RATS and mice have always been the plague of all animal keepers as livestock seems to bring the inevitable pests which appear out of nowhere and can cause untold damage to both buildings and livestock. It is also generally believed that rats in particular are on the increase.

Whatever you do or however clean you are they still appear. How many times have I heard "I have got rid of the critters" and then just a few weeks or so later back they come. What we all have to remember is that there are more of them on this planet than us - a frightening thought but true all the same.

With today's present situation in relation to avian influenza, it is even more important than normal to keep the rats and mice under control. Defra states that rodents can spread the disease. I personally cannot comment on this statement but whatever the circumstances they need to be disposed of as soon as there are signs of their presence.

Keeping rodents under control begins with your general maintenance, and also by using just basic commonsense methods to help to keep them at bay. Always keep feed in a safe closed container for example, leaving food out is a major attraction to unwanted guests and, of course, keep all rubbish at a minimum. Log piles, compost heaps and items stacked at the side of buildings create a home from home for both rats and mice. Although this will not stop the problem altogether it may well help.

Best method

When the problem arises, which it is more or less inevitable, then steps need to be taken to dispose of the vermin in which ever way you can. It is not acceptable to ignore the problem as it will just grow out of all proportion and once they have a good foothold they can take some moving. The best method is the use of rat bait (poison) or by trapping. Poisons come in various forms and are quite readily available; traps are also available in two types which are live catch or the ones that kill on contact. Whatever method you choose is down to the individual and of course the circumstances it will be used in.

Live and contact traps come in various forms which operate using a bait to attract the animal into the trap normally through a non-return hole or flap and then they cannot escape. The down side to these are that whatever you catch is live and has to be disposed of and this is further complicated by the fact that no one seems to know the correct legal requirement for the disposal of rats. It is not acceptable to drown them as so many people do. Death must always be as instantaneous as possible. If you are unable to handle this, then do not use live traps. If you use the contact traps then when the animal goes to either feed or just touch the trap it goes off and kills on impact. This way you only have the body to throw away or bury. If you do decide to use traps they must be positioned in a safe, sensible place where other creatures cannot get caught by mistake.

Obviously with the live traps you can let the unsuspecting critter it has caught by mistake, to go free but the contact trap just kills whatever is unfortunate to get in the wrong place at the wrong time. These take no prisoners.

I have on several occasions seen examples of various birds and even an owl caught in one of these traps and I have even heard of one killing a full grown chicken. This can so easily happen, so taking extra care and attention to where the traps are set and how securely they are covered is a very important issue.

I have taken pictures of basic traps to give an idea of the differences and how easy they are to use. I always use peanut butter on a lot of our traps but we sell a mouse trap which is ready baited and this is the most amazing trap we have ever used. I have no idea what the manufacturer used for bait but it works wonders and these are classed as contact traps. They last for many weeks and just keep on working.

Rat/mice bait (poison) has got to be the best method and I think the most effective and definitely the most convenient. The baits today are easy to use and relatively quick acting. But there is a very serious side to using poisons. They must be used with very great care and consideration, not only for your family and family pets but for all the surrounding wildlife.

Just putting down poison in any fashion is not acceptable, you must use it with care and keep it under cover. Access to the bait needs to apply only to the animal you are targeting. Rat bait boxes are available to purchase and these are not expensive and do not wear out so therefore are a good investment. Most are made of plastic and come with a key to lock them shut. They have a hole in each end which allows entry and usually a raised internal section to keep the poison safe and out of reach from other outside animals. If cost is an issue then make your own. They are not difficult and can be made from biscuit boxes or similar, either metal or plastic will do. As long as they are placed in a darkened area alongside a wall or shed where the rodents run you should be successful.

When baiting you need to find the rat holes and diggings which are fresh. These are very easy to see, pour some of the bait into the hole and firmly cover with either a brick or a slab. You can then easily check the next day to see if the bait has been taken. If it has, then replace and keep baiting until the bait is not removed. This is a sign that the bait has done its job (for now) you must always keep checking because they will come back.

There is a good range of rat bait and blocks available but I will talk about the ones which we have used with success, Roban Bait comes in Whole Wheat, Cut Wheat , Rodex and Wax Blocks. All these we have both used and sold and have all got a good track record. Whole Wheat and Rodex as a loose bait down the holes works a treat. Cut wheat, which is obviously a lot smaller bait, I find excellent for mice, the wax blocks are exactly what they sound like and are bait in wax which fits on the metal rods inside the bait boxes. Having said this we have a friend with a smallholding who puts the blocks into the holes as described before, he says it works every time.

Excellent results

The quickest acting I find is the Rodex which seems to do the trick in 36 hours or less but it is quite deadly so is not to be misused. The whole wheat never fails but does seem to take up to three days and the results are excellent. Again I cannot stress the importance of keeping domestic and wild birds away from the poisoned wheat and, of course, cats and dogs must be totally unable to consume the poisoned animals, for obvious reasons.

Eradirat is an excellent bait. Not only is it one of our best sellers, especially to the organic market, but also this is a special type of bait which can be used in safety by anyone. It is based on maize and works on the dehydration system of the rodent. They eat and eventually die of dehydration. No matter how much they drink it still has no effect. This works much slower than the conventional poison with I think about five days for it to kick in, but it is safe for not only yourself but for all other animals and birds in the area, as it only kills the rats and mice. The explanation for this is that the system of the rodent is totally different to any other animal. What a breakthrough! Again we have tried this and received feedback from customers over the last two years and all the feedback has been very positive. As regards to the extra time it takes for Eradirat to work this is totally outweighed by the safety factor of this product.

The other reason for my interest in this bait is that it is recommended by the Barn Owl Trust which is a cause close to our hearts. The other plus factor is that due to the fact that the animal dies of dehydration, there is no smell from the decomposition of the dead rodent, which if you have ever smelt a rat decomposing is a major point to consider.

As a final note safety is a major part of rodent control and the wearing of gloves while carrying out the various tasks is a must, so use caution at all times.

We do not sell any products that we have not tried and tested ourselves, that way we can tell our customers of our own experiences. This seems to work well and we find very much appreciated.

Smallholder editor Liz Wright adds: To my horror I discovered we had a rat problem last autumn. Prior to this we never saw a rat. I have several cats and they are well fed as they should be and as a result, have always been enthusiastic and successful hunters. But a combination of them getting older, and the wet weather bringing more rats out of the dykes, led to such a large number that even the cats lost interest and pretended they hadn't seen the rats let alone try to catch them. I was dead against poison because of the cats but the problem got worse and worse. Eventually we tried Raco rat poison which we used in the way Terry has described, being very, very careful to keep it away from other animals and birds. With regard to the cats, as they are now quite elderly and are very well fed, we did not think they would eat a rat now but we have been quite neurotic in looking for bodies just in case. The Raco was amazingly quick and we did not find any bodies, presuming that they died in their holes. I hate the idea of poison and apart from the possible effect on domestic animals, I am not over keen on the effect on the rats. Although we have to control them, they are fascinating animals and very intelligent - another reason that makes control so difficult. But we had tried all other methods and they still kept coming. I was also surprised to note that the influx of rats seemed to drive out the mice. Last year we had a lots of mice and the cats easily control those without any need for poison or traps and there were always some still left which personally I didn't mind as they are pretty little things. But this year no mice at all but at least all that seems to be left of Mr Samuel Whiskers and family are deserted rat holes and, as Terry has pointed out in his article, a rather nasty smell of decomposition.