[silence]
Prior to the beginning of work,a complete construction.
[silence]
[music]
There are two basic conditionsthat make rat life possible.
One is the availability of food.
The other is the availability of harborage.
The rat always tries to finda nesting place close to its food supply.
The rat tends to confine its movementsto a limited home range
around the feeding and harborage areas.
Cutting off the food supplyreduces the rat population,
since rats must spendmore and more of their time
searching their home range for food
and even extendingtheir search to adjoining areas.
When food supplies are restricted,
fierce competition developsfor whatever food can be found.
In these struggles, some rats are killed.
The survivors then fightfor the opportunity to feed on the dead.
Others abandonedtheir customary home range
in a desperate search for new food sources.
In doing so, they expose themselvesto increased risks and accidents.
The mortality rate rises considerably.
When rats risk seeking food at sourcesalready controlled by other rat colonies,
the scavenging rat
is often treated as an enemyand driven off or killed.
[silence]
Cleaning up rubbish and rat harboragecuts down the rat population.
Routed from their nesting places,many rats are killed.
[silence]
Rats that escape,expose themselves in unfamiliar territory.
A rat deprived
of its customary food or harborageor of both has little chance of survival.
[silence]
On the other hand, killing ratswithout disturbing their food or harborage
merely lessens competition.
Within a short time,
the rat population will reachits previous proportion.
Control of the rat, therefore,can be permanent only if based
on the removal of the two fundamentalsof rat life, food and harborage.
[silence]
Rats can only be eliminated permanentlyby thorough sanitation.
Sanitation involvesgood housekeeping
outside premisesas well as inside.
The first step in a sanitation programis an attack on garbage and litter.
Such refuse and litter must be cleaned up.
To do so deprivesthe rat of both food and harborage.
[silence]
Sanitation includes removalof bits of food and nesting materials
collected by the rats.
Garbage cans should be madeof heavy gauge metal
galvanized to prevent rusting.
The cover should be close fittingand must be applied tightly
so that rats and domestic animalswill be unable to dislodge them.
A wide rim should protect the bottom.
The bottom should be madeof double thickness.
[silence]
The can should be placedon a concrete slab
at least four inches thick.
Such cans makegarbage inaccessible to rats.
They are an excellent stepalong the road to rat control.
Sanitation, if it were complete enough,might by itself achieve rat control.
The nearer this goal is approached,the more effective is the control.
Storage of garbageis a necessary part of community living,
yet this important function isusually neglected.
Open garbage containers foundalmost everywhere
provide the rats basic needs for existence.
Where a considerable quantity of garbagemust be stored,
a rat-proof garbage house should be provided.
It should be of the walk-in typeand must be both rat-proof and fly-proof.
The door should be self-closing.
The garbage cans should berat proof with tight fitting covers.
[silence]
Frequent and regular washingwill keep the garbage house
clean and free from unpleasant odors.
[silence]
An adequate garbage house,
properly serviced is an effective meansof reducing rat infestation.
[silence]
Garbage houses may be insideas well as outside buildings.
Shifting of garbage from one container
to another providesopportunities for spillage.
[silence]
Such spillage reducesthe effects of good storage
and adds to the rat's food supply.
[silence]
Wherever possible,garbage cans should be carried directly
to the garbage trucks,thus accidental spillage is avoided.
Garbage in transit or otherwise,must be made inaccessible to rats.
The garbage truck, therefore,should be spill proof and easy to load.
Where modern garbage trucks are not available,a dump truck may be used temporarily.
However, the truck should be
water tight with an incline at the rearto prevent liquids from running out.
A canvas cover should be used at all timesto protect full and partial loads
from spillingand being blown from the truck.
[silence]
A device which eliminatesthe individual garbage can,
as well as the needfor emptying it into a truck
is a gadget calleda movable garbage storage and carrier box.
When properly locatedand intelligently used,
it eliminates storage of garbageon the premises as a source of rat food.
At regularly scheduled intervals,the storage box is inspected.
When full, especially designed truck comesto pick it up.
The box is hoisted onto the truckby a hydraulic lift.
The entire operationcan be handled if necessary by one man.
The truck then carries the box tothe garbage disposal site
where it will be emptied, washed,and treated with deodorant and insecticide
before being returnedto its original location on the premises.
Good storage and transportation practices
are ineffective unless followedby proper garbage disposal.
For instance, garbage dumping on hog farms
provides ideal conditions for rat lifeand creates serious health hazards.
Unloading of garbage into open city dumps
is an insanitary practiceand supports a large rat population.
