Rats Be Prepared

It is likely that rats wills start to come back into farm buildings earlier this autumn as temperatures fall and their natural feed supplies dwindle.  The key to controlling rodents is preparation –

• Rats don’t like change so put bait boxes etc out now so they appear natural when the rats come in for winter.
• At the first signs of rats start baiting immediately.
• Signs are droppings, burrows in banks, under sheets etc, tail/footprints in mud and rat runs in the early morning dew.
• Always keep bait boxes topped up. Even just a few rats can eat 0.2 kg of bait per day!
• Keep records!

Basil Lowman, basil.lowman@sac.co.uk