Tuesday 25 June 2019
Book smart
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Rat plague hits region Matt Brown Reporter
matt@marlboroughmedia.co.nz
Fears of rodents reaching plaguelike proportions could become a reality in the region as Marlborough feels the bite of a long, dry summer. A lack of rain at the season’s end has created the perfect storm for the nasty critters. A pest expert is warning the problem will quickly get worse if people don’t take action. Spiderban Marlborough owner and pest control expert John Sigglekow says the “fully developed” rodent population has become a major issue early this season. “People need to look at what they’re going to do around longer-term consistent maintenance for rodents going forward,” John says. “As it gets deeper into winter, rodents are going to become more and more of an issue. “As it comes into summer, it’s the devil in the deep blue sea. “You come off the pitchfork and get thrown into the ocean with the ants and the cockroaches and the wasps and everything else that’s going to go berserk.” John says a mega mast season, when plants produce a bumper crop of
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Latecomer crashes party
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FESTIVAL FUN: Ana Wood from Blenheim Gymnastics Club took to the floor to show off her skills on the mat as part of the annual Schools’ Gymnastics Festival. Around 800 competitors took part in the competition at the weekend at Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000. Photo: Peter Jones.
seeds and fruit, gives rodents plenty to feast on. Two rodents can produce the equivalent of 75,000 droppings and 27 litres of urine within a year, enough to turn a roof space into a sewer, John says. “Rat bite fever, Leptospirosis, there’s a whole lot of things you can catch from rats,” John says. “If you get bitten or scratched by a rat or a mouse, you’re going to need some heavy antibiotics. “Even cats and dogs that have confrontations with large, aggressive rodents are at risk.” There are numerous known pathogens that can spread directly from rodents to humans and many more that can be spread by the mites, lice and louse the rodents are typically infested with. Rat fleas spreading the bubonic plague is a widely known example. The rodents are omnivores and also pose a real danger to native wildlife, not just eating birds and chicks but also in competition for the same food source. “It’s pretty disturbing when you get into it,” John says. He says the lack of rain meant rodents were not drowning in their burrows as they usually would.
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