Ratapult

We’ve had some animal control issues in my neighborhood. The main problem has been a family of foxes. One of them was in our garage a few weeks ago. A neighbor saw one chasing a cat through their back yard. In our last house we had problems with unwanted animal guests inside the house: mice and bats. The other day we were discussing how to get rid of such pests. I was reminded of the ratapult. The idea was a trap that would fling its victim into the air, striking a wall and then dropping into a bucket. I can’t find the original reference but I did find an article from Time Magazine that mentions the ratapult. It’s a funny idea but I doubt that anyone, even in a factory setting, would accept rats flying through the air.