A Typical Rat Problem On a Local Farm That Has Gotten Out Of Hand

We were asked to look at a farm's rat problem, as the rat numbers had noticably increased over the unseasonably warm winter we have had.

In order for the farmer to keep his farm assured status, which he would have lost had he not dealt with the problem, the rat problem had to be dealt with quickly. The previous pest control company had put bait stations around the farm but the rats were not using them and as a result their number had inceased to an unmanagable number.

There were rat burrows seen throughout the farm but worringly they had moved into the farmers garden, around his house and rats were now being heard living in the cavity wall and attic of his home.

With a large number of outbuildings giving them lots of places to live and numerous food sources, a creative solution had to be found.

As the rats were not using the bait stations which were in place, we needed to find way to get rats to uptake poison bait.

One of the small outbuildings which was being heavily used by the rats was used as a central spot, we placed a lock on the door to stop people, dogs, cats, pets or non target species eating the bait. We then placed a large amount of bait in the centre of the room. As the current stations were baited with wheat and blocks but were not getting used, we decided to use rolled oats. The oats have a sweetness to them that rats often find irresistable, but it is also a very dusty bait. This dust gets onto the feet and coat of the rats eating it and passing through the area. When they clean themselves they uptake even more poison.

We baited with Difenacoum which is a multi use bait, which means that rats have to consume bait over several days for it to be effective to its full potential. Although this means that you do not get a super fast knock down, which you would see with a single feed bait like diethelone or brodificoum. It does mean that rats will feed confidently over several days which in turn gives older wiser rats the confidence to feed on the bait, meaning that more rats are controlled.

We then targetted the remaining rats in their burrows, using a funnel and pipe to place Brodificoum deep into their burrows so that these rats could be quickly controlled. It also allowed us to see which areas were the most heavily populated so that we could concentrate there. Once baited we closed the holes up with soil. This stopped non target animals getting to the bait and also allowed us to see which holes were being used the most, as they quickly re open these entrances. Several visits, saw the holes no longer being opened up and the rat problem was under control within 10-14 days.

Advice was given to the farmer with regards to removing food sources and areas that they could use for harbourage. The advice was followed meaning that we quickly dealt with his problem.

The farmer was so happy that he immediately switched contracts and will be getting 8 weekly visits from us from now on.