Mouser rating - cats lose. Chemical methods of killing rats

Find ground rats on summer cottage Just. They are larger than their gray counterparts, dig tunnels like moles, and create noticeable burrows. Earth rats are omnivores; they will gnaw off all fruits and vegetables, leaves, stems, tree bark and branches of bushes. The main danger is that these animals are a natural reservoir for dangerous diseases. The main problem when fighting them is their intelligence, high organization and resistance to poisons.

The ground rat is a harmful rodent

Despite the name, its closest relative is the field mouse, and not the rat. This largest representative mouse kingdom, the length of an adult is 17-22 cm, but the tail reaches 40-60% of the size. Weight is 200-400 grams. The body is massive with short brown and soft hair in summer and long hair in winter. Sometimes there are rats with completely black fur. The muzzle is blunt with small eyes and miniature ears, so it seems that the animal is without ears.

The rodent is especially harmful due to its lack hibernation. In the cold season, in the absence of food, the earth rat can thoroughly undermine the roots of trees and eat all the young branches of bushes. It feeds on plant food, and also willingly eats insects, frogs, small birds and eggs, even its relatives – mice.

Unlike other rodents, the land rat is an excellent swimmer, so it is sometimes deservedly called the water rat. It makes its burrows near bodies of water and breaks fewer tunnels than moles ( ), the corridors are also different irregular shape. You can see a rat in a shed, in the basement, under stairs or floorboards.

It multiplies quickly. In one litter, a female has from 2 to 15 cubs, and she gives birth up to 5 times per year. At the same time, the young generation becomes independent in a month, and reaches sexual maturity after two months. Therefore, if you do not fight earth rats, then within a year their colony will reach a thousand individuals.

The rat spends most of its time underground, coming to the surface only for above-ground food. Tunnels with a diameter of up to 5 cm are located at a distance of 10-15 cm from the surface of the earth. The labyrinth network stretches over a hectare of land and consists of a nest, dead-end holes with supplies and regular tunnels for searching for food.

The earth rat eats any cultivated plants, including flowers, stems, leaves and tree bark. Huge damage is caused by dug holes. Shrubs and trees often die due to eaten roots. But the real apocalypse will be caused by rats after active reproduction. After all, one hectare can have up to 4 hundred of these pests.

Biological protection against rodents

The main exterminators of rats are dogs and cats. Small hunters, such as hedgehogs or birds, are not able to cope with them. But rat-type pets can also be scared, because they are large rodents and often behave aggressively. Also, domestic dogs and cats simply do not want to chase rats, as they are accustomed to canned food from the store.

Dachshunds and kittens raised by rat-catcher cats can help the problem. But even here there is a significant drawback - rats are carriers of diseases. So from time to time your pet will become infected with worms and sometimes get sick with something more serious. Finally, a biological agent is effective only in the presence of individual individuals, and not an entire colony.

Chemical methods of killing rats

Poisonous baits are the best remedy due to ease of use (spread it and you're done), effectiveness, and speed of action. Also, many drugs are quite cheap and do not require preparation other than mixing with your favorite food. You can serve poison to rats mixed with bread, rice, cereals or other cheap but tasty food.

After mass poisoning of rats, you can remove the corpses with a shovel and bucket.

The first significant drawback is that beneficial animals and pets are often poisoned. This is more often observed with dogs, since cats eat bread less often. In addition, animals die not only from poisoned food, but also from dead rats, who are chosen to the most prominent place before death.

The second disadvantage is that rats not only eat the poisoned food, but also store it underground in their tunnels. As a result, the poison permeates the ground, is transferred to the plants and we get poisoned fruits. To avoid such a dramatic chain, you need to comply with the norms for the consumption of poison per area of ​​land.

Due to high intelligence, the body’s resistance to poisons and good organization within the colony, several rules must be followed when using poison:

1. Before giving poisoned food, you need to feed the rats, just like when fishing. For several days, give them the food with which you will mix the poison in the future.

2. After the first rats die, the remaining rats will understand that they can no longer eat dangerous food. Not only the base will have to be changed, but also the toxic ingredients.

3. You cannot constantly use the same poisons. The body of rats gets used to it very quickly and within a few generations individuals appear that are not susceptible to the poison used.

All poisons must be odorless and tasteless, or must be liked by rats.

Traps for earthen rodents

There are four types of rat traps: cylinder, glue, electric and mechanical. There are even traps with internal space for 10 carcasses. All traps, due to the intelligence of earthen rodents, have one drawback - rats quickly understand that they cannot get caught in them.

All rat traps periodically cause death for small birds.

