Toulouse. Deratization: the use of ferrets
The Toulouse town hall is experimenting with the use of ferrets for rat control. In thirty minutes, yesterday, in Empalot, more than thirty rats were observed.
Fast, efficient, environmentally friendly … the use of ferrets, the natural predator of rats, is gaining traction in cities faced with difficult cohabitation. In October, the Toulouse town hall had used this small animal to flush out the rats from the banks of the Brienne canal, at the level of the Saint-Pierre lock where about fifteen specimens had been observed. Yesterday, it was Place André-Daste, in Empalot, that two ferrets, two three-year-old females, baptized Mûre et Nuit, once again demonstrated their usefulness. In thirty minutes, they caught more than thirty rats.
Ferret breeder in the Gers where he trains them for the capture of rats and rabbits, Alexandre Raynal and his team, with the help of city officials, have demarcated, with nets, a few square meters where there is a good ten gallery exits in one of the green spaces, at the foot of the Empalot buildings. Each hole has been covered with a net as well. It only remains to introduce a first ferret in a gallery.
Riparian plains
The method does not date from today. The Romans used it to hunt rabbits. And later, the shipowners to scare the rats away from the ship. After a few minutes of waiting, a first rat comes out of its hole and runs into the enclosure. It is quickly followed with a net, then seized, using leather gloves, and placed in a plastic container.
The mere presence of the ferret and its smell are enough to put rodents on. After a few minutes, several rats come to the surface, small, large, female, male… They will then be euthanized by inhaling carbon dioxide. “As long as there are rats in the galleries, the ferret stays. It goes up when I whistle it”, explains Alexandre.
The operation is taking place under the eyes of a few disgruntled residents. “During the day, we do not see them too much but at night, the rats come and go on the parking lots. They even attacked cars”, deplores Isabelle, a local resident who, with others, had signed a petition.
For Françoise Ampoulange, municipal councilor delegated to animals in the city, Empalot is not more affected than another district. Neither Toulouse classified to other large cities. Although there is no evaluation of the rat population. On the other hand, it is established that the rodent prefers places where food is found on the ground. Hence a call for civility on the part of the elected. Residents note the presence of garbage cans or rubbish on the ground. And also point the finger at work around a building that would bring out the rats.
“We continue to use rat poisons and traps but we are developing the use of natural methods”, explains Françoise Ampoulage, who is planning other test operations with ferrets.
Square Wilson and de Gaulle traps
Passers-by cannot see because they have been installed in inaccessible places, probably in the basement. Traps for capturing rats have just been installed in two squares in the very city center of Toulouse, Square Wilson and Square de Gaulle, behind the Capitol. If, for the municipal councilor delegated to animals in the city, Françoise Ampoulange, there are no neighborhoods more affected than on the other hand the presence of rats, it seems that the city center, due to the presence of waste and food thrown on the ground, held rodents. Local residents and traders have complained about it lately. In the traps, the baits used correspond to the food that the rats find on the spot. The elected therefore calls for good citizenship. “We will fight this problem together.”