Farmers should be ready to implement an effective rodent control strategy as the weather starts to turn cooler in order to protect grain stores, livestock housing, farm workshops and other agricultural buildings from damage, advises the UK’s leading provider of pest control solutions.

“This year has been very favorable for rodents,” David Reece, Technical Adviser at Lodi UK, states. “Last winter was relatively mild in most areas of the country and followed by warm, wet weather throughout the spring and summer. This provided ideal conditions for rats and mice to breed and survive, giving rise to a significant increase in numbers on farms this autumn and winter.

“With plenty of food still available from fields and hedgerows, most rodents will currently be living outside and farmers may not realise that they have a problem until temperatures start to fall. Then, they will quickly migrate to farm buildings in search of food and shelter, but by then concentrations could be high, placing businesses and infrastructures at risk.

“Grain storage facilities, livestock buildings and feed stores are particularly vulnerable, giving rise to a number of problems, not only through contamination of grain and feed, but also damage to the fabric of buildings and stored equipment, as well a potential fire hazard because of damage to electrical wiring.

“If you have a rodent problem, even on what currently appears to be a small scale, the key is to deal with it at an early stage. This approach will avoid the situation from becoming much more difficult and expensive to control, as rodents multiply at an alarming rate. A single breeding pair of brown rats can multiply to 200 in just a year, while house mice breed year-round and a pair can become 60 in three months.

“They also carry microbial infections, spreading diseases such as salmonellosis and Weil’s disease (leptospirosis). In its life, a single rat can produce approximately 15,000 droppings, six litres of urine and shed about 300,000 hairs, while a mouse can leave 30,000 droppings and excrete a litre of urine. For every 1kg of food that they eat, rodents contaminate a further 3kg.

“Most farmers will not have the knowledge or experience to spot the signs of infestation until numbers are high, by which time it could be too late. The key signs to watch out for include droppings, urine, rub marks, gnawing, damage to insulation within buildings and unusual smells. An experienced pest controller who check sites frequently should be able to spot the signs of even a single or small number of rodents, allowing them to implement early, effective control measures using proven methods, correct techniques and high-quality, fast-acting and effective products.

NEW PRODUCT LEGISLATION

As a founder member of the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU), Lodi UK places paramount importance on the correct, effective use of its rodent baits to ensure that customers achieve optimum results, whilst avoiding them coming into contact with non-target species.

The company’s new JADE Cluster Grain is a unique Bromadiolone-based formulation which is extremely palatable and controls infestations quickly. The Lodi range also includes RUBY Difenacoum-based baits and SAPPHIRE Brodifacoum-based single feed products.

From April 2016 onwards, rodenticide products with new "stewardship conditions" labels for use by professionals, including farmers, were introduced. The rodenticides in question, edible baits containing first- or second-generation anticoagulant active ingredients, but not fumigant gases, have legally binding label instructions pertaining to their use. Stocks of old label products began to run down from April 2016 and farmers, professional pest controllers and gamekeepers purchasing stewardship label products will require proof of competence at the point-of-sale.

Farmers have four options to use these rodenticides on their premises:

• Possession of a certificate from an approved training programme and awarding organisation confirming professional competence. Lodi UK offer a free on-line course - for further details go to www.lodi-farmsolutions.com

• Employment of a professional pest control contractor, which employs technicians who possess such approved certificates

• Membership of a UK farm assurance scheme which has among its standards a structured, documented and audited programme of rodenticide pest management. However, this is an interim measure which will cease after December 2017, unless the farm assurance schemes in question bring their standards fully in line with the CRRU Code of Best Practice (www.thinkwildlife.org/crru-code)

• The purchase and use of amateur rodenticide products - limited to pack sizes of up to 1.5kg (bait point packs).