The cost of rat proofing the entire premises of many American farms
would amount to less than the loss occasioned by rats on the same
farms during a single year. In no other place is rat proofing more
badly needed or less often accomplished than on the farm. There are,
however, numerous examples of rat-proof farms in nearly every county in
the United States, and almost invariably they are the more prosperous
farms, for the rat proofing of a farm is an indication that the farmer
has learned the necessity of stopping all small leaks, which mean
reduced profits.
A rat-proof farm is not necessarily one in which the entire farmstead
is absolutely proofed, but rather one where conditions are so
unfavorable for any invading rats that they either will desert the
premises of their own accord or may be easily routed by man or dogs.
The source of the trouble on almost any heavily rat-infested farm can
be traced directly to conditions that furnish rats safe refuges near
abundant food. The commoner of these rat-breeding places are beneath
wooden floors set a few inches off the ground in poultry houses, barns,
stables, granaries, corncribs, and even residences; in piles of fuel
wood, lumber, and refuse; in straw, hay, and manure piles that remain
undisturbed for long periods beneath concrete floors without curtain
walls; and inside double walls of buildings. In rat proofing the
farmstead as a whole, attention should first be paid to the premises
outside the buildings and later to each building separately.
[Illustration: B31216