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Got a sudden huge rat population? Why this happens and what to do about it
Why the sudden huge rat population boom?
I am writing this in May and at the beginning of April had a steady stream of phone calls from customers all saying the same thing: "We saw the odd rat occasionally, but then suddenly there were so many. We need help."
The first of these calls came from a lovely lady with a chicken pen in her rural garden in West Dorset. She said she had hundreds of rats. I took the video above on my first visit. Certainly they were innumerable, literally running around our feet. Not the best experience!
So why did she have the problem? Consider these three factors:
As you can see from the video, although she had a feeder with a treadle (foreground), the chicken feed was still on the ground in an open tray. Rats seem to instinctively know that chickens and ducks means food. Once they find it they will habitually visit and will set up home as near to the feed as possible. In this case, under the shed and in a bank just a few feet away. They will literally burrow underneath bird feeders if possible. It's like the cafe next door!
The BPCA have said "that a pair of brown rats could potentially produce as many as 200 babies and 2,000 descendants in just one year, maybe more." The facts relating to breeding rates are phenomenal: A female rat can reproduce every six weeks with litters consisting of 6-8 offspring and can be pregnant again with 48 hours after giving birth. Newborns can become sexually mature after only 5 weeks.
The customer was used to seeing and dealing with rats, because neighbouring farms and properties have ongoing and historic populations.
What can be done to resolve the problem in the short term?
The population explosion was very unsettling, even though she was used to a level of rat presence. It got to a point when some help was required and so she called Three Counties Pest Control.
That very first phone call was very interesting, because she was the first customer to mention a rodenticide by name: Selontra. "Do you use Selontra?" She had a pet dog, the chickens and in her rural location had all sorts of local wildlife. She was aware that it was a product that circumvented all the secondary poisoning issues that have historically accompanied anti-coagulant use.
We created a treatment plan that would be safe for non-target animals and would be in easy reach for the rats.
Within just a few days we had control. The problem prompting the phone call had been resolved.
The customer very generously provided a review on Google. She wrote: "Jonathan came to help with a rat infestation. He is quite the most efficient, thorough and effective pest controller that I have ever called upon. Quick, very professional and 100% effective in just over a week! Problem solved. Thank you." Read all our 5 star reviews
What actions can help to prevent a recurrence?
It was good of this client to conclude the review with "problem solved." We always set out to solve a problem!
However, with reference to point 3 above, the likelihood of recurrence at this property was very high, but she was willing to listen to some suggestions. For instance:
To continue to have good communication with the neighbours. It seems they were endeavouring to cull rats with air rifles, which can be helpful, but its efficacy is lessened by their nocturnal existence and exponential population growth. However, a rodenticide treatment is what will really deal with a colony. Unfortunately, the vast majority of rat problems emanate from the behaviours and attitudes of neighbours.
To implement a permanent baiting plan, mitigating against the constant recurrence of rats at this property. This has been described as ‘insurance baiting’, or placing bait in areas of no current issues, but where the risk of infestation or re-infestation has been deemed as very high.
To change the feeding method for the chickens. The customer's placing feed in an open receptacle clearly was the reason for the infestation.There is good evidence that Grandpas Poultry Feeders* keep feed secure and once the birds have been trained to use the treadle, deters rodent access and therefore the consequences of habitual visitation and proximity of burrowing and breeding. As mentioned in previous blog posts DENY HARBOURAGE, DENY FOOD, DENY WATER.
*Please note we don't act as agents for Grandpas Feeders and we recommend personal research before acquisition.
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