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Issued May 31, 1907.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

FARMERS' BULLETIN 297.

METHODS OF DESTROYING RATS.

BY

DAVID E. LANTZ,

_Assistant, Bureau of Biological Survey_.

[Illustration]

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1907.

[Transcriber's Note: Words surrounded by tildes, like ~this~ signifies
words in bold. Words surrounded by underscores, like _this_, signifies
words in italics.]




LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.


U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY,
_Washington, D. C., May 15, 1901_.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication Farmers'
Bulletin No. 297, containing concise directions for the destruction of
rats, prepared by David E. Lantz, an assistant in this Bureau. The
damage done by these rodents, both in cities and in the country, is
enormous, and the calls for practical methods of destroying them are
correspondingly numerous and urgent. It is believed that by following
the directions here given the numbers of this pest can be greatly
reduced and the losses from them proportionally diminished.

Respectfully,

C. HART MERRIAM,
_Chief, Biological Survey_.

HON. JAMES WILSON,
_Secretary of Agriculture_.




CONTENTS.
                               Page.

Introduction                      3

Methods of destroying rats        4

  Poisoning                       4
  Trapping                        5
  Use of ferrets and dogs         6
  Fumigation                      7

Rat-proof construction            7

Natural enemies of rats           8

Conclusions                       8




ILLUSTRATION.
                                            Page.

FIG. 1.--Method of baiting guillotine trap      6




METHODS OF DESTROYING RATS.


INTRODUCTION.

The brown or Norway rat (_Mus norvegicus_) is the worst mammal pest in
the United States, the losses from its depredations amounting to many
millions of dollars yearly--to more, indeed, than the losses from all
other injurious mammals combined.[A] In addition to its destructive
habits, this rat is now known to be an active agent in disseminating
infectious diseases, a fact which renders measures for its destruction
doubly important.

[Footnote A: Several species of rats are known as "house rats,"
including the black rat (_Mus rattus_), the roof rat (_Mus
alexandrinus_), and the brown rat (_Mus norvegicus_). Of these, the last
is the commonest and most widespread in this country. Not one of these
species is a native, but all were imported from the Old World. As their
habits in general are similar, the instructions given in the bulletin
apply alike to all.]

Introduced into America about the year 1775, the brown rat has
supplanted and nearly exterminated its less robust relative, the black
rat, and despite the incessant warfare of man has extended its range and
steadily increased in numbers. Its dominance is due to its great
fecundity and its ability to adapt itself to all sorts of conditions. It
breeds three or four times a year and produces from 6 to 12, and even
more, young at a litter. Young females breed when only 4 or 5 months
old. The species is practically omnivorous, feeding upon all kinds of
animal and vegetable matter. It makes its home in the open field, the
hedge row, and the river bank, as well as in stone walls, piers, and all
kinds of buildings. It destroys grains when newly planted, while
growing, and in the shock, stack, mow, crib, granary, mill, elevator, or
ship's hold, and also in the bin and feed trough. It invades store and
warehouse and destroys fur, laces, silks, carpets, leather goods, and
groceries. It attacks fruits, vegetables, and meats in the markets, and
destroys by pollution ten times as much as it actually eats. It carries
disease germs from house to house and bubonic plague from city to city.
It causes disastrous conflagrations; floods houses by gnawing lead water
pipes; ruins artificial ponds and embankments by burrowing; destroys
the farmers' pigs, eggs, and young poultry; eats the eggs and young of
song and game birds; and damages