Before winter really does set in, there is much that can be done to reduce the chances of a rodent invasion. Reducing the amount of food items available to rodents in utility buildings and feed pens is often an important factor. Palletising/shelving stored grains etc and regularly sweeping up any spilt food stuffs both reduces the amount of available food and also allows for easier checks for rodent presence.

There are often key areas that rodents use to access our buildings so it’s well worth finding and reducing these by doing things like sealing up gaps around drainage fittings and doors with chook mesh or aluminium strips (timber, plastic and rubber can all be chewed through by rodents).

The removal of vegetation/trees that give rodents direct access to gaps under roofing iron is often a critical factor and sometimes just removing branches that are touching the roof or guttering is all that is required to keep rodents out of a building. The more of these passive techniques that you employ, the more effective your actual control will be at the sites where access cannot be completely stopped.

In terms of control, there are a huge variety of traps and poison baits available off the shelf. Traps are great as you know exactly how many animals you have caught and you won’t end up with poisoned rats mouldering away behind wall boards or other inaccessible areas.

Unfortunately traps alone are not often adequate in dealing with larger infestations and many find that initial knock-down with poison followed by some trapping is required. Traps should be baited with crunchy peanut butter, this is a highly palatable rodent bait and the animals won’t often remove it all without setting the trap off. For best results it’s worth leaving the trap baited but un-set and only setting it once the bait starts disappearing. This gets multiple animals used to the trap and higher capture rates should be the result.

Always attach your traps to something solid with a piece of wire to stop them being dragged away by rats. When trapping mice you may need a number of traps concentrated in one area for effective control but a wider spread is often more efficient on rats.

Traps set outside should be covered by a tunnel approx 400mm long and large enough to allow the trap to work. This will protect the trap and bait from the weather and avoid non-target captures such as birds. There are dozens of traps on the market but I don’t use anything other than the “Victor Professional” Rat and Mouse Traps, they really are the best.

Poison bait should always be placed in a bait-station that protects the bait from the elements, excludes non-target animals, pets and children and also prevents rodents from taking the bait away and ‘caching’ it. Place bait-stations adjacent to areas where damage is occurring, in roof cavities, under buildings and at suspected access points. 

Baits should be replaced as they are consumed and/or if baits are deteriorating in quality. Place bait stations at 25-50m apart around the property boundary to provide a good level of protection to the entire site. Always consult the manufacturer’s directions for best results with toxins as many require a number of consecutive feeds to be effective. 

There are a wide variety of toxins on the market, many of which will do the trick but it’s good advice to stick with products that are endorsed by trade professionals.

Please help us to provide the advice you require by sending all pest animal questions to: info@coastalpestsolutions.co.nz.