Today, I have been in great demand by the media for radio interviews, TV interviews and press statements regarding the resistent rat problem now identified in Oxfordshire – both Wallingford and Henley have had confirmed cases recently.
In Newbury, we have been dealing with resistant rats for over 20 years, so to us this is nothing new, but the worry is that the boundaries are moving both south into Hampshire and now North to Oxfordshire.
In my earlier blog today I discussed the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use, the CRRU, and its aims to set in place a code of practice amounts professional pest controllers, gamekeepers and farmers so we all protect our wildlife from the adverse effects of secondary poisoning (where a predator has eaten a poisoned rat and has retained some poison themselves and may eventually be killed by that poison).
At Rapid Pest Control we are huge supporters of this campaign and as such are accredited to the Wildlife Aware program, which proves we take all precautions possible to stop any adverse effects of indiscriminate poisoning on the environment and our wildlife – our aim is to control and kill the target species, then remove all traces of poisons etc which could be taken by other creatures. We also spend a considerable amount of time in locating dead rat carcases and disposing of them in a safe manner so they do not get eaten by predators.
My second interview today has been with BBC Berkshire’s Phil Kennedy at their studio in Newbury, where I was joined on air by David Ramsden of the Barn Owl Trust.
Some interesting comments were made by David Ramsden of the Barn Owl Trust about the current contamination of Barn Owls and Red Kites, which are quite shocking, but at Rapid Pest Control, we fully agree that the protection of our wildlife is paramount, hence the control on supply of poisons should be restricted to professionals who are proven and trained to deal with rat problems. I love to sit and watch birds of prey – we even have our own Juvenile Harris Hawk which is currently being trained by Steve Light of Rapid Pest Control Oxford’s branch.
As I commented, it is still unbelievable that a guy off the street can go into a store, but unlimited quantities of rat poison and use it without training or forethought on the consequences to their family, their pets and the wildlife around them – its just crazy! It is really no wonder that 91% of all Barn Owls carry traces of poison in them!! The insane thing is you cannot buy more than 2 packs of paracetamol over the counter as they are deemed dangerous….come on government get a grip – regulate for the right reasons and stop poison getting into our environment without proper use.
Anyway, to hear the interview just click on the link below:
Rapid Pest Control operate in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire and are particularly skilled in the Agricultural Sector where rat populations soon get out of control unless an Integrated Pest Management is implemented. So with offices in Newbury, Swindon, Reading, Basingstoke and Oxford, you can be sure of a fast and effective rat control service – call now for advice and to book a survey.
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