THE RAT MENACE

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 66, 10 December 1921, Page 7

THE RAT MENACE

CONDITIONS IN WELLINGTON WATERFRONT VIRTUALLY ' ? ■' ' FREE RATS DRIVEN BACK TO CITY ' .- z ' T - ' . . . , Rats in Wellington must be exterminated. The presence of bubonic plague in Australia indi- , cates that ..extreme measures must be adopted in New Zealand in order that' the dread disease be kept away from the country. . With the object of ascertaining the extent to which . rats were . prevalent •in Wellington a “Dominion” reporter toured the city yesterday, and in three articles, ’* the first of'which is published today, has outlined the present situation. It ’is unquestionably a serious ‘situation, and calls for united effort on the part of citiiens to combat the vermin. The first article,deals With operations on the waterfront, and with Aus- ■ tralian methods of fighting rats.

. i The waterfront is virtually clear of rats. 'A vigorous campaign, has been errried -. out on the wharves for some time; and where the toll- per day used to go into big figutos, recent catches have only shown-one or two rats to have fallen into ■ the hands of the catchers. This indicates to those who are in a position to know that he ras have, decided to leave . the. wharves, and to . run back into the city. And as plague is usually sea-borne-rthat is,-, as it usually begins in a .city through an infected rat having gained -entrance from an overseas ship—the authorities think, now that if the city does its best to ■ lessen the menace by systematically carrying out a campaign .-against rats, no plague will oome to Wellington. . Their optimism, however, is • only based, on. an assumption that the city- -will really -work hard to send the ?rat very far away. In, India, when a .•village found that rats were scampering, away in their thousands. the villagers - awaited, in terror, for the first sign of the dreaded plague to appear. Kats are very shrewd- in nosing danger, and the authorities who ■ ■ control the ral-hunting on 'the wharves consider that, when the bait began to be taken, and rats began to be killed, the remaining animals fled for the city. Strange though it may seem, rats could see a, rat suffer-by eating.the phosphorus- .• treacle, ■ etc., bait which -he took from •underneath ..the • wharf.. He found it ■ very sw?et when he first took it—very nice, in fact. But as soon as the phosphorus reached the mucous membrane he became, thirty, and rushed for the sea. . With his first mouthful of water.he be- ., gan .to “smoko," as-spontaneous combustion took place internally., That scared the other- rats. “Fyom. Clyde Quay to the far end of the breastwork the wharves are virtually clean” a prominent official said’yesterday. “The-only- shed where one. can get any number of- rats now is F Shed. The reason- for 1 his is -that the shed is opposite • old- buildings, which are absolutely infested with • rats;, who’cross .the streets ftt night. In the other sheds, even if a sacks of- wheat .have been-left with .the ■ object of-getting the-rodents,-they are . far too cute to venture." .-. ’• •Tn addition to-the actual work of ex- ■: termination bin the waterfront -•itself-, : every ship that-lies in the port is thor- ■■ oughly inspected ■for' rats.- - Seventeen were taken off 'one-vessel" the other day;, similar numbers have been taken from ‘ ’other vessels." -Great care is being taken to prevent careless leaving about of food ' in galleys,' in saloons, in 'pantries and ' lockers : and even the "pig swill.”; which provides soihe Wert witli a living, is being strictly'sunervised. To-day will "be found ho indiscriminate throwing of garbage’ In Ships.' The galley, piled high up with’ the remnants' of cabbages, cauliflowers, and potatoes, is gone. And with " that reform. ’ the sea-going rat should soon be very scarce. . AUSTRALIAN METHODS. ■ Australia, right In the thick of the plague scare, ' has ' considered many . schemes,' ' and from recent correspondence ' passi n g between the an thorities. in A ustralin. and New Zealand, it seems tjiat the methods' adopted by the Wellington ' Harbour' Board are identical with those employed in Australia. In addition to the Harbour Board schemes, Sydney au-’-.-.thbrities • Use a -steaming plant. From ■the boiler, • in., a floating, .-plant system, • eteam is conveyed by flexible hose to the faces and Undersides of jetties,- and any olher places where rats ■ are likely to find harbourage or refuge.- -Tile steam is forced through a. jet under-high pressure, into - the harbourage, and, either destroys or drives the ' vermin out. Treatment of this kind at-regular--in- ‘■ - tervals gives Tittle or no chance for rat harbourage." • ' " "■ " ' : The scheme has been of use in Australia: but as the sea walls here are concreted, and not honeycombed, it would not be of the same value on the waterfront. “Spearing” raids fcre another form- of rat warfare in Australia, giving the proceedings some relation io sport! Where rats are very numerous these raids are carried out. and this method has been found to be most effective at night time, especially where the vermin can be herded in confined spaces. With the use of an electric- torch, the rats be-' come dazed, and,.are easily, speared. The spears used for the . purpose are ■ made of light steel rods, about three feet long, and slightly barbed at the end.

