# do they have rat-resistant cupboards in 3rd world countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148 "2011-04-20T23:03:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/1 "2011-04-20T23:03:58Z")
the question is inspired by a recent thread where a fellow Doper asked for help battling a small rat infestation. I have also seen some mice caught on glue traps, but thankfully no rats. If any such were to show up, I wouldn’t even know which Walmart aisle to go to… Anyway, so are there places in the world where the necessity of battling the master race among the rodents has led to development of effective and decently priced solutions? Is “big rat-resistant cupboard for all food not requiring refrigeration” a widely available necessity good in the same way as fridge is? Or is rat infestation so uncommon a phenomenon that people just treat its infrequent occurrence with the same resignation as the problem of tornados knocking down homes in Kansas? ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/2 "2011-04-20T23:36:45Z")
Chances are if there is a rat in a cupboard in a 3rd world country, it’s not looking for supper…it is supper. ---
**Author:** ![pinguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac8455/32.png) [@pinguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinguin)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/3 "2011-04-21T00:16:19Z")
Nope. But we have cats. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/4 "2011-04-21T01:59:06Z")
> [@JFLuvly](#): > > Chances are if there is a rat in a cupboard in a 3rd world country, it’s not looking for supper…it is supper. Perfect. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/5 "2011-04-21T02:16:46Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > Or is rat infestation so uncommon a phenomenon that people just treat its infrequent occurrence with the same resignation as the problem of tornados knocking down homes in Kansas? My old house had steel cabinets, no rat was ever gonna chew through those. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/6 "2011-04-21T02:23:30Z")
Dude, I lived on a hobby farm as a teen. I’ve seen rats claw their way through six inches of concrete to get at food. “Rat resistant” only means it take them a couple of extra hours or minutes to get through it. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/7 "2011-04-21T02:30:46Z")
It’s really going to depend on where you are. In rural areas, [traditional granaries](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=traditional+granary&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1274&bih=703) and cats will do the trick. In urban areas, a lot of households do their cooking on a day-by-day basis, and there isn’t a ton of food just hanging around. Glue traps and live traps are available around the world. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/8 "2011-04-21T02:31:43Z")
And in some areas rats are just “wandering meat”. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/9 "2011-04-21T03:11:54Z")
They are called “_Clay Pots with Lids_”. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/10 "2011-04-21T16:13:55Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > They are called “_Clay Pots with Lids_”. clay pots with lids sound great. Now, how do they map onto the modern industrial society? Can you line cupboard’s walls with clay? How about with glass? Or are mass produced, conveniently shaped pots of clay or glass the way to go? Bonus question, could bishop Hatto just barricade himself in a big clay pot? [Mouse Tower - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_Tower) ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/11 "2011-04-22T10:07:20Z")
Prehistorically, the rodent-proof property was possibly one of the reasons for the spread of pottery technology into hunter-gatherer societies in northernmost Eurasia. No rats there, just a variety a mouse-size critters easily stopped by a wall of hard ceramic standing between their sharp teeth and stored foodstuffs. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/12 "2011-04-23T04:26:52Z")
a pet reticulated python in the rafters will exterminate all rats within 2 months. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/13 "2011-04-23T04:53:32Z")
> [@](#): > > If any such were to show up, I wouldn’t even know which Walmart aisle to go to… Go to the aisle with the insecticides. Usually in the household cleanser aisles, or the next aisle over. My husband has a hobby farm. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-have-rat-resistant-cupboards-in-3rd-world-countries/579148/14 "2011-04-23T16:19:30Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It’s really going to depend on where you are. In rural areas, [traditional granaries](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=traditional+granary&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1274&bih=703) and cats will do the trick. Around here, the rats tend to be much larger than the cats. :eek: