The villagers’ ancestral ＂rat-catching bow＂ catches 800 Jin of rats at a time (photos)
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Uncle Liang’s mousetrap is simple, convenient and exquisite, and the mousetrap is as sure as a gun. Cao Jingrong, Chen An, Qiao Junwei and Liu Lei
Yesterday, Uncle Liang took his mouse bow to Foshan to catch mice.
For thousands of years, people have invented mouse glue, rat poison, electric mouse device and other tools to deal with rats, but it is often difficult to compete with the cunning of rats. A family-run mouse catching tool of Liang Shu, a villager in longxi village, Fangcun, makes catching rats very simple and effective. According to reports, this stunt has been passed down for generations and has a history of nearly 200 years. Its shape is like a bow and arrow, and it is as fast as a machine gun. When a vole runs past, it is killed in an instant, and it catches more than 800 kilograms at a time with 200 mouse bows. Yesterday, the reporter followed Liang Shu to catch mice in the field and witnessed the magic of this simple tool.
Hand-made mouse-catching bow with bamboo and hemp rope
Uncle Liang is 63 years old this year, but he is agile. He is recognized as the king of rat catching in the village. Once he catches rats, he gains as little as 300 kilograms and as much as 800 kilograms. So effective, it comes from a mouse-catching weapon. When the weather is fine, Uncle Liang will make mousetraps at the entrance of Longxi Village. A closer look shows that the material of this tool is mainly the most common bamboo strips and hemp ropes in the countryside. It looks like a bow and is easy to use. "This tool is deadly to voles." Liang Shu said.
"This is the production method of family heirloom, which has been circulated since Taigong." Liang Shu said that this tool has two key parts, the "bamboo silk" is like a rubber band, and the "rice" is buckled at one of the gaps, like an accelerator. The most traditional thing is that the two hemp ropes were originally twisted on the calf with the cheapest nylon rope. "This is the most consistent with the key parts of the whole tool, and you can’t buy it." There are only two knives for cutting bamboo sticks. "I can make 50 such mouse bows a day."
How to use it? He demonstrated on the spot: the vole passed by and his body touched the "filament". The whole tool was like an automatic slingshot. When the mouse passed by, it was fired immediately, and the mouse’s neck or upper body was clamped and cut off, and it was killed instantly.
There are only two tricks for catching rats for more than 40 years.
The biggest headache for farmers in farming is that there are too many voles, which affects the yield. Every autumn and winter, Uncle Liang takes tools to Hunan, Zhanjiang, Gaoming, Sihui, Zhaoqing and other places to catch voles for local farmers. He said that because rats are cunning, many people try their best to kill rats, put drugs, put metal mousetraps, mouse glue or use electricity, but the hit rate is not high. He explained that the main principle of metal mousetrap is to clamp the hind limbs of mice, which have forelimbs. They can struggle to climb away, use rat poison and use electricity, which is not safe for people.
Uncle Liang comes from a family of rat catchers. Since he was twelve or thirteen years old, he has been learning to catch rats and make tools with his father. So far, he has more than 40 years of experience. In his view, there are only two tricks to catch rats without much thought. "The snake has a snake road, and the mouse has a mouse road. When the mouse walks, it will come out of the hole according to a certain route, without any bait, just look at the mouse road; The second is to ambush the ancestral tool on the rat road. It has been catching rats for many years and has never missed. " After catching the mouse, he immediately put it in a tube and treated it with salt for non-toxicity.
In the past, catching rats for the people was also a livelihood.
"Autumn is the peak season for catching rats." In yesterday’s rat-catching operation, Uncle Liang walked in the field again and again, looking for a rat path. Then began to "mouse bow", according to a certain interval, in turn, like transplanting in the field, and then quietly waiting on the side. He said that the action usually starts at 3 pm, and the harvest will be seen when it gets dark. Sure enough, after waiting patiently, at 5: 30 in the evening, the reporter saw a vole who came out for a "walk" at a mouse bow and was killed on the spot, while Uncle Liang just harvested the "trophy".
Speaking of why rats were caught, Liang Shu lamented that in the past, farmers were trapped by rats in farming and usually earned little. Catching rats can kill pests and increase production.
In the past, Uncle Liang helped people catch rats on foot, then changed to riding a bicycle, and now he drives to catch rats. Now that life is good, he still can’t give up his "rat addiction" and goes to the Pearl River Delta to help others get rid of rats whenever he has time. "In the past, others had nothing to thank, and they would give me their best dishes, so I was very satisfied." Liang Shu said. Now, as long as he shows up in the field with family tools to catch rats, farmers welcome him, and some places invite him to come to the door to kill pests.
"Just like fishing, catching rats requires patience." In the rat-catching operation that the reporter participated in, although the tools are good, it takes some patience to wait for the vole to come out of the hole and take the bait. Now, Uncle Liang has passed on the technology to his son. Some villagers suggested that he apply for a patent, but he just laughed it off.
Revealing the secret of Uncle Liang’s unique mousetrap;
A bamboo strip about 70 cm long is called "?" ;
● A second-longest bamboo strip is called a "cross arm";
● A bamboo bow;
● A bamboo organ with a length of 1 cm is called "meter";
● A thin bamboo strip about 10 cm long is called "filament";
● "Chopsticks" composed of two bamboo strips;
Hemp rope is used to connect the bamboo bow, "rice" and the whole tool.
Editor: Wang Jiaolong