The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-09-20
Iirqiinians Can Save
! Nearly 100000 a
Year By War On Rats
tate geath Department Shows Rodents to Be Not Only Pest
Put Menace to Health and Industry-War OF
determination Is Urged

/, and to neighborhoods now compare
lively free 81 them.
Methods of Warfare.
| How can the rats be killed off,
Science has as vet devised no method
| that will completely eliminate rats.
II has no specific. Here as in every
other field Of preventive work, the VIC
tory IL to be won by the painstaking
| application OF common sense principles.
Science can dictate no more than any
thoughtful farmer can plan. It merely
corre1ates these activities and shows
how they can be rendered most ef-
| fective.
! THE one important rule to remember
! in laboring to rid a place OF rats 10
that the pest will not be tempted by
bait or be lured into traps when other
| food IL more accessible. II there 10
Juicy bit of bacon in q single trap
and crib full Of corn in easy reach.
the rat will go to the corn and not
| to the trap. No farmer or householder
can hope for an effective rat-catching
campaign until he has removed the
| food around his place on which rats
can feast. This means that the first
step Ia to protect all food supplies and
wastes from rats thus starving the
! pests until the morsels In traps tempt
| them. In particular. the feed and he
garbage must be protected Where'oats
are left on the floor. where the corn
crib Is open 10 rats and where the
garbage Is at their mercy, the rats will
fatten and multiply on these and will
! not deign to look at trap. The gar
bage should be kept In a covered iron
made proof against rats. and the corn
/ crib should be made safe against their
| attacks
THE crib should be raised three feet
! above the ground on It's supports. The
top Of the latter should end TN a stout
casing of tin or sheetfron and all en-
frances for rats should be closed. An
! other. though a somewhat more ex-
pensive way, Is to case the interior OF
| the crib with heavy galvanized iron
wire, with a mesh not larger than half
an inch. Where these protective
measures are too expensive. some re-
lief can be had by elevating the crib
and putting about each leg a circular
| tin sheet. fitting closely TO the leg and
extending about fifteen inches In =
! straight line on all sides.
Around chicken coops and hen
| houses 1t is highly important TO remove
all hiding places SO that the rats can
| not have access to the coops wire
covering for the coops. similar TO that
| suggested for feed rooms. Is one OF
the most effective methods OF keeping
| rats from chickens. Such covering,
however. should serve for a floor as
well as for a cover and for the sides
/ Rats can readily barFew their way
under and into the average chicken
coop.
Trappfng Rats.
Having done his best to cut off
the accessible food supply of rats the
farmer or householder Is ready to be-
/ gin his direct work against them. He
should. Of course, have cats and dogs
capable OF fighting the rats, and he
should encourage them In the fight.
! But one Of the best weapons Is the
J trap--either the wire cage or tho gull
lotine snap" trap. Both are good,
1 but must he strong. The wire cage
trap has the advantage of size and
will often catch half a dozen rats
where the snap trap gets only one.
1t Is also to be commended where snap
traps may catch chickens or domestic
animals.
Much depends on the location Of the
trap. 1t should be placed t1) where
/ the rats usually pass or conEregate.
and t2) II should be covered with straw,
boughs or cloth to conceal its character.
The best course to pursue IL to nut
! the trap close to the mouth OF a rat :
hole, to bait II with bacon rind. and
to cover all Of It except the entrance.
Snap traps can sometimes be placed
In the mouths Of rat-hoIes. but should
generally be secured. As a strong rat
can sometimes carry \ trap for sew
eral feet.
when rats are trapped IN \ cara
they can best be DESTROYED by drown
Ing The old custom of calling the
dogs and releasing the rats ono at .
time - fine amusement for thu spec.
tators. but II sometimes results In the
escape OF the rat. The snap tran. Of
course. kills the rat a. Il falls.
Various other forms OF traps have
been devised. and some Of them are
quite useful Ono II the barrel tran,
covered either with paper or With 4
balanced top. from which the rats fan
into the barrel. Two designs OF this
trap are shown In special bulletin
| Farmers No, 3ss). Issued free OF cost
by the United States department. Of
agriculture. Warrington. d. c. Every
farmer should have II.
| Foisoning tho Fest.
Where rats are being fourht IN
stables. In barns or In burrows out Of
doors poison IL very effective. though
II cannot comfortably be used In dwell
inga Numbers OF poisons are on the
market and most Of them are rood.
ANY preparation that contains araenio
or strychnine win answer the purpose.
Barium carbonate 10 perhaps the best
poison. Itsis tastaless and odcriesa.
and II scattered around In small dosos.
II 10 not fatal to dogs, though IL should
| not be used whore chickens run freely.
1t Is most effective when one mart il
mixed with four Of dough or meal
Phosphorus poisons are too inflamma
Bile to DO commended.
"Thc great disadvantAee Of poison an
= farm 10 that Il may be eaten BY
fowls or by dogs, fact which pre-
cludes its successful use In places
whore II can be reached, But the sx-
pert rat catohers Of California have
obviated this difficulty by thrusttnr
ths poison Into ths hurruw or hole
whore II cannot be reached from the
outsids but oannot fall to tempt the
rats.
'Whsrs rats live IN burrows in ths
ftsld ono of the most successful
tCsntinssA - aessal PAGAN