Controlling rodents – there’s a need for speed
FARMERS can stop rats and mice from moving around their site after 24 hours, and gain complete control in as few as seven days – so long as they choose the right rodenticide.
According to pest control manufacturer BASF, when signs of rodents are spotted, it is important that farmers act fast to reduce the risks posed by these common pests.
Having rats and mice active on farms comes with a host of issues, including:
Damage – rats and mice need to gnaw, and often choose to do so on electrical cables which can result in damage to expensive equipment and machinery, and in some cases even cause fires to breakout;
Disease – rats carry up to 45 diseases, posing a serious risk to the biosecurity of the whole food chain. Salmonella is an ever present (and possibly increasing) risk within pigs and poultry and rodents are a contributing factor to the spread of this disease;
Loss of animal feed and grain – it is estimated that one rat can eat and contaminate 100kg of stored grain and feed annually, so 200 rats will destroy a massive 20 tonnes per year;
Spread of infestation – in the right conditions, rats and mice can reproduce every three weeks and from one breeding pair it is possible for over 1500 offspring to occur within six months.
A recent national rodent control survey showed that 92% of farmers have used rodenticides on their farm in the last year, but with so many rodenticide baits on the market, how do you choose which bait is best?
From anticoagulants to non-anticoagulants, and hard blocks, soft blocks, pellets, paste and grain available, is can be difficult to decide which is the most effective solution.
One of the most important factors to consider, though, is the speed of control.
Anticoagulant rodenticides usually take 21 - 28 days to control an infestation, which means that these risks of damage, loss and contamination continue to occur around a site for some weeks after the initial treatment.
BASF has introduced a new non-anticoagulant rodenticide, Selontra, to combat this, using the active ingredient cholecalciferol to stop rodents in their tracks.
The soft block bait causes death from hypercalcaemia; the accumulation of too much calcium in the blood. This results in rodents stopping feeding, on both the bait and any available food on the farm, 24 hours after consuming a lethal dose, quickly putting a stop to disease, contamination and damage to the site.
BASF pest control solutions specialist, Helen Hall, commented: “Not only does Selontra have a stop feed effect, causing rodents to cease feeding once a lethal amount of bait has been eaten, it is also effective on rats and mice with rodenticide resistance, non-bioaccumulative and readily metabolised by rodents, balancing performance and environmental impact.
Thanks to these fast-acting results, Selontra offers the added benefit of reducing the time the bait is in the environment as it is applied on site for shorter-periods of time – typically no more than seven days. This also means that farmers’ valuable time can be spent focusing on their many other daily tasks!”
To help raise awareness of rodenticide resistance and encourage best practice across UK farms, BASF has launched a new digital portal offering farmers the chance to gain CPD points through an interactive rodent control training programme.
■ Find out more about Selontra and gain CPD points at www.basf-ruralhygiene. com/rodent-course