25 Jul Now that rats are away, keep them at bay
Mid to late summer is a good time to prepare defences against the annual autumn influx of rats to farm buildings, according to Dr Alan Buckle, chairman of the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU). “It is often said that rats living on farms move away from the buildings in the summer into hedgerows, ditches and fields,” he says. “When farmsteads are not harbouring rat infestations, it is an opportunity for some house-‐keeping because a little time spent on clearing up now can save a lot of time and expense later. And an understanding of rat behaviour is useful in planning what to do.”