40 THE BEOWN EAT IN THE UNITED STATES. 



DRIVING AWAY RATS. 



Many devices have been recommended for driving rats from prem- 

 ises. Some are based upon superstitions and have no merit; others 

 are more or less practical. It should be remembered, however, that 

 the community gains nothing when rats merely migrate from one 

 dwelling or plantation to another. Nothing short of destruction of 

 the animals is an adequate measure of relief. Occasionally, however, 

 under certain circumstances it may be desirable to drive rats from a 

 particular place, dwelling, or apartment. 



Rats frequently shift their quarters, thus making it difficult to 

 judge accurately the success of measures employed against them. 

 They often of their own volition move to new grounds, and the change 

 is wrongly attributed to means used to drive them away or to destroy 

 them. This explains the diverse results that sometimes follow appli- 

 cations of the same remedy. 



Among methods for driving away rats that have proved useful 

 under some circumstances are the following: 



1. Freshly slaked lime placed dry in all burrows and runs of rats. 



2. Freshly made thin whitewash poured into the rat burrows. 



3. A strong solution of copperas (ferrous sulphate) sprinkled in 

 runs and burrow entrances. 



4. Chlorid of lime, loose or wrapped in old rags, placed in burrows 

 and runs. 



5. Gas tar daubed about the burrow entrances. 



6. Powdered red pepper scattered in rat runs and burrows. 



7. Caustic potash placed in the burrows and runs. 



The following have been so often suggested that they are men- 

 tioned here, though they have little to recommend them: Fastening 

 a small bell to the neck of a live rat (by means of wire) and releasing 

 the animal in the infested place; singeing or daubing with gas tar; 

 feeding the rats plaster of Paris mixed with twice its bulk of meal, 

 both dry. Of most of these the writer can not speak from experi- 

 ence. With reference to the last, however, it may be stated that 

 caged rats ate plaster of Paris, mixed with flour or meal in various 

 proportions, freely and without injury. The setting quality of the 

 plaster was first carefully tested. Several days after the experiment 

 the rats were killed and examined. Their digestive organs were in 

 normal condition. These experiments completely disprove the often- 

 repeated statement that plaster of Paris mixed with meal solidifies 

 in the stomachs of rats. It may be stated further that the same 

 rats ate freely and without harm pieces of cork and sponge that had 

 been fried in lard. The results show that these substances, so fre- 

 quently recommended, have no value in killing rats. 



