KNYSNA NEWS - Over the course of the past two weeks KPH has outlined an issue that is "plaguing" Knysna at the moment – a growing rat problem.
After initially being approached by a shopping centre owner in the heart of Knysna, a bit of investigation revealed that the problem is not only limited to the centre of town, and that there are divided opinions on the origin of the problem.
Poor waste management in town, an upheaping of rubbish at the waste transfer station and conditions at the taxi rank have been proposed as the possible cause for the rat infestation by some, while others have even pinned it on a snake die-off in the 2017 Fires.
Whereas no one seems to agree on the origin of the problem, everyone can agree that there is indeed a problem and that it needs to be dealt with. So, while rats are scurrying around Knysna, you might be scratching around looking for ways to deal with the problem in your immediate area. This search might take you to rat poison as an option. But that's a pretty bad idea, and here's why:
Owner of Radical Raptors, a birds-of-prey rehabilitation centre in Plett, Dennis Robson says rats are more able to bounce back from the after-effects of poisoning than other animals can. "Rat poison kills all wildlife in the area including predators, which is nature's pest control," he said. "They eat the poisoned rats and die as a result. Rats recover much faster than what the owls/predators do." Robson is passionately against rat poisoning, and encourages people to rather look for other alternatives.
Here's what you can do:
- Any food (including animal food) needs to be stored and sealed properly. Limit all availability to food and water. In your kitchen/pantry, store food in glass containers instead of store-bought packets/plastic containers.
- Determine where rats are taking shelter. Remove and clean up any unnecessary rubble/materials that rats could use as shelter.
- Close up holes or cut away trees and bushes too close to your house that might make it easy for rats to enter your home.
- Build houses to attract owls, which are natural predators. Dimensions and building plans for spotted eagle owl and barn owl houses are available on the Radical Raptors website. Alternatively, Josh Kleyn of the Garden Route Owl Box Project can also assist.
- Consider live-capture traps as well as the good old snap trap. Once you've caught yourself a rat, you can take it to Radical Raptors where they will use it as needed.
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