H-U«S.N. 9/11/31 



Mr. Janes Silver, of the DiVision of Predatory Animal and Rodent 

 Control of the Biological Survey, tella me that rats every year do $7,000,000 

 worth of damage to corn in storo^Q alone. Rats are expert climoers too, and 

 often damage standing corn in the fields. 



Rats feed on all kinds of animal and vegetable matter. They attack 

 crops when they are just planted, while growing, daring the harvest, in 

 storage, and during transit, and in the mill, and in the store, and in the 

 home. And they ruin "by pollution ;:iajiy times as much as they eat. 



Figuring that there are only as many rats in this country as there 



are people, and that each rat destroys $2 worth of property a year, Mr. 



Silver estimated that rats are doing a damage of more than $200,000,000 

 a year in this country alone. 



"Pity, the pied Piper of Haiuelin couidn' t have broadcast that music by 

 radio," I remarked. 



"I'd rather trust to Red Squill than the Pied Piper," he suggested. 



"Red squill is deadly to rats, when they eat it, and they cat it freely. 

 Domestic animals and human beings don't like it, but even when they do 

 get an overdose of it, it doesn' t do them much hai'ra. For that reason, 

 powdered red squill is especially good to use to poison rats about poultry 

 plants, and barns, and other farm buildings, where there is danger of farm 

 animals gaining access to the baits. 



Then, too, one of the surest ways of killing rats in their burrows in 

 the ground, and \inder tight floors, is by forcing calciun- cyanide dust into 

 the burrows by means of a dast punp. The dust forms a very deadly gas on 

 exposure to the air. Unlike red squill, it isn't deadly to rats only. It 

 is fatal to man and other animals even in very smll quantities aiid so should 

 only be used in the open air. 



Rats can also be killed in their burrows by the exhaust of cm automo- 

 bile. By attaching a garden hose to the exhaust pipe, and lettin^- the auto 

 engine run at moderate speed for ten nimxtcs or more while directing the hose 

 into the burrow, you can do an effective job of gassing. 



However, you will find the different ways of getting rid of rats in 

 Farmers' Bulletin No. 1533-F on "Rat Control." That bulletin tells not only 

 how to kill rats, but how to keep them out. Jir. Silver wrote that bulletin 

 himself and gives more details there than we could get into a short talk. 



Buildings have to be built right to keep out rats. Every new 

 building should be rat-proof, whether in the town or country. And nuch can 

 be done to protect even old buildings in cities against rats. 



Rats need food and shelter. HThere they can' t get food and shelter, 

 they can' t live long. 



Mr. Silver says that rat-proofing clauses in local building ordinances 

 and more strict regulations in local sanitary codes, including the proper 



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