430 SOME FOUR-FOOTED PESTS OF THE FARM 



away. The proper disposal of the waste of country slaughter- 

 houses should be regulated by law. 



A ditch about eighteen inches deep, with perpendicular sides, 

 dug about an infested area, has been utilized with good results. 

 The mice fall in and may be killed before they can get out. 



Some forms of virus are used to start diseases among mice, 

 but with very indifferent success. 



Fairly good results may be obtained by changing traps. That 

 is, after one trap has lost its efficiency because the rats have 

 become familiar with it, more may be captured by substituting 

 another style of trap which has been proved effective. 



A fairly good trap for warehouses, store-rooms, elevators, and 

 the like, where rats congregate in large numbers, can be improvised 

 from an empty iron can or tank with straight and fairly high sides. 

 Place meal or grain in the bottom of such a receptacle, with boards, 

 leading from the floor to the top, and from the top to the meal 

 or grain inside, thus allowing the rats to pass in and out freely. 

 After they have become accustomed to this, remove the boards 

 from the inside. This allows them to enter, but prevents their 

 escape. 



Suggestions from the United States Department of Agriculture. 

 Bulletin 369 treats upon destroying rats and makes the following 

 suggestions : 



1. Greater cleanliness about stables, markets, grocery stores, 

 warehouses, courts, alleys, and vacant lots in cities and villages, 

 and like care on farms and suburban premises. This includes the 

 storage of waste and garbage in tightly covered vessels and the 

 prompt disposal of it each day. 



2. Care in the construction of buildings and drains, so as not 

 to provide entrance and retreats for rats, and the permanent 

 closing of all rat holes in old houses and cellars. 



3. The early threshing and marketing of grains on farms, so 

 that stacks and mows shall not furnish harborage and food for rats. 



4. Removal of outlying straw stacks and piles of trash that 

 harbor rats in the fields. 



5. The systematic destruction of rats, whenever and wherever 

 possible, by (a) trapping, (b) poisoning, and (c) organized hunts. 



6. The organization of rat clubs and other societies for sys- 

 tematic warfare against rats. 



The Woodchuck, Marmot, or Ground Hog. This animal is 

 an inhabitant of most farms and is frequently a serious offender. 



