Non-poisonous way to deal with rats

VERA Treacy (Letters, May 15) raises the issue of poisoning rodents.

There is no justification for the sale of poisons in supermarkets alongside foodstuffs for casual and uncontrolled use.

Accidental poisoning of pets is common; there is a risk to children and a risk of accidental contamination of food, as well as occasional malicious poisonings.

The eating of dying rodents by wild animals and birds is fatal.

It is easy to control rodent infestations without resorting to such dangerous and environmentally destructive methods.

Firstly, potential foods sources should be protected, using steel containers for animal food, etc, and placing foodstuffs out of reach.

Secondly, ways of getting into buildings should be blocked.

Thirdly, a cat or dog should be kept to kill or deter rodents and, lastly, with a bit of ingenuity a trap baited with food can be fabricated which will incarcerate a rodent automatically. The culprit can then be killed humanely or released at some distant point.

Death by certain poisons is extremely cruel and protracted. The dying animal may hide somewhere inaccessible and its rotting carcass will stink the house out.

Rodents can breed at phenomenal rates and can therefore develop immunity to poisons but, unlike humans, they will only breed in numbers to match the food supply available, so clearly the first line of defence must be to prevent access to foodstuffs. It would be impossible to make rats and mice extinct; they are everywhere. They can be a real nuisance but are not a significant health hazard.

We should live and let live and use our supposedly higher intelligence to prevent rodent infestations. Unfortunately, the “magic bullet” mentality is only too common in Ireland.

Michael Job

Glengarriff

Co Cork