Top 5 reasons why farmers need pest control

From field to fork, farmers have an essential role to play in protecting the food chain. Therefore it is imperative to their livelihood that they invest in quality pest control otherwise the costs of pest infestation can be fatal to their business.

5 reasons why farmers need pest control

1. To protect contamination of produce

This could be through an array of pests, most commonly mice, rats and insects. Farmers work relentlessly through the year sowing seeds, nurturing their produce before finally harvesting it.  The cost and stress for this produce to then to be deemed inconsumable due to pest contamination while in storage is unthinkable.

2. To improve yield of output

For every rabbit grazing on one hectare of winter wheat, the farmer loses one per cent of their annual yield. It is said to be costing the British economy at least £100 million a year with half of this figure to be accounted for by damage to agricultural crops, with wild rabbits eating through fields of wheat, barley and oats.

Moles are also an issue in this area with tunnels dislodging newly planted seeds and turning over soil, which encourages weeds that compete for nutrition.

3. To protect the health of their animals

Moles have the potential of putting a farmers livestock at risk with an increased chance of listeria contamination from the bacteria that is brought to the surface from the soil below, with a proven link to miscarriage in breeding animals. I’ve also seen cows and horses be lamed in fields littered with molehills, the likeliness being that they’ve taken a stumble, causing unexpected vets bills.

4. Provide them with paperwork compliance, which is essential for quality assurance.

With our regular routine visits, we will help you comply with Red tractor logo, Assured Food Standards, COSSH and the Food & Feed code by providing you with upto date paperwork that is kept in a file onsite.  This file contains information on pest control methods, frequency of visits, strength of dosage for any poisons or pesticides used, pest sightings log, recommendations for prevention and risk assessment.

5.  Protect buildings and equipment

On top of the threat of disease spreading, mice and rats are typically spotted by the damage they cause to buildings and equipment on site.  They do not give much thought to gnawing through wood work, wiring and cabling, presenting a huge fire risk which can be devastating.

How to protect your Farm and livelihood from pest infestation?

Get yourself a regular pest control routine.

You can choose to do this yourself but its worth while bearing in mind that from July 2017 you’ll need to have a certificate of competence which can be provided after a days training in order to buy rodenticides. This has been put in place, primarily to protect non-target species and irresponsible pest control measures.

Paperwork also needs to be kept upto date, and like many businesses out there admin might not be the first thought in your mind, however it is essential to comply with quality assurances for connections with your food chain clients.

As an experienced pest controller there has been many occasions where I’ve been able to rectify someone’s pest issue by recommending an alternative method or providing the correct equipment for the job.  You may have put control measures in place but you need to make sure that they are being effective, bait boxes in the wrong place can be pointless in getting rid of your infestation. For more information on our pest control routines, along with prices click here  

“I would like to thank you for your assistance in getting rid of our mouse problem that has cost us in product damages, we tried to do it ourselves and didn’t have the correct equipment for the job. You came in and identified how we could solve the problem and it worked- just goes to show we should leave it to the professionals!”
Westro animal supplies.