RAT POISON. Australia has a specified formula for rat poison, which is said to be much ■ more effective than, any of the .used -in- New Zealand. It is considered by the Sydney harbour authorities to be the most*, attractive bait as far . ait the rat is concerned. It is composed of the following ingredients: Barium carbonate, 80z.., oatmeal 160 z.. beef dripping 8oz„ salt Joz. ' .The. mixture is kneaded into dough, and rolled out, and cut into sin. cubes, and the quantities mentioned are sufficient for about 1000 baits. The outstanding advantage of these baits is that after the rat has been killed no offensive smell results. The body simply withers away, and in about fourteen days no* . thing but the pelt remains. At the . . present time, unfortunately, it under- . stood, there are no supplies of barium carbonate, id the Dominion, . The Health authorities have cabled to Australia for . • supplies, and these' should bo to hand shortly. In the meantime Wellington , , rats are being poisoned with the phos- , phoric concoction. Ordinary rat traps are not. too popular .in rat-catching operations on watersides. .. .: -Jtats love mystery, and will come to a trap readily if it is covered with a 1 cloth so that only the hole remains vis- - ible. Tn the same way . they will not touch bread unless it i« made into a. soggy nias-9 bv.mixinc; it with hot water. Bxnerience in the port of Sydney indicates that rats soon- become 100 cunning to be caught in lhe ordinary wire rat-traps, and these have been practically discarded. . The trap giving the most satisfaction is-the spring, snap trap, which both catches and kills the rat. FIFTY RATS IN HALF-HOUR BAT-CATCHERS and their dogs AT WORK. Professional rat-catcher Murphy and throe assistants were seen in operation . last- -night by a-. Dominion reporter From- half-past eleven until midnight they caught 50 rate. 0 of which were

found in a small butcher’s shop. The shop was literally alivo with rats. Tho rat-catchers leave the City Council office each , night just after eleven o’clock., and go to places that have been mapped out for thorn on the previous afternoon. They are assisted b.y four dogs,, and from starting-time until fool a.m. the air near the place where the catching is in progress is a mixture of yelping, excited barking, and the squeals of the victims. _ The butcher’s shop where the b’g haul took place last night is very small; but .as soon ns entry was gained, one could hear Ihe scampering of tho veiniin The chief rat-catcher soon spotted the holes. a>nd the slaughter began. In in the first few minutes; tho floor was thick with rats, and the four fox terriers were kept busy. As soon as a rat was thrust out of his holo,. impelled by the sharp end of a big stick, Murphy’s dogs were after him. Eleven were caught in five mintue§. They were found in all corners of the shop. They had been running round the floor, as was shown by tiio tiny footmarks on the sawdust. They had been running over tho top of the meat hangers; and in a little room behind the shop proper they had been delving among the salt moat in brine. They were everywhere. It grew monotonous after a while. Tn a hollow paper cube. siy rats had built their nests. They had another big nest, on top of the office coding, below the shop ceiling proper. There were very few small ones. They were all b’g, fht. and utterly lor<hsome. The policeman on the beat fairly gasped as ho saw the fitly of them. The rat-catcher reckoned that he would get almost the same number two hours after tho first melee. One of the assistants was bitten in trying to grip a fleeing rat. but ho was not seriously hurt. Eech night, new ground will be covered. ■ . Forty-nine rats in a tiny shop! MAKARA COUNCIL’S VIEW The following resolution was passed at yesterday’s meeting of the Maknra County Council.:—“That a notie’e be inserted in the Press requesting the immediate destruction of ruts in tho city, and that the Health Departmeni be requested..to make a rigid . inspection of Suspected rat areas.'!