“Rural Rat Control” is a 1951 educational film about rat control in farming areas presented by the U.S. Federal Security Agency Public Health Service and the Communicable Disease Center, also known today as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the film, farmers who “feed the rats” will face economic downturns and be threatened with rat-borne diseases. To counter this, farmers must understand the conditions rats seek out and how to cut off their food and water supplies. A corn crib built on or near the grown (1:13) and wooden feed bins (1:32) provide food for rats. Harborage for rats includes stacks of hay (1:59), chicken houses (2:09), and hog feeding areas (2:38), the latter two of which they also steal food and water. A farmhouse’s basement room can also be a center for rats if they have easy ways of entering (2:59). Food waste (3:09) and piles of lumber (3:16) must also be controlled. Adding two feet tall stands to corn cribs with metal sheets prevents rats from chewing through and accessing the corn and (3:49). Metal sheets must also be added to the edges of feed bins to prevent gnawing (4:11). The chicken house can be rat-proofed by adding a concrete floor and eliminating the harborage on the walls (4:44). The hog feeding area should be concreted and uneaten food should be removed every day (5:03). Good housekeeping can help storage areas: food should be placed on shelves, doors should be covered with sheet metal, and wood should be stored 18 in. off the floor (5:25). A raised platform for trash bins with tight fitting lids can help prevent rats from eating through the garbage (6:08). Final disposal of all waste can be disposed of in a 3 ft. deep and 2 ft. wide trench then covered with at least 24 in. of compacted soil (6:22). A small amount of calcium cyanide

is pumped into rat burrows and dispersed through the system with air (7:33). Red squill with rolled oats and ground meat an also be used if other animals are present (7:58). Tracking patches of talcum powder or flour are laid out to see if all the rats have been killed (8:52). If rats are still present, steel traps are set along the areas where rats travel (9:43). Tracking patches are added near the traps to see if rats are avoiding the traps (10:18). Wood snap traps with larger triggers are also used (11:00). Dropping are also a sign there are rats that still need to be extinguished (11:57). An alternative rat poison is warfarin, which can be mixed with cornmeal (12:06). Tracking patches can also surround the bait box (13:23). Frequent inspections for signs of rats must be a regular routine even after rats are eliminated (14:13). Sequence of earlier footage about do’s and don’ts with before and after comparisons and review of control measures (14:30). The End (15:57).

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