Rat control
The aim of rat control is to prevent the occurrence of free-living rats in the vicinity of human settlements, or at least to keep them small in order to keep the risk of epidemics, destruction of food, and damage and pollution from the animals low.
Legal aspects
Public health protection
Rats can transmit various infectious diseases . A total of 42 other human pathogens or pathogen subtypes associated with rodents are currently known worldwide, excluding the diverse hantavirus species. In summary, the great importance of rodents as a reservoir for salmonella and as a vector of z. B. SARS , hantavirus typhus (Salmonella typhi), paratyphus , leptospirosis , tularemia , toxoplasmosis , trichinosis , dysentery , cholera and plague , but also animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease , swine and fowl plague . They may also transmit multi-resistant pathogens .
The Infection Protection Act (IfSG) empowers the state governments to issue certain statutory ordinances to prevent and combat communicable diseases ( Section 17 (4) and (5) IfSG). Various federal states have made use of this authorization.
The ordinance on the fight against rats in the state of Lower Saxony obliges property owners to fight rats on their property at their own expense. In order to check success, they have to allow access to their property by representatives of the health department . Violations are punished as an administrative offense. If a population of rats in a municipality endangers the health of the population, the municipality concerned is obliged to "carry out debris removal until it is successful and take preventive measures against a new rat infestation."
The ordinance on the control of rats in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg makes similar provisions. In order to avoid rat infestation, waste, kitchen and feed waste should be kept in well-sealable containers. If rat infestation has been established, any structural defects that favor the presence of rats or facilitate access for rats to buildings must be eliminated, for example cellar and roof hatches must be secured with close-meshed grids, gaps and holes in the masonry must be sealed and damaged sewer pipes repaired to put.
In Saarland, the local police authorities appoint official representatives to check that control measures are being carried out correctly and who then receive official ID from the local police authorities.
Operators of wastewater systems are also obliged to fight rats according to the German accident prevention regulations . This mainly affects the municipalities and wastewater associations. The reason for this regulation is the fight against Weil's disease .
Animal welfare
When combating harmful rodents in the hygiene area, the provisions of the Animal Protection Act (TierSchG) must be observed.
According to § 1 sentence 2 TierSchG, nobody is allowed to inflict pain, suffering or harm on an animal without a reasonable reason. However, pest and animal disease control is considered a reasonable reason to kill rats. If the killing is carried out without anesthesia within the scope of permissible pest control measures, no more than unavoidable pain may result ( Section 4 (1) sentence 2 TierSchG). In particular, people who regularly fight vertebrate pests professionally or commercially must provide the competent authority with a certificate of competence ( Section 4 (1a) TierSchG). Their activity also requires a permit ( Section 11 (1) no. 8e TierSchG). Avoidable pain, suffering or harm must not arise for the animals.
Violations are punished as a criminal offense with imprisonment for up to three years or with a fine ( Section 17 TierSchG).
Use of biocides
Considerable environmental risks from primary and secondary poisoning of non-target animals and the risk of developing resistance have been identified for the use of rodenticides with anti-coagulant agents. Their use is therefore only permitted within the scope of the so-called risk reduction measures (RMM) to pest control officers with a certificate of expertise who have been previously instructed about the dangers and risks associated with the use of rodenticides for people and the environment as well as techniques for risk reduction.
In the case of officially ordered measures to control health pests, only means and procedures recognized by the Federal Environment Agency may be used ( Section 18 (1) sentence 1, paragraph 4 sentence 1 IfSG ).
In the Consolidated Standards of the American Institute of Baking (AIB), the food industry has voluntarily committed itself to forego the use of biocides indoors and to use trap systems at least for rodent monitoring. This is a prerequisite for certification .
Methods
prevention
Rats reproduce particularly well when they have easy access to food. Therefore, organic waste should be handled carefully. In particular, leftovers from the kitchen must be removed in such a way that the rats cannot gain access. Disposal via sewage ( toilet ) is not advisable, as many rats live in the sewer system and are thus supplied directly with food.
Organic garbage cans provided by the municipality are usually rat-proof and are suitable for disposing of cooked leftover food, bread, meat and fish waste. Other organic waste from the kitchen or garden can also be composted . A compost heap created in accordance with regulations does not offer any possibility for rats to multiply. On the other hand, bulky rubbish heaps or untidy sheds offer good shelter. Feeding points for pets and birds are also popular. Bird feeding in winter should be done in an elevated place that the rats cannot climb. Pet bowls and bowls should be cleaned after feeding. The animal feed must be kept securely closed.
Poisoning
Killing rats using poison baits is by far the most common method of rat control in industrialized countries . With their help, the population of rats in cities and settlements could be reduced to such an extent that they do not cause great damage. The rat poisons used in the bait are mostly harmful to human health , and less often they are toxic (hazardous substance label "T"). Therefore, special care is required when using and handling them. Chemical agents used to control rodents are also called rodenticides .
