Controlling Rat and Mouse Populations

Controlling Rat and Mouse Populations 

The best way to control rats and mice is to close all access routes into buildings, but this is difficult to do in poultry houses.

                 The second best control method is to remove all shelter, food, and water, which again, poultry farmers are not able to do. That leaves using one or a combination of poisoning, trapping, or using cats.

 Using Cats

                  Some poultry people consider cats a nuisance and a possible host for disease. However when properly managed, cats do control mice in cage laying houses but cannot be relied upon to reduce rat populations severely, although they will restrict a population buildup. Cats work best when they are not permitted to leave the house. During flock changes it is best to catch and confine the cats until the new flock is in place.

Cats should be kept working. Use one cat per 5,000 laying birds, up to a total of five cats per house. More than five cats per house may reduce hunting activity. Young (less than five years old) female cats make the best hunters.

Trapping

                                          Trapping is a practical way to remove rats and mice on relatively small poultry farms, but in commercial operations you need too many traps and it takes too much attention to remove dead rats and re-bait the traps to be practical.

If you use traps, many foods make good baits-peanut butter, meat of nuts, doughnuts, cake, fresh crisp-fried bacon, cheese, raisins, strawberry jam, milk chocolate, apples, gumdrops, prunes, and pineapple.

Enlarging the trap trigger with cardboard makes it more effective.

Place the traps across or near paths rats or mice normally use. Both rats and mice, because of their poor eyesight and for protection, like to run close to walls. Because mice travel only short distances, set traps every 10 feet. With rats, place traps every 25 to 50 feet.

Rats and mice are accustomed to human odors. Therefore, you don't need to boil or handle traps with gloves. Remove dead animals from the traps regularly.

Using a Rodenticide

                                    Rodenticides are usually mixed with some bait material or materials. Selecting the right bait is important, especially where a plentiful supply of good feed is available, as in poultry houses. Also, the Norway and roof rats and the mouse each have bait preferences. Therefore, it is important to know which of these rodents you plan to poison so you can choose the right bait material. Remember: If you use rodent control for rats only, mice will multiply rapidly once the rat population is under control. (The mice do not have to compete with the rats.)

 Using Anti-fertility

                          Agents Research is being conducted to develop chemosterilants (anti-fertility agents) for rats and mice. Once developed and marketed, these drugs will probably be a follow-up to a rodenticide.

Using Chemical and Mechanical Repellents Chemical and mechanical rat and mouse repellents have been tried, but neither seems to control rats and mice in and around poultry 

Bait Preferences and Care

House Mouse

                      House mice prefer canary seed (bird seed), prunes, pineapple, jelly beans, peanut butter, chopped apples, corn, wheat, oatmeal, Milo, doughnuts, cookies, and sweet chocolate candy. They also like the juices of prunes and pineapple.

House mice are nibblers and like to try new foods. Using baits different from the usual food source often works well on mice, with two or three choices of baits in small amounts.

Roof Rat

                     The roof rat is a finicky eater, wary of everything new in its environment, including food, and does not readily accept meat or fish. The roof rat likes cereal grains, chopped apples, sweet potatoes, melons, prunes, pineapple, cookies, doughnuts, sweet chocolate candy, peanut butter, and tomatoes.

Norway Rat

Norway rats readily accept fresh meat and fish. They usually prefer a bait higher in protein and fat than their normal diets. Also, they like peanut butter, sweet chocolate candy, lettuce, tomatoes, apples, carrots, bananas, corn, milo , wheat, and doughnuts. Norway rats are gluttons and accept a greater variety of baits than do roof rats. Also, they are not as wary about new objects or food in their territory as is the roof. This makes them a little easier to bait and trap.

Suggested Dry and Water Bait Mixtures

Dry Bait Mixtures

                                       These are some dry bait mixtures rats and mice accept: (Note: With each mixture listed, reduce    percentage level of the major ingredient to allow adding the proper level of rodenticide.)

1. A good, high protein bait mixture is 60 percent poultry offal meal, 5 percent sugar, and 35 percent poultry mash. (Reduce poultry offal meal to allow for rodenticide.) This is a good Norway rat bait, since they prefer high protein baits. Roof rats and mice may also accept it. Because of its high protein content, this mixture is suggested for poultry houses with or without chickens in them.

2. Mix 90 percent poultry mash, 5 percent sugar, and 5 percent peanut or corn oil. (Reduce poultry mash to allow for rodenticide.) Rats and mice should accept this mixture. It is more effective just after you remove chickens and feed from the house.

3. Canary grass seed (80 percent), 10 percent poultry mash, 5 percent sugar, and 5 percent peanut or corn oil. (Reduce canary grass seed to allow for rodenticide.) This mixture is probably best for mice.

4. Corn meal (90 percent), 5 percent sugar, and 5 percent peanut or corn oil. (Reduce corn meal to allow for rodenticide.) Both rats and mice will accept this bait, but acceptance may be limited where poultry feed is available for the rats and mice. Acceptance of this bait is usually best when used in the absence of poultry feeds.

5. Use the same mixture as in #4 bait except substitute cracked corn, soybean meal, milo, rolled oats, wheat, or a mixture of these for cornmeal. Because soybean meal has a higher protein content, rats may prefer soybean meal to cornmeal, while mice may prefer cornmeal or a mixture.

6. Poultry feed (mash or pellets) 100 percent. (Reduce level of poultry feed to allow for rodenticide.) You may use this bait for both rats and mice. Acceptance will be good if you use it just after you remove chickens and feed. Otherwise, rats and mice pass by the bait stations and go to the fresher, less contaminated feed in the feeder lines and pans.

Water Bait Mixtures
                              

                               Water baits are effective for rat control in certain situations, and some rodenticides (quick kill and anticoagulants) are sold in water soluble form. Water baiting works best for rat control where water has been available but is unavailable at the time of poisoning. Such a situation can exist just after you have removed the chickens from a poultry house and have cut off and drained all the waterers.

Chick drinkers make good water bait dispensers. Clean well after each use. You may use water bait poisoning along with feed bait poisoning for a more effective total population kill.

You may improve rodent acceptance by adding sugar to the water at the rate of 5 percent. In addition, you may add 5 percent prune, pineapple, apple, or grape juice to help increase acceptance. If you add sugar, use unsweetened juice. Since mice can live on little water, water baiting is normally more effective with rats because they need moderate amounts of water daily. However, mice will accept water baits reasonably well when you add sugar and juice.

Establishing Bait Stations

When dispensing poison bait or establishing bait stations, consider these points:

1. Because rats and mice have poor eyesight, they tend to run beside walls or other stationary objects and use their keen sense of touch in their whiskers and the guard hairs on their bodies to help guide them. These sensitive hairs help them travel in the dark, in their burrows, and in search of food and water. They do not often leave their established pathways unless the environment or food and water supplies change.

2. Neither rats nor mice travel any farther than necessary to reach food and water.

3. Place baits where rats and mice live and travel-not scattered at random or just where placement is convenient.

4. Rats are social animals and, within the same species, will use the same food, water source, and runways-and might even nest close together. They range, if necessary, as

far as 150 feet to get food and water but prefer to travel much shorter distances if food and water are available. Therefore, you should put rat baits every 25 feet.

Related topics 

Control Commensally Rodents In Poultry Houses

Controlling Rat and Mouse Populations 

Diseases Rats and Mice Spread

Rodenticides