You can help stop rats
Signs that rats are present
Remains of food such as seeds or snail shells can be found under cover like hollow logs, or amongst tree roots. Sometimes nests of loosely woven twigs and leaves can be found in tree holes, or in burrows in the case of Norway rats. Droppings are cylindrical and stubby, sometimes tapering to a point. Norway rat pellets are about 16mm long, roughly twice the length of other rat pellets.
Norway rats excavate burrows 60-90 mm in diameter, often beneath cover such as rocks or tree roots. They can excavate large volumes of soil, and often hoard food in their burrows. Pathways 50-100mm wide link burrows with feeding sites, and these paths can become well worn trails.1
Methods of control
Rat with poison bait, Fiordland National
Park
Rats populations fluctuate. Numbers will suddenly increase every five or seven years and it is at these peaks that major damage occurs. Regular control will keep rat populations at continuous low levels. Control methods include trapping, poisoning and the use of predator proof fences.
Training
If you are planning a pest control operation enrol for the Animal Pest Control Methods field based course.
The course provides an overview of animal pests, their impacts and control methods (including the principles these are based on, and the task specifications DOC has developed).
The course covers all the legal requirements for animal welfare and handling toxins. Working within the law is vital to allow pest control agencies and community groups continued access to the full suite of animal pest control methods.
In particular, it describes the control methods most commonly used in DOC, and their advantages and disadvantages.
Further information
A useful reference book is `Native Forest Restoration: A Practical Guide for Landowners' by Tim Porteous (Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust, 1993).
References
1. J.G. Innes., 2005. Norway Rats. In C.M.King (Ed.): The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals, Second Edition, pg. 175. Oxford University Press.
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