Rodents and annoying swarming insects are often worse after a wet winter or spring, and below are some tips and products that we’ve found most useful in our fight against them.
Mice seem to be able to sniff out any type of food from miles away even when you do your very best to securely store anything that they might want to eat. Whether there’s grain in a bin, chook feed in a chook pen, or food accidentally spilt in a pantry, mice and rats are great at finding it. And once they arrive, they then of course breed at a rate of knots. Anyone who has experienced a rodent infestation on their farm never wants to do so again.
Luckily, there are a number of ways to prevent mice and rats from becoming a problem and to manage them if they do appear.
Racumin rat and mouse blocks are a great option as they’re a palatable and effective bait block that is metabolised very quickly by rodents, which reduces the risk of secondary poisoning to pets or wildlife. They’re also enclosed by wax, which makes them attractive to mice and rats because they enjoy gnawing through a hard surface. This also means that you can even use them in damp areas, where other baits are rendered ineffective almost immediately in such environments.
We also stock Bainbridge Bait Rodenticide Pellets in 350g or 3kg buckets, with these pellets providing powerful one dose control of vermin. And we carry a variety of bait stations in different sizes, with these effectively limiting pet and other animal access to baits but facilitating rodent take up and effective bait distribution at the same time.
Alternatively, we also stock plenty of non-poison rodent control options that enable you to trap mice and rats. These include snap traps, glue traps and cage traps, depending on your preference.
Flies of course always arrive with the first hint of sunshine after winter, and then hang around to torment us and our animals endlessly for seemingly most of the year after that.
Electric fly killers mounted to the outside of the house near the front door can be useful as flies are attracted by the bright light that they emit and this helps to draw some flies away from your home. And luckily, for the human beings on the farm who have to work outside, we stock the fabulous Australian made Nature’s Botanical Personal Insect Repellent in sprays and roll ons. This product smells great, is made from essential oils, and effectively repels both flies and mosquitoes.
For your household, we also stock fly bait and fly traps in different sizes, including the quality Bainbridge 1.3 litre fly trap that comes with its own bait.
If lice and flies are impacting your cattle during winter and moving into spring, we stock Coopers Easy-Dose which is a versatile deltamethrin based product providing protection against house fly, stable fly, buffalo fly and lice that is simply diluted and applied to the animal’s backline.
If you have a lice or fly problem in long woolled sheep, we supply Coopers Blowfly & Lice Jetting Fluid which contains the highly effective ivermectin to treat biting lice and to treat and prevent blowfly strike for a number of weeks. We also of course carry a variety of Clik products for blowfly strike prevention in sheep, just ask us and we’ll help with the best product to suit your particular needs.
Finally, if your horses are being continuously pestered by flies or sand flies, we supply the Australian made Flyaway Fly Spray for horses that can be applied both to your horse and its surroundings to effectively manage a fly or sand-fly problem.
Mosquitoes can make working outside in the late afternoon intolerable and then hang around to totally ruin a spring barbecue. As pot plant saucers can hold water that mosquitoes breed in, spring can be a good time to transfer plants into your garden if you were planning on doing this for ease of watering over the summer anyway. And because mosquitoes can’t stand air movement, installing a fan in your patio area can help deter them from getting too comfortable there. We also stock David Grays Outdoor Fogger Spray in a large 400g spray can that you simply spray in your outdoor entertaining area to effectively clear the area of mosquitoes and flies. This extremely popular product contains the effective and pleasant smelling citronella.
For any other mice, rat or annoying buzzing insect related enquiries drop into FarmCo Moora any time or give us a call on 1300 327 626.
Join now for instant savings!
