The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2013 - Issue 29

CROPS HIGH PERFORMANCE BAIT CUTS MAJOR RODENT CHALLENGES Farms across northern England can cut their most common rat and mouse challenges markedly by better rodenticide choice, reveals the latest national farm rodent control study. Involving almost 400 livestock and arable farms across the UK together responsible for over 125,000 acres, the independentlyorganised study highlights more frequent infestations, longer baiting periods, bigger infestations and poor control despite good bait consumption as the most significant rodent control challenges. In each case, noticeably fewer users of the advanced Fortec foraging grain bait, Neosorexa Gold reported these issues than those using other brands of grain bait (Figure 1). At the same time, farms employing Neosorexa Gold used almost 2 kg less bait on average last year than those using other grain baits, further underlining its superior value. “This is just as well as almost half of farms saw increasing rodent problems last autumn and a good 40% of these were rated as sharp,” points out BASF Pest Control Solutions regional specialist, Charlie Ives. “Over a third of dairy and arable farms and nearly half of pig & poultry units had to use a rodenticide in August. And by September this had risen to around two thirds in each case. “With the most effective bait choice crucial in responding to this challenge, it’s encouraging to find over 40% of farms employing our Fortec enhanced bait with its superior speed and reliability of control. This compares to less than 15% using the next most popular bait, underlining its value in practice. Equally encouraging to Charlie Ives is the way baiting efforts are being improved, with four out of five key elements of best practice now being employed by more than half of all farms. “Unfortunately, the majority of farms are still only starting treatment when rats and mice become obvious and confining it to areas where they are actually seen,” he notes. “Yet, as well as using the best bait, our research and experience shows that Figure 1: In what respects are you finding rodent control more challenging these days? most effective and economical way of dealing with infestations is to tackle them at the first signs of activity and extend baiting to every area of the farm where activity can be identified. “Such a comprehensive approach to treatment means you use less bait and leave it down for less time over the year – which also helps safeguard pets and other wildlife. It does mean, though, that you need to actively seek out tell-tale signs of rodent activity regularly across the farmstead – particularly in a season in which early infestation levels are high.” ‘almost half of farms saw increasing rodent problems last autumn and a good 40% of these were rated as sharp’ Enabling the most effective solutions to your pest problems. The irresistible Fortec foraging grains within Neosorexa® Gold exploit feeding behaviour to encourage faster bait consumption. A lethal dose ?????????????????????????)??????????????????????9?????? ????????????????????????9?????? ????????????????????????????????? M??U????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????()?????????????????((?????????????????()Q???????????????????????????????()?????5?????M???????((??((0

The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2013 - Issue 29 | Page 53