House Rats and Mice

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Floor plan of rat-proof corncrib shown in figure 3.]

=Household supplies.=--Similar care should be exercised in the home to protect household supplies from mice and rats. Little progress in ridding the premises of these animals can be made so long as they have access to supplies of food. Cellars, kitchens, and pantries often furnish subsistence not only to rats that inhabit the dwelling, but to many that come from outside. Food supplies may always be kept from rats and mice if placed in inexpensive rat-proof containers covered with wire netting. Sometimes all that is needed to prevent serious waste is the application of concrete to holes in the basement wall or the slight repair of a defective part of the building.

=Produce in transit.=--Much loss of fruits, vegetables, and other produce occurs in transit by rail and on ships. Most of the damage is done a