Traps with bait and glue traps can be used and must be checked daily and refilled as needed.
strategies. Both rats and mice are mainly active during the dark hours. If seen during the daytime, there is most likely an infestation of mice or rats. Three methods are involved in rodent control: mechanical, biological and chemical.
Mechanical control This should start with the design and construction of the farm. There should be a perimeter fence with a metal sheet on the bottom that is at least 40 centimetres high and has a 20-centimetre horizontal lip on top. • The foundation of the building should be 50 centimetres in the ground (rodents are very good at digging) and one unit with the floor.
• A concrete apron outside the house of at least 20 centime- tres is recommended.
• A vegetation-free perimeter (3 to 10 metres) around the farm buildings and a vegetation-free border (3 to 10 me- tres) around the complex fence (see photo).
• A 3-metre gravelled area around the poultry houses is rec- ommended. Broken roof tiles are often used as they are sharp and rodents do not like to walk on them.
• If feed is bagged, store the bags on top of pallets. If stored in silos, check and remove any spillage under and around the silo.
• Remove and prevent any standing and open water sources. 32 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 2, 2021
• Remove dead flocks immediately, store in rodent-proof containers and incinerate daily if possible.
• Repair and fill holes during the house clean out. • Prevent any piling up of debris within the farm perimeter. This includes the accumulation of old equipment, old nests, construction materials and any refuse that could serve as rodent breeding sites.
Biological control • Traps with bait and glue traps can be used and must be checked daily and refilled as needed.
• Rodents will stay close to walls while travelling, so place traps against walls and in dark areas.
Chemical control • Most products work on an anticoagulation principle using a poison inside a bait. The benefit is that it takes some time before the poison becomes active. Thus, the rodent does not die immediately after consuming the poison. This is an important factor in rat control.
• Create and use a baiting plan that shows you the location, box numbers and position of traps so you can make an ac- curate evaluation of bait consumption and record catches in your logbook.
• Under normal conditions, bait stations are placed every
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