The measures needed for repressing and eliminating rats and mice include
the following:
1. The requirement that all new buildings erected shall be made
rat-proof under competent inspection.
2. That all existing rat-proof buildings shall be closed against rats
and mice by having all openings accessible to the animals, from
foundation to roof, closed or screened by door, window, grating, or
meshed wire netting.
3. That all buildings not of rat-proof construction shall be made so by
remodeling, by the use of materials that may not be pierced by rats, or
by elevation.
4. The protection of our native hawks, owls, and smaller predatory
mammals--the natural enemies of rats.
5. Greater cleanliness about markets, grocery stores, warehouses,
courts, alleys, stables, and vacant lots in cities and villages, and
like care on farms and suburban premises. This includes the storage of
waste and garbage in tightly covered vessels and the prompt disposal of
it each day.
6. Care in the construction of drains and sewers, so as not to provide
entrance and retreat for rats. Old brick sewers in cities should be
replaced by concrete or tile.
7. The early threshing and marketing of grains on farms, so that stacks
and mows shall not furnish harborage and food for rats.
8. Removal of outlying straw stacks and piles of trash or lumber that
harbor rats in fields and vacant lots.
9. The keeping of provisions, seed grain, and foodstuffs in rat-proof
containers.
10. Keeping effective rat dogs, especially on farms and in city
warehouses.
11. The systematic destruction of rats, whenever and wherever possible,
by (_a_) trapping, (_b_) poisoning, and (_c_) organized hunts.
12. The organization of clubs and other societies for systematic warfare
against rats.