In 1909, Petersburg, Indiana, one fish market owner reportedly turned an ordinary fishing line into a surprisingly effective tool for pest control.
Walter Darnall had a problem that any food business owner would dread: hundreds of rats. Poison may have been the obvious solution, but for a man running a fish market, it carried its own risk. Dead rats hidden in walls, floors, or holes could create a stench strong enough to drive away customers and harm his business.
So Darnall tried something different. He baited fishing hooks, tied them to strong lines, and lowered them into the rat holes. Within minutes, the line tugged. Instead of hauling in a fish, he pulled out a rat.
The strange method worked well enough that others began copying him, turning rat catching into a grim little version of angling.
Hoosiers Fish for Rats
PETERSBURG, Indiana. — Walter Darnall, proprietor of a fish market, has been annoyed lately by hundreds of rats.
Fearing the stench raised by poisoning them would injure his business, Darnall tried a new plan. He baited fishing hooks attached to strong lines and dropped the baited hook into the rat holes.
Only a few minutes’ wait brought a tug on the line and the novel fisher landed his prize.
The rats are all sizes, and Mr. Darnall’s success as a rat exterminator has caused a number of others to put into practice his idea, with the result that hundreds of rats are being caught.
Source: Carrizozo News. Carrizozo, N.M. September 3, 1909.
