You may be wondering what is good about rats on and around the farm.
Well, they are mammals like us and need all the same basic needs as we do, food and shelter being top of their list. They play a vital role in the natural world in cleaning up the mess that other animals, including us, leave around the place. In the countryside they almost never carry disease, unlike town and city rats, that are perfectly happy to hang out in drains and sewers where we dump our waste and diseases. In England and Wales an average of 40 cases of Leptospirosis are reported each year, however very few of these go on to develop the more serious Weil’s Disease, which can be fatal. Since 1996, there have only been four deaths from Weil’s Disease. But we have been brought up to fear and despise rats, as a result of the Black Death, in which a third of the population of Europe died. Science has now dispelled this myth. Rats were not to blame. It was human fleas that spread the plague. So, in terms of killing humans, the rats are not a threat. Let’s think of them as being good, but depending on how we behave, they may become a problem.
However, they are a frightful nuisance on farms, when they move in for the winter to buildings and food stores. They do indeed consume a vast amount of food (a tiny amount compared to the food waste which humans contribute to) and have an extremely annoying habit of chewing cables. This is one of the common causes of fires in houses and buildings. So as farmers, we are happy to have them around in our hedgerows, we see them climbing trees for nuts, and within our beetle banks and wildlife areas. We get less enthusiastic about their presence, when they move in for the winter though, and they are very destructive in this environment. The recent wet mild winter has led to a large increase in their numbers, due to ample food supplies in the wild. In cities they live on carry outs. Many farmers and gardeners are reporting vast numbers on their farms this year.
We have learnt over many years to manage this threat, and the most important of all is to be clean, tidy and organised. Not an easy task, given the way that farms operate. We have a very large compost heap, usually over 150 cubic metres of which 95% is pure woodchip. To this we add clear-outs from finished tunnel crops and any waste produce from our farm shop or box scheme. We grow around 7,000 squash every year, most of which we can sell. Some damaged ones end up on the compost heap. Rats really love these, as they are full of seeds. The compost heap is very warm and provides an excellent habitat for the rats in the cold months. So, this is all very nice and cosy for them and of no inconvenience to us. It works as a natural system, the rats get rid of the seed which have the potential to grow all over the farm as inedible hybrids. They do not bother us and this place of theirs is an attraction that keeps them away from our field-crops in the winter.
We store many field-crops in the soil in-situ over the winter. But it was not always like that. Originally our compost heap was very close to our farm shop and a neighbour’s house, this was causing problems of rats moving beyond the compost heap. We moved the heap to the other end of the field over 200m away and that sorted the problem. The local raptor population especially the goshawks that frequent our field are smart at picking off the young rats from the compost heap during the day. This keeps the population in balance. We have done much to encourage the raptors, so it is really great to see the system working for us and the local biodiversity. The very common rats help to feed the rare birds and ensure their population growth. This is how nature is supposed to work, we just try to make it happen. We see an occasional rat around the vicinity of the farm shop, but no longer any damage as during the winter we lure them away into the hedge with the odd squash to keep them happy.
We have developed a systems approach to managing the rats around farm buildings by ensuring that all buildings are rat proofed so that they are unable to gain access. This means that staff have to be diligent in closing doors and windows and not leaving any food waste around, it all goes to the distant compost heap. Cleanliness and tidiness have to be the rule round the place over the winter period.
Keeping rats under control may not be easy if you have neighbours who are not following the same principles. The use of poisons will actually increase their population as they rapidly become immune to the ingredients and end up thriving on the cereals that the bait is based upon. The poisons have a terrible effect on wildlife and domestic pets. I know of several dogs that have died in this terrible way.
Trapping with live traps is often used by people who prefer not to kill the rats. Relocation to a place far way is probably a very cruel thing to do, as the rats no longer have their family units and will be persecuted often to death by other family groups. The presence of a dog, especially so a terrier on the farm, will have a very strong deterrent effect, rats will avoid places with dogs for obvious reasons. Controversially, and when all else fails, I would suggest that if you have a serious rat issue then the best solution is to get a dog. You won’t have to teach them, it comes naturally to them. This may not sit comfortably with many vegans, but it is the most natural way of dealing with a major infestation.
The Bad
The Ugly