterminator came last year and planted black rat trap boxes around the perimeter of both houses.
No one seemed to know how the traps worked, how to open them, or where they were – until Dorothy, the rat exterminator, took on the rat situation! No more rats for me.

We saw there was a trap under the kitchen sink and under the stationary tub. I got one and figured out that you merely use a flat head screwdriver in the holes at the top to pop open the lid. Inside is a feeding trough where you put the bait. There are two holes for the rat to enter. The theory is the rat will come in through a hole, feed on the warfarin poisoned, peanut butter flavored, solid bait, then go back to the nest and die. Warfarin thins the blood so they bleed to death internally. Too much information, I know. The bait is threaded through a wire and is round so it can rotate. There are several kinds made by different companies. Home Depot has a good supply.

I soon discovered that there were many more of these traps around the corners of the houses. Half had bait left, but most had been at least munched. I found seven in all. I cleaned them all out with a hose, air dried them, and then baited them. You just hammer the lids back on. Of course I used one of each kind of bait in each trap. When I check the boxes in a month, I can see which kind was the tastiest. Luckily, this type of trap does not leave an actual rat for you to dispose of. We bought one Chinese style trap as well, which it will trap the rat inside. We can see which type of rat we have. I’ll let David take care of that one.

I placed a baited trap in each corner underneath the Farm and the Mill house. It is tricky to find a good spot that is level so the box won’t topple over, and also be discrete.

Mike, who has a farm nearby, uses homemade traps and puts them all around their farm. He cuts PVC pipe, about 2-3 inches in diameter and 2 feet long. He puts bait in the middle. That way he figures other animals can’t get into this long narrow pipe. He uses one flavor bait for awhile and then another flavor the next time just in case they get smart about it.

Rats on Hawaii coffee farms:
The rat is very prolific. The young rat is sexually mature at 4 months and
reproductive potential is continuous until death. Rat behavior is influenced
by thirst, hunger, sex, maternal instinct, and curiosity. Rats cannot go
without water for more than 48 hours or without food for more than four
days. Thirsty or hungry rats become desperate and are therefore easier to
control because they are less wary. Rats are nocturnal and tend to become
habitual. They have a keen sense of smell and hearing, and a fair sense of
sight with ability to see in the dark.
Roof rat (Rattus rattus)
A medium to large rat, body 5 to 7 inches long. Tail slender and always
longer than head and body combined. Body color varies from grey to jet
black; underside grey, grey-white, or white. Nose sharply pointed, large
eyes, large, thin ears; in female, five pairs of nipples; expert climber and
wire scaler; frequents cane fields, macadamia nut, coffee, papaya, and
banana groves; nests in attics of buildings, trees, banana bunches, and
abandoned burrows of Norway rats.

Coffee farm notes June 20th

Braund farmhouse

We arrived at the farm June 11th.  Today, June 20th, is the first time I’ve had to sit down and gather my thoughts.  As soon as we picked up my car 1 1/2 hour drive away on Monday the 13th, we no longer felt like tourists.

Entry

Kevin and Katie went to Hawi for the June 7th weekend for their last vacation in Hawaii. They pretty much stayed to themselves the rest of the week organizing, packing, saying goodbye to friends, and showing us a few things around the farm. Kevin got us hooked up to the internet and printer. They left Thursday morning the 16th, taking an early morning swim before they left.

The telephone company came by the next day to repair the phone lines and internet which went out a couple weeks ago in a huge electrical storm that put out the lights for awhile. We now have internet (DSL) and a phone line, but we can’t get very good reception on the phone either because they really didn’t fix it or the phone is so old it don’t work.

The plumber came a few days ago to put in a new pressure pump and replace the PVC lines with copper. He is coming back tomorrow to replace all the faucets that turn water on and off under sinks, toilets and the washer.

turkeys and coffee plants

Silverio and his family have come a couple times to spray for weeds, but it has been raining a lot and it isn’t supposed to be applied when it is rainy as you can imagine.

Kitchen shelves

I have been cleaning. First I take everything out, then clean, then put it all back. The refrigerator was first. Then the kitchen shelves (no cupboards, it would be too moldy). We had several bags of trash. It took me three days to do the kitchen.

We encountered a mouse (rat?) problem along the way. Rats nest in Mac nut trees and are endemic to these farms. A cat is handy and can be borrowed from the humane society when necessary.

Looking for rats

Today I cleaned out the guest bedroom closet. There are several plastic bins there used for storage. Turned out they are full of extra linens. Unfortunately, some of them had to be disposed of. But you can do it humanely.

The solid waste transfer station has an area that you can donate items no longer needed or in good repair. That’s where the blender with no lid and the rice cooker with no lid went as well. One day I saw several infant and child car seats and strollers all lined up in front of this area and Mothers picking them out to take with them. A sign said they were free. They looked in very good shape, and was a nice service to the community.

My Speech at David's Retirement Party

I feel like you all have honored us with your presence, and given us a gift of yourselves in taking the time to come here tonight, especially the partners from Portland and others from out of town. It is really special. I wanted to give you all a gift in return, from Alaska, but David didn’t think a prime garage sale item was appropriate.
It is bitter sweet, retirement. David has had a successful career as a counselor, and now I take him off to a NUT farm. I have been looking forward to having David in my life more than a couple hours a day, and now it is coming true. My girlfriends in similar situations, however, have warned me that this may not be what I really want. Bonnie Bennett says she married for life, but not for lunch.
I have great memories, like negotiating with Tom Landye, the transfer of our, what I considered, substantial investment in office equipment, computers, fax, and copier to LBB. Tom displayed his renowned negotiating skills that have made him the great lawyer that he is today.
I will miss the yearly holiday shopping in Portland that has become a tradition in our family. I have my favorite shops and restaurants to visit. The spectacular partner dinner with everyone dressed to the nines and offering the finest of food and wines, will be a memory we will always have.
I think David is the first partner to officially “retire” without another paying job. So we are setting precedent here. Hopefully retired partners will still be invited to social functions, and any future retirement parties. Any pending invitations? Has anyone started to think about retirement, now that one of you is doing it? Or are you going to watch David and see if it “takes” or not? They say old lawyers never die, they just negotiate.
Of course, you are all welcome to visit us in Kona and view the workings of an actual coffee and macadamia nut farm. There are special picking bags available for guests.
When we tell people that David is retiring and we are moving to Hawaii to take care of a coffee farm, they nod and give a chuckle. But yes, we are really going to do it. Just like the adventure we began when David joined LBB. We are ready for the next adventure.
I look forward to staying in touch with you all and taking bets who will be the next partner to try retirement.
And to David, who we are honoring here tonight, I want to say that I am looking forward to the rest of our lives together and lunch; but maybe not together at the bridge table.