i9io.] 



The Destruction of Rats. 



733 



areas, and breed very rapidly, a few pairs allowed to remain 

 alive would quickly re-stock the country, and even if every rat 

 were destroyed, others would undoubtedly be imported in 

 some of the vessels that call at English ports. The expense 

 and inconvenience of exterminating the rat population of this 

 country and preventing re-importation would far outweigh 

 the economic gain to be secured by their destruction. 



The destruction of rats is essentially a matter for local effort, 

 and the occasion for the attempt to be made is when the danger 

 of injury from their presence outweighs the probable cost and 

 trouble of killing them. Local effort, however, does not 

 necessarily mean isolated or unsystematic effort. In many 

 places it is true that rats can be kept down by cats, traps, and 

 occasional rat hunts, and this is true of most dwelling houses, 

 especially if the kitchen and outhouses are kept in a clean and 

 tidy state so that the rats find it difficult to procure an abund- 

 ance of food. It is also true of many farms where the 

 buildings are well kept, but in other cases on farms, or in 

 mills, malthouses, and other establishments where large 

 supplies of food are stored, especially where several such 

 buildings stand close together, combined effort is essential. 

 In these cases the formation of a Rat Club such as is described 

 in Leaflet No. 84 is desirable. It is customary in such cases 

 for all the large occupiers of land in a given district, generally 

 comprising several thousands of acres at least, to offer a small 

 reward for every rat killed within the district, the tail being 

 produced as a proof of slaughter. Occasionally, however, it 

 happens that for sanitary or other reasons, especially when 

 rats have been allowed to breed undisturbed for a long time, 

 it is considered important to attempt the extermination of rats 

 over a much wider area, and in this case a more elaborate 

 organisation is required. The following observations and 

 suggestions may be found useful to those who propose to 

 organise such a campaign. 



There are three methods which may be employed in the 

 destruction of rats: — (1) Hunting; (2) Trapping; (3) The 

 use of poison or rat virus. There is not much to be said about 

 the first of these methods. Most residents in the country are 

 acquainted with the ratting instinct of terriers, and with the 

 employment of ferrets, and a knowledge of the practice can 