All traps are divided into death traps and live traps. The first ones are killed immediately, the rat can simply be thrown out. True, if you don’t clean its trap in time, the whole garden will stink. The second option of traps is more humane, but some gardeners are not morally ready to kill rats with their own hands.

There are several mechanisms of action for traps:

1. Electric traps. The rat is lured by a tasty bait and killed by electric shock. A big plus is the presence of an indicator that tells you whether there is a dead carcass inside or not. Typically, electric traps operate on 3-4 AA batteries. Unfortunately, such devices are quite expensive - 3000-4500 rubles.

2. Mechanical trap - the kindest mousetrap with a piece of cheese, a tight spring and an arc. Nowadays, expensive and reputable mechanical mousetraps have appeared, but experience shows that the old mechanism is not inferior in effectiveness, reliability and longevity. The price for classic mousetraps is 150-200 rubles, for improved ones – 400-600 rubles.

3. There are two types of live traps - cylindrical with a door and a trap in the form of adhesive paper. Both are equally reliable. Only a cylindrical cage will help for a long time, and the adhesive tape will have to be thrown away along with the rat after it “works.” A trap cage costs 500-1000 rubles, and a pack of adhesive papers (4-6 sheets each) costs 200-300 rubles.

Earth rat repellers

There are two types of repellers. The first ones operate indoors, apartments and outdoors, the second ones are exclusively for country use and are inserted into the ground for use. The first ones spread ultrasound in open space and therefore are not suitable, since earth rats live in the thickness of the soil. The latter propagate sound vibrations through the ground, which means they are more suitable for scaring away earth rats.

Repellers against moles, snakes, earth rats and other underground pests spread sound waves at a distance of 12-17 meters. They will be able to protect one hundred square meters of land in a summer cottage. They operate on batteries or rechargeable batteries, both of which must be periodically changed or recharged. Although dogs and cats can feel vibrations, they do not cause concern.

The method has enough advantages:

Humanity, pests do not die, but simply leave the territory;

There is no need to clean up rat corpses around the garden;

Safe and harmless to all other animals;

Simplicity and convenience - plug it in, turn it on and forget it;

The device affects the entire range of underground pests (moles, slugs, etc.);

Quite economical, the devices are quite expensive (2000-4000 rubles), but they work for a long time and completely pay for themselves;

But the method also has several disadvantages:

– the rats will go to other areas, so you can ruin relations with all your neighbors;

– not only pests will leave the territory, but also worms, spiders and other beneficial insects living in and on the ground;

– at the first breakdown of the device, the rat will return to the site;

– earth rats do not hibernate, so if you take the device away for the winter, they can easily visit you.

Practical tips and ways to combat underground rats in the garden ⇓.

Traditional methods of fighting rats

Traditional methods They are characterized by low effectiveness and side effects, but they do not require large material or time expenditures.

1. Gasoline. You can wet unnecessary rags with gasoline or kerosene and put a rag in each hole. A variation of the method is to pour a glass of fuel into each hole. The method gives results immediately, but has two significant disadvantages: you will also feel the smell; this method spoils the earth and groundwater.

2. Burn the tire. A bicycle tire is taken, cut into pieces and burned. Burnt rubber is placed in each hole. A less humane and smellier way. Works just as well as the previous one. This method does not spoil the soil, but the stench is noticeable. A variation of the method is to burn not a tire, but the carcass of a dead rat. The choice is not for everyone.

3. Plants. The method is similar to the previous ones, only now you need to prepare an alcoholic mint tincture. The plant needs to be crushed and left for about a month. The tincture is poured over all the rodent’s favorite paths and poured into each hole. A variation of the method is to scatter stems of wild rosemary or wormwood at the entrances to burrows. However, according to reviews, this method does not give results.

All of the above folk ways There is one significant drawback to fighting - these are scaring techniques. After the smell from the product disappears, they will return to your site along with the older generation, in larger numbers.

It is traditionally believed that cats are the best mouse hunters. But, as practice shows, this title is not entirely deserved. It turns out that in addition to cats, there are several pets that can easily lay claim to the title of champion mouser.

For example, some dogs show themselves to be much more dexterous rodent hunters than representatives of the feline family. Moreover, representatives of certain breeds were focused on catching mice. For example, the Maltese dog, which today is known exclusively as a pocket-sofa version of the pet, at one time served faithfully in the sea ​​ships knights of Malta, protecting provisions from rats.

Fox terriers are also good at handling rodents. These famous hunters partially specialized in protecting houses and yards from rats and mice, and they smothered them in such quantities that no cat had ever dreamed of. Dachshunds, oriented towards burrow hunting, also show themselves to be excellent fighters against rats and mice. Dachshunds, due to their hunting nature, bravely enter into battle with large rats, fights with which can be very dangerous.

