If you’re struggling to keep your barn free from rodents, here’s our top tips and guidance to take note of:
Sweep spilt food daily – horses and other farm animals aren’t exactly known for being the tidiest of eaters, and they tend to drop at least some of their food on the floor during every meal time.
As much as it can be tempting to leave the food on the floor for a few days, try to clean it up straight away so that rodents are not attracted to it.
Reduce access – rodents will love to chew on many of the items that you keep in your barn, especially tough items like leather tack and rubber boots.
Having lots of things to chew on will attract the rodents to your barn, so reducing the access to these things will curb the rodents’ interest. You can reduce access by putting those items in rodent-proof containers, or removing them from your barn altogether.
Keep it sanitary – keeping your barn clean and sanitary is monumental when it comes to keeping rodents at bay. If you’re leaving bins open and not cleaning up after your animals, then you’re basically inviting rodents into your barn for a feast.
The more you try to keep your barn as clean and sanitary as possible, the less likely it is that rodents will inhabit your space.
Seal any gaps – the rodents must be getting in from somewhere, so find out where. Barns are prone to wear and tear, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if there are any gaps or holes in the woodwork.
Once you have located all of the holes and gaps, be sure to seal them completely by patching them.
Remove any opportunities for nesting – being able to nest makes rodents feel right at home, so you should take away as many opportunities for them to nest as possible. This includes blankets, jackets and discarded hay.
Remove the rodents – you can use baited traps to capture the rodents. Traps like this one from Wilko are cheap and effective.
Once captured, discard them in a woodland area, but remember to dispose of them at least seven miles away from your barn, or they’ll likely come back.
Don’t leave water in the barn overnight – it’s unlikely that your animals will need water at night, as they will spend the majority of this time asleep.
Rodents, on the other hand, scavenge for food and drink during the nights, so having water around will only encourage them to inhabit your barn for easy water access. Just don’t forget to replace the water in the morning!
Get a barn cat – getting a cat is a cliche idea, but it’s a cliche because it’s true, rodents and cats simply don’t mix well. By introducing this natural predator to your barn, you increase the chance of the rodents being eliminated or scared away.
But make sure the cat is spayed or neutered, otherwise you may have a litter situation on your hands!
Clear the outside of the barn – if you have any piles of wood, furniture or compost outside or near your barn, you should either dispose of them or move them away from the structure.
This is because rodents will see them as a place to hide until they can get into your barn.
Population control – using poison is a terrible idea in a barn, because it probably wouldn’t just be the rodents that would eat it. However, you can buy snap traps to eliminate rodents – this one from Victor Pest is particularly effective.
