Society: In Toulouse, we hunt rats with ferrets!
The ancestral method is back in style, with success: in one hour, two ferrets have flushed out 63 rats! The Pink City has also embarked on the hunt for other pests – tiger mosquitoes, starlings, pigeons, hornet – with “natural” methods.
In the Pink City, not everything is. Rats, for example, swarm there in some neighborhoods. The municipality has decided to take the problem of these pests head on. Responsible for the so-called animal delegation in the city, Françoise Ampoulange is satisfied with a presentation-experiment a few days ago, a delegation that was needed to manage the place of the pest pet.
“More natural methods of struggle”
“During the municipal campaign of 2020, the mayor wished to entrust me with this delegation. In Toulouse, as in many cities, there is a rat problem. Until then, we had at our disposal either rat traps or rat poison. The former are moderately effective, the latter “not very efficient” and which cause damage and on the entire environment of the ecosystem, especially on adult individuals.
And to add: “We also want to limit the use of chemicals by using so-called more natural control methods”, explains Françoise Ampoulange. “This is where we looked for and found two providers using the ferret, one of which is in the Gers, the second in Lyon ”, she explains, confident that the municipality will now use this method “natural in 2022 to treat certain neighborhoods”, beyond that tested, Ampalot.
Mild euthanasia
Using the ferret, one of the oldest species of domestic animals (2nd millennium BC), is an ancient method. The first test was successful. With Nuit et Mûre, two three-year-old ferrets. The rat has a holy horror of this predator. “We therefore carried out a first test along the Brière canal which links the Garonne to the Canal Latéral. Bim! “In a quarter of an hour, the ferrets had 10 rats come out of their holes. And 63 rats in an hour! When leaving, the rats cannot flee: they are received by registered nets. All that remains is to place them in a box and to euthanize them with the CO2 with which it is filled. It is an odorless, colorless and deadly gas: man is wary of it every winter because this gas can emanate from boilers badly lived and makes many victims each year.
The lingering odor is a repellant that prevents rats from recolonizing their previous den ”
?? see HERE IMG_0153A second test was just as conclusive. “It’s the strong smell of the ferret that scares the rats away”, underlines the chosen one. “It’s just the fact that the rat is afraid of this predator”, corrigendum Alexandre Raynal, the breeder. “The lingering odor is a repellant that prevents rats from recolonizing their previous den.” Françoise Ampoulange emphasizes that the other advantage of the method is that “The ferret dislodges adult rats, and especially breeding males, more inclined to stay in their hole for a long time, otherwise it would be very difficult to catch them. This method is interesting but we will not be able to use it in all cases… ” Impossible, for example, in buildings, where “the ferret could escape”, specifies Alexandre Raynal.
Garbage, pigeons …
Why are there so many rats? “Because, in particular, of a detrimental incivility: a lot of people do not throw all their garbage, like the end of a sandwich, in a public trash but on the ground”, defend the chosen one and the breeder. Françoise Ampoulange also points to those who feed the “Poor so-called starving pigeons; which is not the case and which in addition feeds the rats… ”
Food and transport companies, etc.
“Mûre et Nuit are three years old, explains Alexandre Raynal. Since the Middle Ages, and since ancient Rome (they were used to catch rabbits and feed on them) we know that the ferret is useful against rats. I am asked to intervene regularly in agrifood companies ; it’s Tisséo (the operator of the Toulouse metro and buses, Editor’s note) where the rats generate, which under the oars is a danger for the stability of the tracks; at Airbus where they caused damage in buildings and on the roads. Some rats even eat nets from soccer fields! In the USA, using ferrets is a common practice.
The accustomed to man
Alexandre Raynal had to educate his ferrets “Especially so that they don’t bite. Biting for them is almost a way of communicating: as soon as they see a cat or a dog, they can attack spontaneously. He is a courageous animal. I also had to do a lot of work to get them used to stimuli, to humans and so that they come back to me; these animals being carnivorous, I feed them exclusively with a preparation of meat, the one that is also given to dogs and cats, the “barf” In addition, it allows ferrets to have nos want to bite the rat they are hunting. It becomes more of a game for them… ”
Olivier SCHLAMA
Tiger mosquitoes, pigeons, hornets …
Françoise Ampoulange works on other struggles facing different pests. After the rats hunted by ferrets, “We are going to regulate the populations of starlings by launching buses; this will make it possible to avoid the scare shots which inconvenience the neighborhood and which, in the end, are ineffective: the starlings are executed a kilometer longer … “
Swallows against the “tiger”
The municipality of Toulouse is also studying the possibility of combating tiger mosquitoes with swallows, an apparently very effective bird. That’s not all. Toulouse also wants to limit the proliferation of pigeons with a contraceptive method, again natural: “We will be installing two nesting boxes in 2022 in addition to the one we already have.” The idea is to involve the human hand: “As soon as the eggs have been handled, the pigeons no longer incubate them and therefore they cannot hatch. Then, it must be done carefully by handling only part of the eggs so that the pigeons continue to come and lay in these nesting boxes and do not go elsewhere. You should know that a pigeon is born, reproduces and dies in the same place where it was born.“
European bee-eater against the Asian hornet
The Pink City also wants to test the European bee-eater, a little bird fond of Asian hornets. “We are lucky to have a couple in Toulouse who had three babies… We need to get closer to the LPO on this subject.
In addition, the elected official responsible for the delegation of animals in the city adds to have created for dog owners “free canine walks”, accessible as soon as the puppy is six months old, to show their owners how to behave in an urban environment. The cats ? “We are working with associations on the issue of stray cats to sterilize some”. At last, “We work in nursery and primary schools to raise children’s awareness of respect for animals and the fight against mistreatment”.
O.SC.