And in general, all dogs know how to “mouse” - hunt mice in natural conditions. Laikas, especially those that frequent the forest or live as hunting dogs in rural areas, masterfully catch field mice, and even eat them.

What are there likes! Even tiny Yorkshire terriers are the favorites of the “stars”, the living embodiment of glamor, and they are capable of catching and killing a mouse, and even a rat.

So dogs may well claim the championship, pushing cats aside. No wonder the French king Louis XI, an avid hunter, found solace in last days life was watching dogs hunt mice in his bedroom.

In general, in different countries V different times No one has been used to protect a human home from mice. For example, snakes and others non-venomous snakes. Mouse-catching snakes are well-known; in fact, mice can generally constitute their main diet.

In addition, ferrets, weasels and the so-called “hanoriki” - a cross between a ferret and a mink, which many keep as pets - are rightfully considered “mouse specialists”. True, these animals had one significant drawback - in addition to mice, they happily hunted poultry. Therefore, although ferrets can be considered unsurpassed mouse hunters and clear the household of them, they are rarely used in this capacity. The same function was performed by mongooses, which are excellent at hunting not only snakes, but also rodents.

Even hedgehogs - especially long-eared ones, which are predators, are quite capable of dispersing swarms of mice from their habitat. Owls, which are in Lately It’s also fashionable to keep them as pets, since they are real “professionals” of mouse hunting. Well, who, who, but an owl (and almost any one) catches mice not out of fear, but out of conscience - after all, its life and the life of its chicks depend on it.

In conclusion, I would like to note that it is not for nothing that cats are famous as mousecatchers, but recently many of them have had little opportunity to demonstrate their hunting qualities. After all, it is well known that the cat that catches mice best is a cat... which feeds on them, and does not just want to have fun out of boredom. As for the opinion that a cat catches mice better than a cat because she has to feed kittens, this is nothing more than another myth. Cats catch mice no worse than their friends, and sometimes they can even give them a head start.

Do you like hunting? We invite you to play an application that has a very original name - Hunters against Rodents. You can play both the role of a hunter and the role of a rodent.

The most interesting thing is not only the gameplay, but also communication with other players. It won't be as interesting without him. At the very beginning you will have to enter your nickname. Come up with something interesting, original and concise. After all, all players will see it in the chat. And there are already more than 260,000 people. Which, of course, is a lot.

What is hunting? Let's talk about this right now.

How to play?

On the right side of the screen you will see a "Hunt" button. By clicking on this button, you will see a location in front of you in which you have to collect nuts and overcome obstacles with your squirrel. If it works, you'll earn experience. And if not, you will lose several units of experience. What’s interesting is that not only you, but also other squirrels will be at this location. The game will end if you win or die.

Other buttons

• “Let's Chat” is a massive social multiplayer game in which you can evaluate photos of other participants and meet new interesting people and even start a relationship. Let's first talk in more detail about the interface.
• We have long wanted to know which users social network visits your page most often? Today you will have such an opportunity! The Guests and Fans in VKontakte application was created specifically so that you can track for free the people who visit your page in general. In addition, My Fans and My Guests VK is an application that can build special ratings, thereby showing you who is in first place (the largest visit to your page), who is in second, and so on. In general, it will be very fun and interesting, you can be sure!
• In this game in VKontakte, everyone has their own role. If you are a knight, you have to fight your rivals for glory beautiful ladies. If you are a lady, you will have to look after the estate. If you play this game with friends and loved ones, you will find it much more interesting. “Fidelity” is an exciting social toy on VKontakte, which you won’t get bored playing.
• You have a treasure map in your hands. Guess all the riddles on the way to the treasure and you will find Henry Morgan's treasures! In the game Pirate Treasures on Odnoklassniki, you are a young corsair, your goal is to become a pirate. To achieve your dreams, you need real treasures that can be found with the help of old maps.

Rats and mice are not only annoying, but also very dangerous rodents that can carry serious diseases. And if you don’t start fighting such pests in time, then being in the house, country house or apartment may become unsafe. How to deal with rats?

How to fight?

So, what should be effective and safe for residents to control rats? Firstly, timely, secondly, correct, thirdly, competent. There are different methods of fighting rats, all of them can be divided into several groups.

Biological methods

One of the most simple ways- get a cat or dog

If there are rodents at home or in the country, then in order to get rid of them, you can get a cat or dog. The first option is preferable, since cats have always hunted for mice and rats and intuitively feel all their movements and know their habits. If you decide to get a dog, then choose a hunting breed, since, for example, a calm guard dog is unlikely to want to chase and catch a rodent.

