The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-11-14
RAT IS BAD ENEMY
OF ALL MANKIND
Eioloae Survey Declares Intensive War
fare on This Destructive Rodent.

| Intensive warfare on the rat has been
declared by the Biological Survey, United
States Department Of Agriculture, and
the can has gone out for volunteers to
| swift death to the rodents, the depart
ment presents the following bin Of par
| ticulars:
No other animal is so persistent or
| dangerous an enemy OF mankind; no
other succeeds in infiicting so great and
continual damage.
A rat in the field, the home. the barn,
OF the store costs, on an average, 81 a
year to maintain.
There are as many rats in the country
as there are men, women. and children.
Two hundred million dollars worth OF
/ foodstuffs is devOured annually in Amer
/ lea by the rat; an equivalent of 100000
men devoting all their time to producing
! the things the rat destroys or defles.
! Disease Causes More Deaths Than War
! Aside from the economic loss and in
! jury, the rat is a most efficient germ
carrier. 1t frequents all the places that
are vile and loathsome. The germs OF
! the dreaded black death have killed more
human beings than all the wars OF the
| worlds history, and these germs are in
=
bite OF rat flea.
In India. no longer ago than 1895, the
, bubonic plague killed 5000, 600 persons.
In Europe, during the fourteenth cen
I fury. il is believed to have brought death
! to $4,000 600 human beings.
| Other diseases, almost as dreadful are
traced to the common rat Thus, from
/ the standpoint of public health, as we'll
as from the necessity Of controlling the
drain upon the public purse, it is essen
tial that the rat be exterminated. Once
| the determination is complete, or as near
| ~ so as modern methods will permit,
! every precaution must be taken to pre-
| vent the rat from. multiplying and re-
gaining lost ground.
Trapping should be done continuously
1 and systematically at all Tat-infested
1 places" says the department. RAT
] poisons, especially bats treated with
barium carbonate as recently developed
by the Biological Survey, should be en-
(, ployed. IN furthering the destruction Of
/ the rat. community or civic organization
I is OF the. greatest Importance. 1t does
| no good TO drive the rats from one cellar
I into the next II they are allowed 70
breed unmolested in their new quarters.
! When the campaign is made general the
/ pest is allowed no rest and no oppor-
/ ttlnity to intrench in new position. If
one pair OF rats is left they can repro-
duce the original number IN little while,
as rats breed five or six times a year
with an average Of 10 to the litter.
Along with determination campaigns,
preventive MEASURES also should be em-
pIoyed. First among these is the pro
lection OF all food supplies. This is Of
prime Importance. The removal and dc
struction of refuse is the next step iil
prevention, as abandoned dumps and
piles of waste material furnish excellent
shelter and food for the rats that have
been driven from the houses and cellars.
Buildings Should BE Made Rat-Proof
''All buildings should be rat-proofed by
the liberal use Of cement. wire netting
and tin. Rat proofing should be a rToml-
nent specification in all new construction
and ii should be applied to older build
ings in the form Of repairs All drain
outlets should be sealed with wire cages,
Or similar protective devices, and at the
seaports, where the rat finds entrance
to the country, the port authorities
should see that all ships are fumigated
and every precaution taken Is means Of
hawser guards or Otherwise 70 keep the
rats from passing between ship and shore,
or from one ship to another. These
things should BE required by State law
and city ordinance.
with the food supply licked away
from him, and his shelter gone, starva-
III and exposure viii add to the effect
iveness Of work with traps aRd poisons,
and the menace Of the rat VIII cease to
be real hazard against American lives
and property