chapter one
The Importance of Pest Control for the Smallholder
INTRODUCTION
I had not been a smallholder for long when I was introduced to the task of pest control. In typical opportunistic fashion, rats were squatting under my chicken shed, which was a relic of post-war Britain and in places susceptible to the gnawing habit of rodents. On hearing of my trouble with these four-legged trespassers a nearby neighbour, who was a wise old countryman with a crumpled face, came to offer advice and presented me with a large tablespoon. I was slightly taken aback until he explained that it was for dispensing poison. When I explained to him that I wanted to use ferrets to deal with the rats he hastily headed home, promising to return with an antiquarian book which contained detailed information on how to mobilize my ferrets against the rats.
With the precious laying hens locked safely out of harmâs way, I nervously put my ferretâs nose in the mouth of the rat digging leading under the shed. Being fully aware that rats make fierce antagonists, I wondered whether they might make a stand and give my ferret a mauling. My worries were short-lived however, for no sooner had the ferret disappeared than the rats fled at great speed from their hideaway into the path of a waiting terrier.
This was the beginning of my amateur pest control apprenticeship, which has continued for twenty-five years. One of the first things that struck me was that I was practising an activity that is as old as time itself. Ever since man began to produce food by the cultivation of land and the keeping of livestock, he has had to deal with the undesired attention of animals which, in the process of securing their own comfort and satisfying their own appetites at manâs expense, earned the title of âverminâ and later âpestâ.
Successive generations from every country in the world had to find a way to deal with pests, which were, in some cases, even capable of threatening human life. Accounts of the destructive habits of pests appear in books ranging from the Bible, to the chronicles of American pioneers. In the latter case, Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the acclaimed Little House on the Prairie books, vividly describes the destruction of corn and oat crops caused by crows, and the drastic consequences this had for her family. Men like Charles Ingalls relied on the money earned by the crops to pay taxes and buy essential fuel in the winter to keep the family warm. Without a crop he was faced with the option of either using savings, or selling something valuable â in this case a cow â or risk losing his home, or his eldest daughterâs opportunity of going to college. With the stakes so high, it is not surprising that enterprising men throughout the ages developed an assortment of tools and devices aimed at preventing and minimizing damage caused by pests.
In Britain the problems caused by vermin or pests were deemed serious enough to require the full-time employment of men to combat them. These men became masters of the trade of pest control and were given titles such as: ârat catcherâ, âmole catcherâ or âwarrenerâ, and boys were given the seasonal duty of scaring birds from crops using wooden clappers. In some circumstances pest control was left to field sports enthusiasts who, for example, would gladly assemble at a farm with packs of terriers, intent on driving rats from the hayricks, or conceal themselves in hides amidst crops, equipped with guns so that they could shoot pigeons and crows.
During the 1940s and early 1950s, when the rabbit was considered to be the greatest agricultural pest in Britain, a favourite hobby of many boys was ferreting and they could, during one season, catch thousands of rabbits. Amidst a torrent of controversy the hunt was, until recent times, commonly relied upon to control the population of foxes living in a particular district.
The widespread employment of chemical poisons, which really took hold in the 1950s, ushered in the era of the modern pest control operative who commonly visits farms and industrial buildings. However, as effective as these lethal potions may be, it has long been recognized that an effective pest control programme depends just as much on circumspect management of the environment, buildings, livestock and animal provender.
Consequently, the daily routine of the farmer and smallholder incorporates vital elements of pest control. Spurred on by this awareness â and the many setbacks to their hopes and plans that pests can inflict â many smallholders have taken a keen interest in becoming their own pest controller, recognizing the advantage of being able to take swift action and select a method which complements their ethical and environmental outlook. For instance, there have always been, and continue to be, people who find the action and after-effects of rodenticides, most notably the secondary poisoning of wildlife, objectionable and would sooner avoid it.
It is also fair to say that a person without a thorough knowledge of the animals classified as pests and their various habits is liable to make what will, in the future, prove to be poor judgements concerning the organization of his smallholding and usage of outbuildings. Consequently, it is the intention of this book to equip the smallholder with the knowledge to take practical steps in order to deter pests and the skills to deal with any pests that do breach his defences. The information it contains is based on my own battle with the pests I have encountered during two decades running a smallholding and incorporates the traditional arts of ferreting and trapping, which I have been able to master thanks to the tutorage of elderly countrymen and many years of practice.
AIMS OF PEST CONTROL
For centuries gardeners, farmers and gamekeepers in this country have realized the necessity of taking measures to deal with pests and it is a reality that the smallholder of today also has to face. There is no doubt that the average smallholding boasts a treasure trove of delicacies that will attract pests from far and wide and these animals will, without hesitation or sympathy, destroy what...