THE RABBIT PEST.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1635, 30 December 1912, Page 8

THE RABBIT PEST.

. '■ ■ METHODS OF CONTROL. Dealing with the rabbit pest in the Agricultural Department's "Journal," Mr. .T. W. Deeni urges uniforriiity of action on ,-tho part of owners or affected area 3. Mirny farmers, he says, are controlling.the pest in a. satisfactory are merely checking their march of. progress, while a numbsr—unfortunately largeare neglecting-to take any measures either to stamp out or even, control the vermin. In .order that there may be no excuso .on the part of owners in general, and particularly of those on areas on which the rabbit 'has but recently established itself, the most approved means of control, are outlined by Mr. Deem as under:— ''■■■■ On .country'where rabbits are numerous a'first and most important step is the erection of rabbit-proof netting fences on _ the boundaries and' on as, many subdivisions as circumstances and the nature of the country will permit.' .: ' The next step is to ensure a: successful -pollard poisoning.. In this , connection every care should be taken to ensure successful work, as it is by the aid of this poisoning that control*of the pest is principally obtained. It is an admitted fact that one thorough poisoning is more valuable than a dozen patch poisonings.- A suitable time must be chosen for the purpose; Fine weather is absolutely necessary -for successful work. The autumn (Feb-' ruary and March) will generally be found 'most suitable, though there are localities where the work has'.to be done either earlier or later;'-Before poisoning operations are started the. rabbits should, for a short time,'be left undisturbed, as when -disturbed they often fail to take the poison. Under .no circumstances must the .men engage<l'. : in laying the. poison be accompanied by;'dogs. The rabbits.must be left alone asmuch as. possible while the poison is being laid and for a week afterwards. Engage a sufficiently large staff, to perform the work, so that it.maybe done in;the shortest possible time; this is. important, as the more - quickly the work- is effected the better will be the results. If the property is netted; poison'each division in a face, taking,care to finish one division before another, is started. If the property 'isjiot -netted, select ii natural boundary, such as a river,. rough creek, or strip of bush; work from this, and aim as far,as possible.at naitural boundaries. Neighbours; should start simultaneously. The reasons for the above precautions are that rabbits after eating, poison often cause alarm by squealing, ana.otherwise, indicate trouble, with the result that .those that have not taken the poison.-probably pass to .adjacent land, to return later to tho' poisoned areas, with the result that the,;poisoning operations,are not.as.effective as'they should be. ■ '

■:'.. The most satisfactory method of laying poison is to place one, or two baits in a 'iuewly made.scrape; or"on.a freshly turned sod, made either with a grubber.-or a small spade, taking care >to place the poison baits in as-clean a' joosition as possible. In cultivated paddocks or small • areas where sheep are,, grazed thickly there is some'danger of the stock becoming poisoned. ;• To prevent this the following method is adopted. l - With;a small grubber; made for "the purpose, cut a clean hole; in the ground, say Giii. long, 2in. wide, aiid from '2in.',to 3in.'deep, and place the.bait in the .bottom of this.;., The sheep should bo then ;quite safe. The -alternative.is to remove for a week the'sheep from-tho paddock to 'be'poisoned, after which the poison may ,be collected and the sheep be returned. For-paddocks and small areas it ,is. onlynecessary to lay poison on the, usual feeding'grounds,, always l taking care to place it some, distance—say, half a '.chain—away from burrows., On Jarger properties, and where rabbits are more or less distributed over the. whole;area, the usual practice is for-poisoners to travel in lines, from. 1,-tb 2; chains apart,, putting a bait down every 4 to fi yards, according to the number of rabbits on the land. Here again commonsense: is, required. Frequently .gangs ofi men are to'■ ba seen going through the country on; the rule-of-thumb system,, clambering through scrub,'bogs, fern, etc., laying, baits,methodically, enough in rows IV chains_apa.rt, and baits | every 4 : yar<ls. The aim in laying poison is to place it on :the-irabbits' feeding grounds. These are the more open patches, where the grass is shorter and. moro.appetising. A pound of poison laid on these patches is worth ten among thick scrub and fern;[consequently there are places where.the lines may be. 3 chains apart, or, on the other hand, they', may be only half a chain. The same thing applies to the baits. ; Pollard' poisoning will not,femain effective, or attractive: after much'rain; 'not that, the' ingredients deteriorate. so much, but they become soft and dirty, and are therefore not appetising. With two; fine nights'after laying the poison there should bo satisfactory'results. . > , " ":

The bulk of the poison is eaten the.first night, \but when heavy ram is experienced during the first forty-eight hours after laying it is advisable-,to■ rcpoison '-the ground'at once. - On light stony country, where: scrapes: cannot be made to adyantage; or, where the wind has a tendency to quicldy'obliterate.thein; poison should be laid; on clean, bare or grassy patches; under this system the: baits shoulcl be laid at more frequent intervals. ■ ' ' . ' '

Pollard poison should be well made,.and the phosphorus, sugar, and pollard should -be of good quality .and: clean; Cleahli-. ness should also,be observed in the handling, and laying,, and.under-no • circumstances; should dirty or sour poison be laid. The following are two recipes for :making phosphorised. pollard :—.-'■

■ No. I—Boil 3 quarts of water and 4Jlb. :brown sugar in a clean oil-drum or kero-sene-tin. When the liquor is boiling :take it:off .-the'fire and put in 2. sticks of phosphorus (about 40z.). After allowing a minute or, so for the phosphorus to melt, boil the Vhole again.- Then lift it-off 'the fire, and immediately begin stirring in pollard,V Stir hard, as this is the time to get"the"phosphorus-well distributed. Continue adding pollard until the mass becomes sufficiently 'stiff for kneading.

