•.7ITE UlTCia SAi-I'S I'ATURALISTS . Frida^r, Sept. 11, 1931. 



NOT FOR PU3LICATI0IT 



Speaking Time t 10 Lliimtes 

 Rat Control . 



AIUJOUITCEI/IEITT ; Every other Friday our Wilds Man gives us a few nature 

 facts T^ich he gathers from Uncle Sam' s naturalists. Today he promises 

 to tell us about his visit nith Mr, Jai'.ies Silver, of the United States 



Biological Survey Wliat did they talk about Av7, rat si 



I'll let him tell you about tliat 



* * * 



Yes, rats it is. Most of us don't think of rats, especially the 

 corauon brovTn or house rats, as part of nature • We generally think of them 

 in connection uith houses. They are a sort of undomcsticated domestic 

 aniiaal. They seem to prefer to make our homes, and our barns, and our 

 stables their homes. 



There is a roason for tliat. Wc treat rats bettor than their enemies 

 in the open treat \;hcui. Hawks aiid o\^ls, and other such birds of prey often 

 Eia2-:o short work of rats. 



And no vronder they take shelter in our buildingsl As a rule, they 

 are much safer in our places than in the r^ild. The cats vie keep don't give 

 us much protection. Cats of real value as ratters arc rare. 



Yes, a lot of folks furnish food and shelter for rats. And the 

 nore food available, the more rats. Well-fed rats mature quickly, ajid 

 brood often, and ha^e big litters. Poorly fed rats, breed less often and 

 liavc smaller litters. 



In this part of the rrorld, rats usually average about ten to the 

 litter. Norrjally, rats breed six to ten times a year, and start breeding 

 when only three or four months old. Figure it out for yourself. A friend 

 of mine did. He found that at tr^t rate one pair of rats, all breeding 

 uninterruptedly and without losses, T7ould increase in three years to nearly 

 260,000,000. 



I was telling another fellow about that, and ho said: "Yes, that 

 must be the pair of rats tliat started a family on rjy place throe years ago." 



He was conplaining that rats load causod him big losses in chicks and 

 Bggs. Of course, that kind of damage is easy to see. xfuch more so than the 

 slow, steady drain of grain and other farm products. 