Such practices are not compatiblewith modern ideas of sanitation
and must be eliminated.
An efficient means of garbage disposalis the sanitary landfill.
For one thing,it requires a minimum capital investment.
Also, it allowsthe use of wasteland located close
to the center of the collection area,thus cutting down time lost in hauling.
In one type of sanitary landfill,
the garbage is spread in thin layersin a trench and compacted.
This compaction destroysany rats and rat harborages
that may be present.
A two-foot layer of earth
over the compacted garbage eliminatesthe possibility of later rat infestation.
In addition, the earth covering does awaywith fly breeding and reduces
the possibility of spontaneous combustion.
An insanitary and unsightly dumpcan be turned
into a healthful and useful area.
Another method of garbage disposalis by incineration.
For large communities,an incineration plant can be built,
which requires no separationof combustible and non-combustible matter.
In one of the recommended systems,the refuse is fed into
a drying grate and proceeds from therethrough a burning kiln
and to a rotating kiln.
The rotating kiln continually shiftsthe burning material
so that all food and combustible wastesare consumed.
This prolonged drying and burning process
practically eliminatesthe need for auxiliary fuel.
Some incinerators,particularly those in small communities,
are not satisfactory because ofincomplete combustion of garbage.
Frequently, such incinerators are designedto process combustible wastes only,
thus requiring
prior separation of combustiblefrom non-combustible refuse.
Since the refuse is not dried in advance
or agitated in burning,auxiliary fuel is often necessary.
The cost of fuel plus higher labor charges
makes this type of incinerationmore expensive than the sanitary landfill.
Also, partially charred garbagetaken from the incinerator
and dumped on open groundwill support a large rat population.
Furthermore, the non-combustible wastemust still be disposed out,
or it may become a harborage for rats.
Therefore, even with an incinerator,the sanitary landfill is necessary.
Another method of garbage disposal isby grinding as with a home grinding unit.
Most grinding units will acceptpractically anything with such substances
as metal, china, and glass.
These non-grindal wastes must be storedadequately until they are disposed of.
Preferably, by the sanitary landfill method.
With grinding units,groundable wastes are converted to a mash
and are discharged directlyinto the sewers.
The important contribution of this method
is that it eliminatesstorage and transport of discarded food.
Regardless what method is used,
the fundamental principle is to makegarbage and rubbish unavailable to rats.
Sanitation requires good housekeepingoutside and inside premises.
This applies to the home as well asto business establishments.
In the home,food products must be guarded carefully.
Even water is an unnecessary concessionto rat convenience.
Kitchen carelessness is anopen invitation to rats
to help themselves to our groceries.
Cereals are a favorite rat food.
Storage of cereals
in rat-proof or rat-repellent containersprovides permanent protection against rats.
These and similar procedures of food storage
are based on making foodinaccessible to rats.
Objects of sentimental value can
accumulate in attics, where the rats findthe rubbish to be excellent harborage.
The best thing to dois to clean out the attic,
thus getting ridof the rats and a fire hazard as well.
In commercial establishments,large and small, poor housekeeping
provides unlimited food andperfect harborage for rats.
Good housekeeping in food storage placesis a safeguard against rat infestation.
The merchandise should be neatly stackedon rats away from the walls.
Two-foot aisles about every four feet permitready inspection and cleanup.
An 18-inch space under the rackspermits easy cleaning of the floors.
Under these conditions,rat feces and signs of rat habitation
can easily be detected,and rat eradication accomplished quickly.
Proper stacking, constant inspection,and efficient maintenance
are necessary stepsin good premise housekeeping.
The effects of good housekeepingcan be nullified
if any space such as a cellaris left untidy and cluttered with rubbish.
Such places should be cleaned up.
If any of the materials are needed,they should be properly stacked.
Everything of no valueshould be removed and destroyed.
Here is a modern office buildingwith no food storage at all yet,
there are rats.
How can they live here.
The answer is simple.
Again, thoughtlessness and lack of sanitation
have provided themwith the essentials of life.
This is the answer.
A rat-proof disposalcan for all lunchtime food scraps,
both by guarding foodand by disposing of wastes,
good sanitation procedures force ratsto leave their home ranges and to face
the perils of an unfamiliar environment.
[music]
On the other hand, wherever food is kept,
there is alwaysa likelihood of rat infestation.
To supplement and reinforcegood sanitation measures,
a technique has been developed.
The purpose of which is to block off
all passages by whichrats might gain entry to a building.
Therefore, in addition to deprivingthe rat of food and harborage, one must
also employ the techniques of rat-proofing.
[music]
[silence]
[background noise]