THE HOUSE RAT 



9 



however, that this figure is too high, since those farmers who take 

 part in antirat campaigns are the ones who are most troubled with 

 rats. Taking all farms into account, however, experience indicates 

 the average annual loss to be at least $10 per farm, or about 

 $63,000,000 for all farms in the United States. On the basis of 2 

 rats to each of the 30,000,000 people living on farms, this would make 

 the annual loss occasioned by each rat close to $1, which is probably 

 a conservative but dependable figure. 



Figure 6. 



-Lead pipe gnawed through by rats that probably were attracted by the sound 

 of running water. 



TOWNS AND CITIES 



In towns and cities, as contrasted with farms, a higher percentage 

 of rats live on waste products, particularly on garbage (fig. 8), on 

 trash and sweepings at the rear of stores, restaurants, and residences, 

 and on organic material found on dumps. On the other hand the 

 useful products consumed have a much higher value, the waste 

 caused and the amount of property destroyed being proportionately 

 much greater than on the farm. To get at food in the cities rats 

 usually must gnaw through some type of container. In doing so 

 they usually ruin the whole package (fig. 9), although only a little 

 of the contents is taken. In warehouses, feed stores, and mills, sacks 

 of grain and stock feeds (fig. 10), and bags of flour are highly sub- 

 ject to rat damage; the rats gnaw holes in the bags and spill and 

 foul the contents. In wholesale and retail grocery stores they gnaw 

 into breakfast foods, crackers, bread, candies, and almost every other 

 food product packaged in cardboard cartons, paper, or wood. When 

 sides of beef, hams, and sausages have been eaten into by rats, the 

 whole piece should be discarded. 



103766°— 37^— 2 