No.-2. Mix, in a pickle-bottle or a tin with a tight-fitting lid, 1 table'spoohful of bisulphide. of carbon and li sticks of phosphorus with £ pint of cold water. (Al- - this to stand till the phosphorus is thoroughly, dissolved. In 3J pints of hot water dissolve 31b..0f sugar. Pour both the above liquors into a clean. vessel and stir well; then : add' pollard until the dough becomes stiff, enough for kneading. In either recipe, if the weather is extremely dry, it is better to uso one-third less sugar,, and substitute an equal weight of treacle. This will prevent undue hardening. .- ■'.<,'.

Have a clean board and roller, and keop them well dusted with drjr pollard. Tako about two haftdfuls of the dough out of the pot with a flat stick, throw, dry pollard on it to stop any sparkling, knead it, and roll it out to Jin. thick. Cut it into.iin. squares, and throw tho ragged edges back into the pot. Gather up tho squares with the dry pollard and place them in a box with more pollard.

Poisoning Must bo Followed Up.

Having completed a successful poisoning, and having succeeded in reducing the rabbits to a minimum, the .work of suppression must not bo relaxed, as every rabbit remaining on a property means hundreds next year.if left to. breed, and all the worry and expense-' of destruction over again are thereby,involved. On all agricultural lands, arid on the- hotter class of sheep country ono of the following systems should be adopted: As soon as possible after the country has been poisoned a fortnight, men should go systematically over the property and "carefully block up all burrows. ' Tho same men or, hotter still, another gang should follow over I.lio same oountry two days after the blockingup has.been done. This latter gang oliouid be provided with a few quid-working rab-bit-dogs to "hole" any rabbit.s that may bo in the grass or scrub. 'I'll is gang should deal with all livo burrows—thai: is, all burrows that have boen opened within the last two days or since they word blocked by'the first gang—and if ilm poisoning lias been successful llioso should noi lio more than 5 per cent. 'J'lio'h burrows should 1)9 treated as follows: If lliey nrfl in fairly retentive ground mid urn suilnble for bisulpliidc, they should he I rent-ed-by this moans. There, urn (wu methods. The bisnlphido may be pumped in by means of a fornicator, or a I ill In of Hie liquid may be placed on a piece of old sacking or similar material and placed In the burrow; having done this, throw in a lighted match, whon it'will explode; I'lii'o should btttaken to at oneo block the burrow, so as to confino tho fiiinon. Tho 'tooastijjffirftiflbjfitja ttwio Ija.omMb,

amount of danger in the igniting of the bisulphide. Oue or two pieces of sacking well saturated has been found effective without ignition—the fumes do the work. If the burrows are hot too deep they may be dug out and the rabbits destroyed.

The Right' Way to Sot Traps.. Where tlie burrows aro in loose sandy or shingly land unsuitable for bisulphide,and'of such a-deep and rambling nature. :as to make the cost of .digging out prohibitive, ordinary rabbit-traps, should' be placed in tho mouth of each live burrow. The method of working these is as follows:—The trap is secured to tho ground by means of'a peg; it is then, set and placed fair, in the mouth of the burrow, with'the jaws inward and just far enough-' out to,allow the spring to clear the mouth of.the burrow. JS'o earth.or anything else* is placed on the trap,, but the mouth.of the burrow is darkened by means of a sod or stone in such manner that, while not interfering with the trap, it will mako the interior of tho' burrow quite'dark. After a time the confined rabbit . will' make its way to the mouth of the burrow, and in escaping it is almost certain to become entrapped. Traps should be kept at. these burrows for at least four days. l They may bo'examined morning aud evening for the first tew days, after that once a day will be sufficient. At the end of four days the traps can be removed and: thi burrow again blocked.up. Throw as far as possible into the'burrow three or four baits of pollard poison; if the rabbits are still in the burrow they -may ■eat-tier poison. It will be necessary to go over this country again in, 6ay, a fort'night, to,deal with any burrows that might have been missed or opened up by a rabbit, from outside.' Things :To Do And Not To Do.- . '. Erect-wire netting'at the earliest possible opportunity. '.■■■,'. Cut down cover, and, above'all, never lose a chance to destroy a burrow—rabbits cannot exist long if'their homes aTo destroyed.; . Where rabbits are at, all numerous, do not adopt.other means until poison, has been tried and failed. Never allow a big pack.of rabbit-dogs on the place; they only disturb sheep and scatter the rabbits. Small packs of dogs are only permissible on. open, country, where rabbits are, thinly-scattered and tho burrows are shallow and are not numerous. ■■.■■:■'■. Do not allow a rabbiter to carry a gun except in very rough places; insist on his carrying a spade and: diggin'g'out all burrows—this .will be cheaper and a.great deal more-effective; ',; " -. . ..:"., '■■ Do not employ a ■ rabbiter who Estates itis easier to.shoot .the rabbits'than to dig out' the burrows; - he., will -enioy. tho sporting life,-but he-will not clear .a-pro-perty of the pest. .-,:••.'''. -.. Do not lay pollard poison in wet weather.: / ' . V ' '.. -;,; ■ ■■ • i Topoison high wet country during winter use phbsphofised oats, which will stand '.the.wet weather better and give more satisfactory results. '■' ''; '■•'., Do not leave poisoning till the winterby doing the work-earlier wages will.be 'saved. : ."'■.■" . .'■ .■';'• ■•

Once -the ' rabbits -are reduced do .not wait till the/inspector comes along and says they are increasing and want attention—keep a ,sharp look-out yourseJf. : Do not allow the men laying poison to skin rabbits as they go along—their hands become dirty and contaminate the poison. . If rabbits-are ; numerons aiid it is wished to -save'.the skins, employ.'other men to do tho work'.

'•. Once having-started' poisoning . go straight ahead, and do not allow a break, except for accident or bad weather.