Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-06
WAR ON RATS URGED
Millions of Dollars Yearly Lost
From Their Depredations
OWING TO CARELESSNESS
Material Left Lying About for
Rodents to Feed On.
LITTLE PESTS WARY OF TRAPS
Recommendations Regarding Meth
DDS of Suppression in Bulletin
by David Lantz.

Further war on rats Is being urged by
the Department of Agriculture The
biological survey of that department has
been calling attention for several years
past to the immense damage done by
rats yearly over all this country. and a
bulletin has just been issued. written by
David Lantz, one of the assistants OF
that bureau. summarizing what is known
of the damage that rats do and descrfb-
ing the best ways OF destroying them.
Mr.. Lantz says that the depredations OF
the brown Norway rat amount to many
million dollars annually. to much more. in
fact. than that caused by any other ami
NAL pest, and the worst feature OF the
situation is the popular apathy with
which he is regarded as a necessary evil
and one that it is useless to hattie
against.
In this connection the writer says that
the people who suffer most from the dep
relations of rats are the very ones who
provide food and hiding places for the
animals and do the most to encourage
them. The rat is very prolific and breeds
three or four times a year when well fed.
producing from six to seventeen young
ones in a litter. Poorly fed rats are less
prolific. producing fewer at a litter and
breeding less frequently.
ing the little animals is by trapping and
by the construction of ratproof build
ings. Considerable advice is given In the
bulletin about the use Of cement and wire
netting In ratproofing buildings. and 1t
is shown that although attention to this
detail makes construction a little more
expensive IT more than pays for itself in
the long run.
Maintained Through Carelessness.
I'M nf f1o -
the war that he says ought to be con-
stantly waged against rats is leaving food
for them to subsist on. He says that
meat and feed stores and the remnants
Of lunches left by factory hands furnish
sustenance for armies of rats. All refuse
Of an eatable sort, and rats will eat al
most anything. should be carefully col
lected in ratproof receptacles and de-
stroyed daily. Mr.. Lantz says that there
should be strictly enforced municipal reg
ulations about screening and removing
garbage and offal and about ratproof
construction in all new buildings and
buildings under repair.
Trapping is the most effective method
of fighting rats, he says. and OF all the
traps the guillotine trap, that comes In a
number of forms, is the best. This trap
has a spring actuating a falling wire and
catches the rat by the head as he tries
to get the bait from the trigger.
Inc cage anu the DdTTei traps are 0IS0
effective. A writer in the Cornhill Maya
zine sixty years ago told OF great catch
Of rats that was made in q warehouse in
single night. The rats were fed for
several nights on the top of empty bar
rels covered with coarse brown paper.
When they had become accustomed to the
barrels and the bait, crosses were cut In
the paper and 5000 rats were captured in
a single night. This method with but
few improvements has been In use ever
since.
Cautious About Traps.
Rats. especially old rats. are very eau
tious about traps. 1t has been found that
they are best 'enticed into a cage tran by
hiding 1t under pile Of trash. and one
has had great success by putting cage
trap inside stout box with a rathole in
1t opposite the entrance to the trap.
Poisons are discussed. and it is said
that under certain conditions they work
well, but they are Objectionable about
dwelling houses. as they are likely to
leave dead rats in the walls and floors.
Barium carbonate. which Is a corrosive,
is one of the cheapest and most effective
rat DoisOns and. as its action is slow.
rats always go in search of water IL that
is possible, so that they are more likely
to die outside the premises
The native and domestic enemies OF
rats are discussed in the paper, and 1t
20 pointed out that owls, hawks and minks
are all feeders on rats by preference and
they do much more good by the destruc-
ton of rats than the few chickens they
catch, when rats are scarce, amount to.
Accounts are given of the formation OF
rat clubs In certain foreign cities. and 1t
Is shown that small amount offered In
prizes has secured more dead rats through
the friendly rivalry of the clubs than
forty times the amount spent in boun-
ties. These clubs also made speciality
of DESTROYING English sparrows, and one
club In Kent, England. killed $1,000 spar
rows and $1,000 rats in three seasons. The
total expense to the city was less than
$50 year in prizes.
Recommendations.
Mr.. Lantz gives the following recon-
mendations for reducing the losses from
rats:
Protection of our native hawks. owls
and smaller predatory mammals-the
natural enemies of rats.
Greater cleanliness about stables.
markets. grocery stores. warehouses,
courts, alleys and vacant lots in cities
and villages, and like care on farms
and suburban premises. This includes
the storage Of waste and garbage in
vessels and the prompt
of 1t each day.
Care in the construction of buildings
and drains, so as not to provide en-
frances and retreats for rats, and the
permanent closing of all ratholes in old
houses and cellars.
The early thrashing and marketing of
grains on farms. so that stacks and
mows shall not furnish harborage and
food for rats.
Removal of outlying straw stacks
and piles of trash or lumber that har-
Dor rats in the fields.
Ratproofing of warehouses. markets,
cribs. stables and granaries for storage
Of provisions. seed grain and feedstuffs.
Keeping effective rat dogs, especially
on farms and in city warehouses.
The systematic destruction of rats.
whenever and wherever possible. by fa)
OBJ poisoning and tc) organ
ICED hunts.
The organization of rat clubs and
other societies for systematic warfare
against rats