Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1917-10-11
TO CURB RAT EVIL
SOME VALUABLE ADVICE az
STATE EXPERTS REGARD
ING RAT NUISANCE.
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
From the Capital City. the Various
state Institutions and from
Many Different Parts q
the Sunshine state,

the Sunshine state.
Pierre
You cannot expect to destroy rats
by traps or poisons. II you leave food
for them scattered around promiscu-
ously, says H. G. SEVERN. professor of
entomology at State college. Neither
Will they be exterminated easily IL
they are given places in which to hide
and rear their young-a rat may pro-
duce four or five broods per year with
six to seventeen young in a litter.
Professor SEVERN suggests as meth
DDS of control: Making all buildings
rat proof; keeping food and garbage
IRON rats; trapping and poisoning;
and least value OF all, the use Of dogs
and cats.
A liberal use of concrete not only
in foundations but also in plugging
up holes around water pipes. etc, will
aid in making buildings rat proof.
Then keep all basement windows
screened and doors closed. Farmers
Bulletin 1853, U. S. Department of Agri-
culture. gives valuable information
concerning this subject
Poorly fed rats are poor breeders
and are far more easily destroyed.
Foods of all kinds. including garbage.
must be taken care of. Merchants
may protect their flour, seeds, and
meats by placing these goods in wire
cages of half inch mesh and thick
enough to prevent rats from gnawing
through.
Trapping and poisoning sometimes
fail because the rats have access to
abundant food. Guillotine traps.
strong wire cage traps, figure-four,
steel barrel and pit traps are effec.
tive II properly used. A good barrel
trap may be made by covering the top
OF barrel with coarse brown paper
reed the rats several nights with
food on the paper; then when the rats
are familiar with the place. cut a cross
in the paper The next night the rats
Will fall into the water when they
jump onto the barrel A swinging GOV.
er on the barrel is also sometimes
used.
The use Of poison is the best and
most practical method of Kidding
houses and barns of rats, and yet this
has It's drawbacks. Barium carbon.
ate, strychnine. arsenic and phosphor.
us all give good results. Barium car
Donate is one of the cheapest and
most effective, being without taste or
smell and doses small enough for rats
and mice are harmless to domestic an.
imals: Its action ia slow. giving rats
time to leave the premises in search
OF water
Barium carbonate may be fed in the
form of dough composed Of four parts
Of meal or flour and one part OF the
mineral. A more convenient bait Ia
ordinary oatmeal with about one
eighth of it's bulk of the mineral mix
ed with water into the stiff dough. A
third plan ia to spread the barium
carbonate upon fish. toasted bread
(moistened). or ordinary bread and
butter. The prepared bait should be
placed in rat runs. about a teaspoon
full at place. II single application
Of the poison fails to kill or drive
away all rats from the premises, It
should be repeated with change of
bait.
Dry strychnia sulphate crystals
may be inserted in small pieces Of raw
meat, Vienna sausage or toasted
cheese. and placed in rat runs or bur-
rows: or oatmeal may be moistened
with strychnine syrup and used in
the same manner Strychnine is too
rapid in action for poisoning rats in
houses. but 1t may be employed ef.
fectively elsewhere.
Arsenic is probably the most popu-
lar Of rat poisons on account of its
cheapness. hut measured by results
obtained 1t is dearer than strychnine.
Its effect upon rats ia extremely va.
riable-if the rodents survive a first
dose, 1t is difficult to induce them ia
take another.
The statement that when phosphor.
US il eaten by rats their bodies dry
up, has no foundation in fact. Equal.
" misleading is the statement that
rats poisoned with phosphorus do not
die on the premises. although larger
proportion doubtless escape before dy.
Ing than when strychnine is used.
Caution: Poison for rats should
never be placed in open or unshel.
tered places-this applies particularly
to strychnine or arsenic on meat.
For poisoning rats in buildings and
yards occupied by poultry it 1 rec
commended that two wooden boxes
should be used. one considerably larx.
J or than the other. and each having
two or more holes In the sides ArRo
enough to admit rata