The Rise Of Rodents

The number of rodents living and breeding within the UK is drastically on the rise

. It is the sort of problem that needs to be sorted out and dealt with nationwide. This problem develops as people seem to create more mess and litter more. Traps can be set for rodents but there extremely strict guidelines on what you can and cannot do.

The overall rise in the number of rodents has been blamed on many things. One major one is the littering problem that we have; this leaves food around for them to eat and consequently leads to their reproduction. As well as this it has been blamed on bird feeders and compost bins which have left food and waste for the rodents.

Rodents have been known to nest in derelict urban properties which are obviously rather big giving them plenty of space to grow in numbers. A huge part of the blame has been placed on private water companies; according to sources they do not get rid of the rodents from sewers which once again give them the opportunity to breed.

One of the biggest rodent problems is the ever increasing numbers of rats in the UK. Their numbers increase a lot due to the fact that a rat can have between 6-24 babies in each litter, so if one rat has 24 babies then those 24 have another 24 babies each you soon have 577 rats and with a life span of 3 years these numbers can continue to increase. Rats can carry various diseases which means they can cause a lot of problems for everyone. Rat traps are available to catch these pests and they are effective. Rat cages are also available and these catch the rat but do not kill it.

Once you have caught the rat it is in the full care of you. But as it is classed as a rodent by law you can kill it but the way in which you do this has to be humane. The most humane way to do this is to shoot it in the back of the head or hit it on the back of the head, but when hitting the rat it has to be on hit that kills the rat so it is not cruel. You cannot drown the rat nor do anything else. Poisons for rats can be set as well and they are probably the cheapest way for someone to do this.

Grey squirrels are another common rodent and these cause a lot of problems for people around the UK. Mainly they have been the cause for the decline in numbers in the Red squirrel. After being introduced the UK from America in the 19th century their numbers have exploded with roughly 2,500,000 of them in the UK alone. It is because of this that they became legally classed as a rodent which allowed people to kill them humanely. The same rules apply for squirrels that do for rats but you still have to be careful. Red squirrels cannot be killed and you could face fines for doing so. As well as this if you catch a grey squirrel it becomes under your care and it is illegal for you to release it back into the wild.

They can be caught using cage traps which catch them alive then you must humanely kill it. If you are found to of killed it in a non-humane manner you would face thousands worth of fines to pay. When poisoning a grey squirrel the legal guidelines for these are very strict, only Warfarin can be used and it can only be used during certain times of the year. Spring or Kill traps can be used on grey squirrels and the aim of these is to kill the squirrel immediately so that it does not suffer but bear in mind when setting poison or a spring trap that if you kill a red squirrel you face legal punishment.

To deal with the rodents before they become a problem to you there are a few things that need to be done. When taking the rubbish out it is important to make sure it is in a sealed container. This can be a wheelie bin but make sure the lid comes all of the way down. If you know of any big nests for rodents it is advised that you alert your local authorities so they can deal with the problem properly as well. Finally you can do your bit by setting traps but make sure everything you do is legal.

by: Louise Fisher

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