Bayer to offer advice on countering rats

Highlighting the significant threat that rodents pose to stock health, Bayer is offering practical tools and expert advice to farmers at this year’s British Pig and Poultry Fair.

Ken Black, Bayer’s national account manager for rural hygiene, explains; “Pig and poultry farms are particularly susceptible to rodents due to the large amount of grain and feed on site.

“This abundance of easily-accessible food attracts rats and mice, and even where farm biosecurity is strong, rodents are sometimes overlooked as an important route of disease infection as well as contamination.

“They can spread disease around an individual unit, as well as having the capacity to spread infection between neighbouring farms, which is even more concerning. Rodents are known to carry approximately 45 diseases, including salmonella, pasteurellosis, leptospirosis, swine dysentery, trichinosis and toxoplasmosis. In an industry where health and biosecurity are paramount, it’s vital rodents are kept under control.”

The economic consequences can also be important. “Just one adult rat will eat 25-30g of feed a day or nearly 11kg a year; an infestation of 100 rats could consume nearly 1.2t a year,” says Mr Black.

Providing information and advice at the Pig and Poultry Fair, Bayer will also be handing out free copies of the new Rodilon® user guide and record book.

“With comprehensive advice for rat and mice control, the guide also includes bait placement maps to help farmers plan and record their rodent control programmes.”

More information

For more on the British Pig and Poultry Fair see our dedicated page.