The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1920-07-22
DESTRUCTIVE HABITS OF HOUSE
RATS AND MICE

Losses from depredations OF house
rats and mice amount TO many mil
lions OF dollars yearly, TO more, in
fact than those from all other in
furious mammals combined. The
common house mouse and the brown
rat, too familiar TO need descrip-
tion. are pests in nearly all parts
OF the country; while two other
kinds OF house rats, known as the
black rat and the roof rat, are
found within our borders.
OF these four introduced species,
for none is native TO America. the
brown rat is the most destructive,
and, except the mouse, the most
numerous and most widely dis
tributed Brought TO America Just
before the Revolution, il has sup
planted and nearly exterminated its
less robust relative, the black rat;
and in spite Of the constant war
fare Of man, extended its range and
has steadily increased in numbers.
lis dominance is due TO its great
fecunity and its ability to adapt
itself to all sorts Of surroundings.
IL breeds six or more times a year
and produces from 6 TO 90 young,
average i0l, in a litter. Females
breed when only 8 or four months
old. Thus, a pair breeding uninter-
ruptedly and without deaths, could
in three years rs generations) pro-
duce a posterity Of $4,000, $50 in
dividuals. Mice and the black and
roof rats produce smaller litters,
but the period of CESSATION. about
81 days. and the number of litters,
is The same for ALL
Rats and mice are practically ON
niverous. feeding upon all kinds |
Of animal and vegetable matter.
The brown rat makes its home in the |
open field, the hedge row. and the
river bank, as we'll as in stone walls,
piers, and all kinds of buildings.
II destroys grains when newly
planted. while growing. and in the
shock, stack, NOW, crib. granary,
mill. elevator, or ships hold, and
also in the bin and feed trough. II
invades store and warehouses and
destroys furs, laces, silks, carpets,
leather goods and groceries. It at
tacks fruits, vegetables and meats
in the markets, and destroys by pol
luton ten times as much as il &C
tually eats. 1t destroys eggs and
young poultry, and eats the eggs
and young of song and game birds. |
IL carries disease germs from house
to house and bubonic plague from
city to city. II causes disastrous
CONGREGATIONS, floods houses by
gnawing lead water pipes; ruins
artificial ponds and embankments
by burrowing; and damages foun-
dations, floors. doors and furnish
ingings Of dwellings.
Unlike the brown rat, the black
rat rarely migrates TO the fields.
1t has disappeared from most parts
of the northern states, but is oc-
casionally found in remote villages
or farms. At our seapOrts il fire.
quently arrives on ships from
abroad, but seldom becomes very
numerous, The roof rat is common
in many parts Of the South, where
il is a persistent pest in cane and
rice fields. II maintains itself
against the brown rat partly be-
cause of its habit Of living in trees.
The common house mouse by no
means confines its activities TO the
inside of buildings, but is often
found in open fields, where its de-
predations in shock and stack are
well known. -.-.~,
Not only are mice and rats, es-
pecially the brown rat, a cause OF
destruction and damage to property,
but they are also a constant menace
TO the health Of man. II has been
proved that they are the chief
means Of perpetuating and trans
hitting bubonic plague, and that
they play important roles in con-
veying other diseases TO human be-
ings. They are parasites, without
redeeming characteristics, and
should everywhere be routed and
destroyed.
Continued Next Weekl