The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2014 - Issue 36 | Page 29

ARABLE

FIRST CLASS, EARLY
RAT CONTROL WILL BE
VITAL THIS WINTER
Following one of the
mildest winters on record
and excellent summer
breeding conditions,
northern farmers need to
be spot on with their early
rat control this winter if they
are to avoid seriously costly
infestations, says BASF
rural hygiene specialist,
Gavin Wood.
“Staying outside last winter,
many rats escaped farm control
to continue breeding in relative
security. Add to this highly
favourable summer breeding
conditions and, although largely

unseen in hedges, ditches
and woodland, populations
will be going into this winter
far higher than normal. So all it
will take is a brief interruption
to their external food supply
and the annual migration into
farmsteads will be sudden and
dramatic.
“Fail to tackle this influx
effectively from the outset and
you’ll be in for a long hard – and
very costly – winter of fighting
rats on all fronts,” he warns.
“Our population dynamics
studies, indeed, show that
failure to achieve good, early
winter control can easily mean
you need four or five times the
amount of rodenticide to deal
with large, well-entrenched

populations. And even then
control can often be far less
effective.”
The BASF studies highlight
the fact that a population of just
10 rats can grow to nearly
500 in five months if left
unchecked. So, large numbers
of rats moving in from the
field can easily overwhelm
rodenticide baiting to create
huge problems.
Under these conditions,
the keys to control this winter
in Gavin’s extensive rodent
behaviour experience are threefold – a high level of vigilance; a
low level of tolerance; and first
class baiting.
“Keep a disciplined look out
for signs of rat activity the whole

time,” he advises. “Rat runs
along the sides of buildings,
droppi