Indoor Norway rat infestations can be a headache, but when they are outdoors, the infestations can turn into a nightmare. On farms in particular, you will have problems with exclusion, and protecting your animals and storage against these pests. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. With the right approach, you can keep the rat population on your farm to a minimum.
Preventing an infestation
Preventing an outdoor infestation can be nearly impossible, and the main goal of any preventive measure is to keep the rat population as low as possible. Fences can be very useful here, especially if it goes a few inches under the ground, so that rats can’t burrow under them. You then want to make sure that all food storage is tightly sealed and that rats do not have access to it.
Preventive traps and poisons can also be used. Having traps placed around the property is a great way to make sure that the rat population is kept to a minimum, while keeping other livestock safe. Poisons are more effective at killing rats, but you have to be careful, because other animals might eat the poison, and the rat carcass may become toxic itself, depending on the type of poison that you use.
Controlling an infestation
If an infestation has already started, then you will have to lean more heavily on control methods. Traps are generally not very useful in farm infestations, because these infestations tend to be very large, and traps are meant to keep a small number of rats under control. Poisons on the other hand can prove very effective, but you will have to work with a pro in order to use the poisons safely. Some poisons will also require special permission if they are to be used outdoors, and a pro will either have a permit, or he will be able to guide you through the approval process for a permit.
A pro can help you with everything from control to preventing future infestations. It’s best to work with a pro when dealing with Norway rat infestations on a farm, because this type of infestation can be very difficult to deal with adequately, and a pro will have the tools and the expertise needed to make sure that the rat population is kept in check. For more information on how to deal with this type of infestation, or if you need the help of a pro, contact us today.
