Barron Pest Control
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All pests eliminated humanely and discreetly.
All pests eliminated humanely and discreetly.
My Blog
Blog
Rats Vorsprung Durch Technik
| Posted on February 12, 2014 at 12:48 PM |
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 The incessant, torrential rain we've had here in Somerset since Christmas has driven lots of rats to seek shelter from the elements indoors. Mainly clients have rung reporting being woken during the night by the sound of scratching and gnawing coming from the loft or attic and, on inspection, there will be the tell-tale musty smell of rat, plus evidence of gnawing to cables, insulation etc and the inevitable droppings. Several applications of a suitable anti coagulant bait are usually required to put an end to Ratty's nocturnal disturbance. Then (and only then), measures should be taken to prevent any further rodent ingress, as a rat trapped in a loft or roofspace could do untold damage to pipes, cables or the fabric of the building in a desperate quest for food, water or freedom. Rats quite often will access roof spaces by climbing up the inside of rainwater downpipes, especially if the pipes are connected straight into the sewers or drains, this can be remedied by putting something in the pipe which will allow the water to drain away but not give the rat access. Other recent "rat attacks" have included compost bins, sheds, stables, poultry houses, a guinea pig hutch, aviaries .... and two German cars, an Audi & a Volkswagen.  A distraught lady rang to say that over a couple of weeks both her family cars had broken down and on taking them for repair the wiring looms on both had been gnawed by a rat or rats, causing pounds worth of damage. Near to where the cars had been parked were the dustbins, the food recycling bin had a damaged lid and Ratty, who had taken up residence in the flower border in a rockery, was popping out to the bin for food, carrying it up under the nice, warm conveniently parked car and eating it, then having a munch on the wires for afters. A strategiically placed Fenn trap brought this particular miscreant to book. Hopefully the rain will stop soon and I can get out of musty lofts and attics and catch a few moles, if they've survived the winter washout. |
Cage Traps
| Posted on October 22, 2013 at 9:35 AM |
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I had a call recently from a lady who had seen a rat in her garden, she looked on a well known internet auction site and got herself a cage trap, which she baited & placed near to where the rat had been seen.  Lo and behold, a day or two later she checked on the trap and there inside, frantically chewing at the bars of the cage, was the offending rat. Now the lady had a dilema, what was she going to do with her captive? The instructions which came with the trap only mentioned liberating the captive animal and she didn't want to pass her problem on to any one else or have Ratty return home, once released. This was where I came in. I arrived on site and humanely dispatched the rat using a "trap comb"( to confine the rodent at one end of the cage) and an air pistol - job done, quickly and humanely as possible. Most garden centres and agricultural stores have cage traps on sale, but I have looked since this recent occurance and none of the instructions which I could see made any mention of current UK trapping legislation. For example, it is an offence to release either grey squirrels or mink, as they are "non native" to the UK, cage traps should be checked at least once a day, preferably more often,captives which have to be killed should either be shot with an appropriate weapon or run out of the cage into a sack and clubbed.  Drowning IS NOT a recognised method of despatch, indeed there was a recent case where a chap was catching squirrels in his garden then drowning them in a water butt, a neighbour reported him and the RSPCA brought a case against him which resulted in a hefty fine. Spearing the captive with a garden fork, or anthing else, would also contravine current legislation and could, rightly, result in court procedings. If you are carrying out DIY pest control make sure you have the means to deal with captive animals quickly and humanely, causing as little suffering to the captives as possible ........ or get someone in who can. |