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The air rifle can be an excellent tool in the pest controller's armoury.
The truth is I don't like guns. I don't have a shotgun licence and have no intention of acquiring one. An air rifle though, has a definite place in pest control, even if some clients feel uneasy with their use.
"Since the pandemic, the number of rats in the UK is said to be around 150 million, an increase of 25 percent per year since 2019," so said GBNews on Monday 21 February 2022. The presence of rats and squirrels in or around a property certainly concentrates the mind of the property owner.
With 2.2 rats per human in this country and continuing proliferation, the challenge for the pest controller is to find the most effective, safest and efficient way of eradication.
There are some circumstances where an airgun is the best method.
As an example, a couple in Lyme Regis called me to say they had started to see two rats running along the flower beds by a garden fence. They were regularly feeding on spilled bird seed and the couple recognised that they needed to find a way around that in the long run.
They were on good terms with the neighbour and I asked both parties if they had any objection to the safe use of an air rifle. I explained that I follow the BPCA Code of Best Practice and that an advantage of a spring loaded rifle is that it doesn't make much noise. They both agreed.
So what happened?
The customer kindly got me a chair, I sat down in view of the areas where the rats were feeding. I fired two pellets. It took 30 minutes.
What were the advantages of using the air rifle?
It overcame the problem of trying to get neophobic rats into tamper proof bait stations, in order to trap or poison them.
It overcame the problem of not knowing where their burrows were. (Burrow baiting is the safest and most effective way of eradicating a rat colony).
It meant multiple visits were not needed and the client only had to pay for one and shared the cost with the neighbour.
I did explain to the customer that they still needed to be vigilant, because seeing rats in the day time can be indicative of a wider problem, but as far as the two known unwanted visitors goes, it was job done.
At Three Counties Pest Control we practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way that minimises economic, health, and environmental risks.
Got a problem? Give us a call.
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