Rats
Update: From 1 October 2016 farmers, gamekeepers, pest controllers and their employees buying professional rodenticide packs for use outdoors will need to show either an approved certificate of competence or document confirming membership of an approved farm assurance scheme. Click here for more information
There can be few horse owners who have not at some time been troubled with rats. There is any amount of information to be found on line or the easy way out of the problem is to have a pest control contract with reputable people who will do the whole job for you effectively and safely. But this service comes at a cost and it is quite possible to do the job yourself if you follow some rules.
The writer obtained complete control for many years on a farm where corn was stored (which HAD to be free of any rat droppings) and where bales of wrapped haylage were vulnerable. Damaged haylage bales go mouldy in no time at all and the financial cost can be enormous.
The mistake most people make is not to provide the rats with enough bait or for a long enough period. Rats normally start to come into buildings in August or early September. In 2012, probably because of the miserable summer, they started to come inside in July. So it is important to be ready for them and to provide a constant supply of bait throughout the winter. If rats receive some bait but not enough to kill them, it may well be that they will develop an immunity to normal rodenticides.
On the farm I have always used home- made wooden boxes which contain lots of bait. They are safe if properly protected and rats seem to like them! The photographs shows how the box is constructed using simple but robust bits of timber. Overall the boxes are 2ft. long and 1ft. wide. The sides are 6” high excluding the base. The hole at each end is 3” square and the area containing the bait is 10” by 10” with 2.5” high baffles to retain the bait. The lid should be longer and wider than the box so that there is overhang all round. Plywood is the ideal lid with bits of batten on the underside to locate the lid onto the box. Fasten a plastic sack onto the lid to make it waterproof and put the box on some slates, tiles or small battens to stop the bottom getting damp if the box is to be outside. Put a heavy stone or bricks on top of the box so that dogs cannot gain entry [size as appropriate to the size of dog, or better still place the box where pets have no access]. I have also found that putting an old sheet or part sheet of corrugated iron over the box makes the whole thing even more weatherproof and even more attractive to rats. Sometimes rats enjoy these boxes so much that they move in complete with leaves and bits of straw! This is not to be encouraged!
Agricultural suppliers nearly all sell proprietary brands of rat poison which do the job but can be quite expensive if you are using large quantities of bait. They also sell waxed blocks for rodent control. I do not favour the latter because rats tend to carry them away and store them in large numbers which prevents good distribution and may mean that the rats die from eating some of the blocks and the remainder just go mouldy. This can be overcome by nailing the waxed blocks to a piece of timber so that they cannot be carried away. Those horse owners with access to a supply of wheat may be able to access a rodenticide concentrate with which they can make up their own bait at a considerable saving.
It is not usually difficult to locate rat runs or to know where they are. If you have a feed room that is NOT the place to put rat bait. Try and choose a baiting station away from vulnerable areas. If there is a plentiful supply of food around the rats they may choose to eat that rather than your bait. A baiting site close to or in an old building or barn away from your food supplies can be ideal. Inspect the boxes weekly and top them up as necessary.
Whatever you do, remember that rat bait, in any form, can and does kill dogs and other animals if they get access to it. {Editor’s note – use your common sense re the siting of a rat box, particularly if you have children or pets. Don’t site your rat box where children or pets have access. Much heavier stones than those shown in the picture left may be needed}
