Melbourne Wages War on Rat Hordes

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 370, 2 June 1928, Page 10

Melbourne Wages War on Rat Hordes

200,000 Accounted For in 17 Years RODENTS BIG AS KITTENS Big game hunting is a thrilling, if needless, sport, and the hunters are certainly men of exceptional courage and daring, but there are five men in Melbourne who could show many men a point or two in courage. They hunt small game—rats. Just 17 years ago tlie Melbourne City Council engaged tlie services ot a professional rat-catcher, f i oni Queensland, says the Melbourne “Herald.” This man, with four others and 12 dogs, has accounted for more thau 200,000 rodents, and has been instrumental in malting Melbourne comparalively ratless, in comparison with former years. When Melbourne’is rat-catcher took charge of things, lie chose four men and 12 fox-terrier clogs, and began a war on city rats that has lasted 1 < years. Only one of the original dogs Glory—is alive, and he is blind and on the “retired” list. But his “children” carry one, keener ratters than ever, and daily they go the rounds of city premises and hunt the enemy. Melbourne is afflicted with three species of rats —one as big as a kitten, which is a burrower; the blackrat, and the grey rat, which are climbers and disease carriers. None belong to Australia, but came here in the holds of ships and got ashore in the cargo. Mice are left to householders to catch —if they are brave enough. Staggering Hauls Soon after activities began, the ratcatchers got some staggering hauls. In one four-day drive at a big Melbourne store 2,500 rats were either smoked out, trapped or poisoned, and in a two-day drive 1,500 rats were killed and destroyed. In those days as many as 400 rats a day would be killed by the dogs alone. This has dwindled to less than 20 a day! It is compulsory for owners and leaseholders of city premises to kill rats, and when they send for the “hunters” they have to pay time for five men, and any alterations the foreman may order to act as a rat preventative. Buildings are being so constructed now that it is impossible for rats to get in. When the catchers go to premises the flooring is pulled up, and the dogs, which are worked in “shifts,” are let loose. Thoroughly trained, the dogs work in silence, and within a few minutes rats are fleeing in all directions, as the dogs pursue them. Leap at Men’s Throats Sometimes batches of kitten-sized rats get in a corner and rush the dogs or the men in a body. Often they have been known to leap at the men’s throats, and inflict nasty bites. If not attended to, these bites become poisonous. Catchers immediately make use of a little medicine chest they always carry. The “kill” is piled high on the floor and an inspection is made for any diseased rats. These are sent away for bacteriological tests. The rest are burned. “We have always to work out how to beat the rats, or they’ll beat us.” the foreman rat-catcher said to-day. “But times have changed. We seldom get more than 20 rats a day now. We used to gets hundreds. People hold to the belief that rats only come out in the night time. This is wrong. If the ‘climbers’ cannot get into a house through a burrow made by the big fellows, they will walk in through the door in broad daylight, when hungry.” Lifelong Study

The foreman rat-catcher said that he and his assistant had been asked repeatedly to visit private houses id the suburbs and make a “clean up,” but they were not allowed to do this “I know the rats are terrible out in the suburbs,” he said, “but there will be no way of getting them under until a Greater Melbourne Council is formed. Then my men and my dogs will be able to get to work, and we’ll make short work of them.” Melbourne’s head rat-catcher has made a lifelong study of catching rats and preventing them from breeding. Before he took up his duties in Melbourne. he put down a rat plague in Queensland. He has a great love for his dogs, especially old Glory, the blind veteran. At a rough estimate, Glory has accounted for 20,000 rats. The dogs “on active service” are bathed regularly with disinfectant. They never cat their victims, being trained just to kill them.