Fumigation
In closed buildings it can make sense to poison the rats with a gas that is toxic to them. The advantage of this method is that all rodents in the building are killed with a high degree of certainty. This method of controlling rats is used in particular in buildings for storing food, such as silos for grain.
Live trap
Cage snap traps are good for catching individual rats. Depending on the design of the trap, it is occasionally possible for large rats to slip out of the trap against the tension of the spring if, in panic, their heads bang into the corners of the trap. The spring flap should therefore be secured with a wire until the captured rat can be released in the field or in the forest.
While a mouse caught in a live trap that escapes will soon be trapped again, a rat typically does not because of its caution and learning ability. Rats also often avoid a live trap if they have previously observed another captured rat in this trap. In rat colonies, therefore, fewer rats can be caught in live traps than in dead traps.
If the rats are avoiding a trap, it can help to change the bait and place the trap right next to a rat walkway.
Falling to death
Mechanical rat traps
Mechanical rat traps lure the rat into a folding mechanism., The rat releases a trigger via body contact, and the trap kills the rat. These traps can only kill one rat per activation.
Bolt trap
A bolt trap works in such a way that the rat sticks its head into the device (attracted by bait) and that a bolt hits its head at high speed and force, causing the rat to die instantly. These traps can kill several rats in a row.
electricity
There are rat traps that work with electricity. The rat is lured into a box and subjected to an electric shock via a light barrier for about 30 seconds. The trap must then be emptied so that it can work again.
Drown
In rural areas in particular, it is not uncommon to drown rats (and also mice) . For this purpose, rats are usually lured up a hinged trap , which has been provided with a bait and may have been constructed in-house, under which there is a bucket filled with water. When the rat climbs up the device and comes close to the bait, the trap flips over, the animal falls into the water and drowns after a few minutes. This method is controversial. Opponents of drowning argue that drowning extends over a longer period of time, thus causing unnecessary suffering to the animals and is therefore incompatible with the laws of animal welfare.
Rat glue
Fumigation or poison is not a solution on ships, as the rat hides somewhere inaccessible after ingestion, where it perishes and rots. One solution is an adhesive that remains elastic and is distributed concentrically around a bait from the tube on a piece of cardboard or board. The rat steps into this glue on the way to the bait. However, it does not stick, but is held in place elastically (like chewing gum). This is uncomfortable for the rat and it throws itself on its side to free itself. As a result, however, it lays itself in the adhesive over a large area with its fur and can no longer escape. This method is illegal and violates the animal welfare law , as the animals die cruelly and slowly.
Natural combat
One of the oldest methods of combating rats is by keeping natural enemies such as the house cat . These were not only kept on land, but also on ships as ship cats.
In Central Europe, before cats were introduced, ferrets took on the task of pest control. It was not until the Roman Empire that the cat slowly spread (1st – 3rd centuries). Cat finds from Hildesheim-Bavenstedt date from the 3rd to 5th centuries. Century and from Wiesbaden-Biebrich from the 6th century.
As with all methods of natural pest control, however, not all rats are destroyed ( predator-prey relationship ).
About history
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rats as carriers of disease, Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety , accessed on March 13, 2020.
- ^ Rats may transmit multi-resistant germs Die Welt , March 12, 2013
- ↑ Nds. GVBl. 1977, 301
- ↑ HmbGVBl. 1963 p. 129
- ^ Ordinance on the control of rats of March 6, 1981, Official Journal 1981, p. 175
- ↑ Martina Helmer: Killing Animals Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety , February 24, 2012
- ↑ Animal-friendly control of rodents, Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety , accessed on March 14, 2020.
- ^ Jona F. Freise: Pest control: animal welfare relevance in certain vertebrate species. Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Task Force Veterinary, Department of Pest Control, Oldenburg (no year), p. 6 f.
- ↑ What are Risk Mitigation Measures (RMM)? Federal Environment Agency , September 7, 2018
- ↑ Strict regulations for biocides Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety , as of April 8, 2016
- ↑ cf. AIB International Symotion GmbH, accessed on March 14, 2020.
- ↑ world
- ↑ 10top test
- ↑ youtube
- ↑ Improper killing of mice and rats. Retrieved May 28, 2018 .
- ↑ The German diplomat Kurt Herzbruch reports on a trip to Abyssinia: “These uninvited guests [he speaks of rats] had become very out of hand on board since the two cats on board had given their time. One day they were prepared with curry and eaten as a delicacy by the natives who were on duty as stokers on our steamer. " ( Kurt Herzbruch: Abyssinia: a trip to the court of Emperor Menelik II . F. Seybold, 1925. )
- ↑ Mark Hengerer: The cat in the early modern times - stations on the way to the soul mate of man
Web links
- Ordinance on the control of rats in the state of Lower Saxony , Lower. GVBl. No. 30/1977; PDF file; 751 kB.
- Control of rat control measures , Nds. State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety.