Pest Control: Rodents

Southern Vlei Rats tend to stay in wild areas but may visit gardens, especially around compost heaps or piles of vegetation.

Black and Brown Rats are less common on the island and mostly found in the Village.

The Conservancy recommends that you have a wild area in your garden to provide a habitat for small wildlife and natural food for tortoises. Such an area may indeed attract rodents—I know we have mice in our wild area, but we have never had any in the house.

Keep your garden tidy. Remove piles of old vegetation to discourage them from coming in. If you have a compost heap, turn it frequently to disturb squatters.

Focus on managing waste and sealing entry points in buildings where they might enter. Do not leave food waste or leftovers in the open – this will attract pests, including rats.

By keeping gardens tidy and managing waste in urban areas, we can protect the valuable Southern Vlei Rat while controlling Black and Brown Rat populations.

Catch and Release

Poisoned rats die a horrible death, but rats and mice caught in traditional traps don’t do much better. These traps seldom kill instantly, leaving the animal to die a slow and horrible death.

A better and more ethical option is to catch rodents in a humane trap, a cage with food bait that makes it impossible for the rats to escape. The Conservancy has humane traps that residents can use—we will release the rats into the wild where they belong.

Looking after our Predators

Another way of keeping rodent populations in check is to encourage a healthy predator population. Owls, snakes and indigenous cats, such as genets and wild cats, should be encouraged. Domestic cats, on the other hand, are not a solution because of the damage these well-fed felines do to other pray species such as birds and reptiles.