Rat Control

Rat Control

Rats and mice can cause serious problemon the farm or homestead. The major source of rodent damage .1,the Norway or brown rat (Rattus norvegiaz,He is ably assisted by his cousins the black za(Rattus rattus) and the house mouse (Abemusculus). Other relatives, the field mouse andthe pine mouse, cause damage to orchards artin gardens.

Rats are among the most ingenious crea-tures known. They police their population srthe number of rats does not exceed the foalsupply by killing or driving out weak rats. Ahealthy rat can fall 50 feet without serious itjury, and can swim half-a-mile in open watererup sewer lines against swift currents. It cErdive through a plumbing trap, gnaw thre..ri brick, cinder block, oak planks, and, oc-nally, through metal conduits.

Rat and mouse control are linked on theestead or farm. Although mice are moreproblem in the house, rats can infest bothhouse and barn and are a more significantslem in sheds and other outdoor buildings.n though you may succeed with ease inporarily reducing the number of rats onproperty, you will have to keep after yourk to keep the population down perma-tly. Sanitation around the house and barn.

Sanitation: Sanitation means general,ting, eliminating sources of food for ratsmice, and destroying rodent nests. Beginsealing all stored food from rats and mice.t does not necessarily mean rat proofing anre building, since many buildings are im-ible to completely rat-proof. Cement foun-ons, metal nailed over rat holes, metalhings on doors and window frames, and',closing devices on doors all help, but arefail-safe.

Dried and bagged food of all kinds shouldbe stored in tight cupboards or preferably ing3ss jars or tin boxes with tight-fitting lids.ruble scraps not fed to animals must bescrupulously composted; rat-proof composttins are desirable, but proper composting willnet draw rats.

Food that needs to be cured or hung for:ng periods of time can be hung in attics,israges, or storerooms in ways that protect itfrom rodent infestation. One way is to hang thefoodstuffs from a wire strung from one wall toanother. Simply punch a hole in the center oflarge metal disks and slip them over the wireabout a foot from each wall. Rodents can't get around the disks. If you have a beam flushagainst the ceiling of a building, cover bothends of the beam with tin to about two feetfrom the wall on either end. Rats won't be ableto maintain a footing on the metal surfacesof the beam ends. Drive nails into the beamfor hangers.

Don't let surplus garden crops stand forextended periods or overwinter in the garden.Shred, plow under, or otherwise dispose ofanything rats would enjoy, particularly maturesweet corn. Baled straw often contains wheatthat was not threshed out properly at harvest-time and rats or mice will burrow into thebales for the grain. Do not store baled strawin a barn, or, if you do, use the bales as soonas you can.

Keep all livestock and pet feed in metalcontainers. Steel 55-gallon drums are ideal forthe purpose, since they can still be purchasedcheaply or be had for free. Be careful not touse drums in which toxic chemicals have beenshipped or stored and wash all drums out thor-oughly. Pieces of roofing tin weighted downwith a rock or piece of cement block will coverthe barrels. Set the barrels on pallets or a plat-form to keep them off the ground so they don'trust out. In four drums you can store all thefeed six chickens and a pig need in a year.

Larger farms and homesteads need largergrain-storage facilities. There are many metalbins and cribs on the market. Old woodencribs can be partially rat-proofed with hard-ware cloth or pieces of roofing tin, but rats willalways find a new place to gnaw through.

If constructing new buildings, don't putwooden or composition floors in them unlessyou really need them. Of course, rats can getinto dirt-floored buildings easily enough butthey don't often stay because there is no placeto hide. If you build a building with a floor, build it up off the ground so that a dog or catcan get underneath the building to chase a rat.Feed your barn cats underneath the floor of thebuilding to encourage them to hunt there.

Keep all piles of wood and lumber up offthe ground with planks and posts. Get rid ofpiles of rocks, old boards and junk.

Feed your chickens and other animalscarefully so that they finish their grain anddon't spill it. Don't leave mash or other foodout overnight when rats are active. Rats willattack baby chicks, unless the hen fights themoff, so any building in which you are raisingchicks should be rat-proof.

Poisons: Poison is a less than completelysatisfactory means of eliminating rats andmice. Poisons like arsenic and strychnine areeffective killing agents, but rats who watchother rats die a violent death by strychnineseem to put two and two together and avoidthe bait. Besides, such poisons are extremelydangerous to children, pets and farm animals,even if placed in bait stations along rat runs.

Rats sometimes learn to avoid the safer,newer anticoagulant poisons that have beenso effective over the past ten years. Thesepoisons often require repeated feedings beforethey will kill and a rat that gets sick may avoideating the poison again-it seems to associatethe odor of the bait with its sickness. Rats havealso shown some tendency to become immuneto anticoagulants.

Bait must be placed properly to havegreatest effect. Place baits in runways or placeswhere rats seek shelter, but cover them well sothat domestic animals or children will not findthem. A board may be leaned against the wallover the bait, or the bait may be covered witha box with two-by-three-inch holes in bothends. Rats deprived of earlier hiding places by the cleanup of their shelters may be enticedthe bait when it is enclosed in a newplace.

The most satisfactory results from are obtained when prebaiting is done. Preto!.ing is simply offering a variety of unpoiwtsecbaits for the rats to sample, and then usinemost popular-with poison added-in bait sti.lions. Many different substances can be rit.as bait since rats are omnivorous: liver,cheese, chicken entrails, canned fish. commetor oatmeal, green corn, bananas, raw ems. cardried milk.

Traps: Trapping rats works but is tarextremely effective. It is best used in combina,tion with other controls. By far the safestto use on the ground is something like a Flz,2,hart live trap because you can free other ECV-mals that might get stuck in it. Bait the aftwith grain, bread or bacon and set it in a rm.way. The rats may avoid it the first few riLths,because they are suspicious of anything newtheir environment. As they get used to the :ramhowever, you should get results. Drone tierats you catch in this type of trap.

A spring-type rat trap can also be tzed.Nail it to a beam or fasten it to a pipe that h.become a runway for rats. Bait should axfirmly tied to the trap, and, once mounted_ rcan be left in place.

Mice in the Orchard: The field momand the pine mouse often live in orchards aarldamage fruit trees. The field or meadow mouseis rather stocky, short legged, short eared. 2111:usually black and gray. The pine mouse is gm-really much smaller in size and has a very s6ritrttail. Its fur is dull chestnut and of yen snattexture.

Field mice are not difficult to control inthe orchard. They rarely burrow below , and they feed on the trunk, not the roots of trees. If the orchard is mulched, be careful to pull the mulch a few feet away front thek in the fall. Field mice build nests mulch but are hesitant to run around in then once cold weather sets in. Placing a wire cylinder around the trunk of each tree is alsoctive against field mice.

Pine mice are often very difficult to control. Persistence is necessary. Dig some of theaway from the base of the tree in the fallfill it in with cinders. Spread cinders in aele to at least three feet from the trunk. Therp cinders will help prevent the rodentsm tunneling in the soil. Regular snap-backuse traps can be effective if carefully set inruns.

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