To protect yourself and your pet, give him all the necessary vaccinations (especially against rabies, since this disease is often carried by wild rats and is fatal and incurable). In addition, be prepared for the fact that the four-legged “hunter” will bring prey to the owners and feast on it in front of their eyes, and this is not the most pleasant sight.

Mechanical methods

Fighting rats and mice by mechanical means may involve the following options:

• Using various traps. The simplest option is mousetraps. They are triggered when a rodent tries to eat the bait and instantly kill or injure them. Today you can purchase improved traps that will relieve the owners of a summer house or home from the need to see the corpses of killed mice or rats and interact with them. In addition, there are traps on sale that do not kill rodents, but rather catch them and leave them unharmed (this method is more humane, but requires additional measures aimed at getting rid of living individuals). These include various cages and containers, once in which the animal is unable to get out. But if you use poison as bait, the rodent will die in the trap after some time. You can also find electric traps on sale that affect mice and rats through current. Among other things, you can make traps yourself. These can be water traps (a bucket with a saline solution, a layer of sawdust or husks and bait) or snap traps (a box with a stick and bait).
• Barricading exits and holes. In other words, all the discovered holes are blocked, and the rodents, having no way out and, therefore, access to food and water, simply die in their own homes. But this method combat has several disadvantages, especially if used in a house, apartment or country house, that is, in residential premises. First, frightened and hungry rodents can make loud and sometimes frightening noises. Secondly, death may not occur soon (there may be food reserves in the burrows). Thirdly, when rats and mice do die, their bodies will need to be removed from their holes, and this is very problematic. And if you do not remove them in time, the corpses will begin to decompose, which will inevitably lead to the appearance of an extremely unpleasant odor in the room.

Chemical methods

There are many ways to fight rats, and one of the most effective is the use of chemicals, that is, poisons. When choosing a specific poison, you should pay attention to several important points:

• Composition and toxicity. Some toxic components are safe for pets and people and are contained in poisons in minimal concentrations, which makes the products low-toxic. But there are products that are highly discouraged from being used in residential areas, and especially in the presence of animals and people, due to the high toxicity and danger of their constituent components. Of course, it is better to choose safe and low-toxic poisons.
• Method of influence. If some poisons act on rodents slowly and cause irreversible changes in the functioning of the body, imperceptible to the animals themselves, but destructive and fatal (rodents do not understand that they are in danger and behave normally), then others have a harsh effect and sometimes cause pain to the rats, which causes them to behave abnormally and sometimes extremely aggressively. It is better to choose milder poisons. In addition, there are products with a so-called mummifying effect that prevent the decomposition of animal corpses and the occurrence of an unpleasant odor.
• Release form. In stores you can find powders, granules, liquids, tablets, briquettes, aerosols or sprays, creams, gels and thick masses. Some products need to be mixed with bait, others are completely ready for use. It is most convenient to use ready-made briquettes or tablets. They just need to be placed in the right places.
• To ensure that the fight against rats and mice in your home, apartment or country house is effective and safe, purchase proven products in specialized departments and stores, and also ask sellers for certificates.

Repellent

How to deal with rats at home by repelling them? There are two ways:

1. Smell repellent. Rats dislike sharp, strong and persistent odors, and this can be taken advantage of. You can use kerosene, gasoline, acetone, vinegar, chamomile flowers, tansy and other unpleasant-smelling products and plants. But since the residents will also have to smell the odors, it is better for them to leave the premises during the persecution.
2. Sound repellent. Relatively recently, but successfully, ultrasonic repellers began to be used. They produce sounds that are inaccessible to human hearing, but have an effect on small rodents. Because of such sounds, mice and rats are forced to look for a new habitat. But in some cases, after the device is turned off, the rodents return again. And sometimes they go to the neighbors, which is also not very good.

Folk remedies

You can use folk remedies fight:

• Gypsum, alabaster and cement. As is known, all these compositions harden after interacting with water and drying. So, mixing one of these powders with flour or cereal and placing it in a bowl can kill a rodent. Having tasted such bait and drunk water, he will die from hardening of the composition in the digestive organs.
• Soda. It will lead to increased gas formation and death due to it.
• The quicklime will heat up due to the gastric juices, which will kill the mouse or rat.

To exterminate all rodents at your dacha or home, follow the rules:

1. Pay attention to places such as burrows, trails, and food storage areas.
2. Follow safety rules.
3. Act methodically and do not violate the instructions given in the instructions for the device or product.

Let the fight be effective!