Deterrent

Barbot Farm Vermin Control must follow guidelines set by British Law on the removal of Birds and Vermin. The rules are extremely strict and you will be prosecuted if any law set by Natural England is broken. The law states that some Bird Pests are protected by General Licence and may not be despatched until all measures have been taken to deter the Birds from their location. i.e. Flags, Scarecrows and Bangers. Once all measures have been taken you may under General Licence lawfully despatch the quarry.

Barbot Farm Vermin Removal carry out all of these measures prior to despatch. A site visit with assessment determines our course of action over a set period of time.

Vermin such as Rabbits, Rats and Foxes are not protected and may be despatched only when becoming a nuisance to persons, livestock and crop.

• Spikes
• Sirens
• Dummy Hawkes
• Cannon
• Scarecrow
• Flags
• Plastic Bags
• Netting
• Kites

All our best efforts will be made as a deterrent before any lawful despatch is carried out.

Bird Control

Wild birds: general licence to take or kill for health or safety purposes

Get a general licence as a land owner or other authorised person to catch alive or kill wild birds to preserve public health or public safety (licence GL05).

If you’re a land owner, occupier or other authorised person you can use this general licence to carry out a range of otherwise prohibited activities against certain wild birds. You don’t need to apply for this general licence but you must meet its conditions and follow its instructions.

You are an authorised person if you’re one of the following:

• the land owner, occupier or anyone authorised by the owner or occupier
• authorised in writing by the local authority
• authorised in writing by any England, Scotland or Wales conservation body, a district board for fisheries or local fisheries committee
• authorised in writing by the Environment Agency, a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker

You can only use this licence to preserve public health or public safety.

You can’t use this licence to kill birds because they are damaging your property, such as your car or house, or if they’re a nuisance.

Birds you can catch alive or kill with this licence

With this licence you can catch alive or kill:

• crows
• collared doves
• jackdaws
• jays
• lesser black-backed gulls
• magpies
• pigeons (feral and woodpigeon)
• rooks

You can catch alive or kill, as well as take, damage or destroy the nests, or take or destroy the eggs of:

• Canada geese
• monk parakeets

You can take, damage or destroy the nests, or take or destroy the eggs of:

• herring gulls

You must still follow animal welfare laws and kill birds in a quick and humane manner.

You can eat birds killed under this licence, but (other than woodpigeons) you can’t sell them for human consumption.

How you can catch alive or kill wild birds

In addition to other legal methods, this licence lets you use a:

• semi-automatic weapon
• cage trap that doesn’t meet the size requirements of the Wildlife and Countryside Act
• hand-held or hand-propelled net to take birds not in flight

For feral pigeons only, you can also use:

• a device to illuminate a target
• sighting devices for night shooting
• mirrors, lighting or other dazzling devices

If you use a cage trap you can only use the following decoy birds:

• crows
• jackdaws
• magpies
• monk parakeets
• ring-necked parakeets
• rooks

If you plan to act under the authority of a general licence, you must:

• be eligible to do so (see conditions of each licence)
• comply with the terms of the relevant licence and therefore the law

You should use a class licence for activities that need a specific skill or experience to avoid risk to the conservation or welfare of a protected species.

For more information see Wildlife licences: when you need to apply.

Rabbits

Your responsibility to control rabbit numbers

You must obey the law to control rabbit numbers on your property or land. England (excluding the City of London and Isles of Scilly) was declared a rabbit clearance area under the Pests Act 1954.

You must control rabbits on your land in this area. If this is not possible you must stop them causing damage to adjoining crops by putting up rabbit proof fencing. If you don’t take action the Secretary of State for the Environment can enforce control and prosecute if this action is not taken.

You can control rabbits using these methods:

• gas
• traps and snares
• fencing
• ferreting
• shooting

Control with gas

You should use someone trained in the use of gassing products if you choose this method of control. Read the Health and Safety Executive information sheet gassing of rabbits and vertebrate pests.

Catch with traps and snares

It is an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to a rabbit caught in a trap or snare.

You can use cage traps, drop box traps or spring traps, but you must:

• check traps and snares once a day
• humanely despatch any rabbits you catch
• only use approved spring traps

You must not:

• place them where they will be exposed to severe weather
• place them near a fox earth or badger sett
• use self-locking snares

See Animal welfare and Animal welfare in severe weather for more information.

Exclude rabbits with fencing

There are 3 types of fencing:

• electric netting
• electric strained wire (similar to the kind used to manage cattle and sheep)
• permanent wire-mesh netting

Fencing restrictions

You need Secretary of State agreement to put up fencing on Scheduled Monuments.

You should not put up fencing on archaeological sites.

Some wildlife habitats and species depend on rabbit grazing, so you should consider wildlife interests when deciding where to put up rabbit fencing.

You should install badger gates if the fence crosses any badger runs.

Use ferrets

You can send ferrets into the burrow system. The ferrets drive rabbits into nets, which are placed over the burrow entrances or to waiting guns that shoot them as they bolt from tunnel entrances.

When you can shoot rabbits

If you are the occupier of land you can shoot rabbits on your land during the day and can authorise in writing one other person to do so. That person must be part of your household, one of your staff, or be employed for reward to specifically control the rabbits.

If the owner of the shooting rights for your land does not agree to destroy the rabbits themselves or allow you to use extra shooters, you can apply to Natural England for authority to do so.

Rats

There are two species of rat in Britain, Rattus Norvegicus which is commonly known as the Brown Rat or Common Rat. The Rattus Rattus, known as the Black Rat or Ship Rat is now rarely found in the UK.

Appearance

The Brown Rat is the larger of the rats in Britain, often weighing over half a kilo and measuring about 23cm, without counting the tail. It has a blunt muzzle, small hair-covered ears and a tail that is shorter than its body. The Black Rat weighs half as much and is shorter. It has a pointed muzzle, large, almost hairless ears, a more slender body and a long thin tail that is longer than its body.

Characteristics

Rats have well developed senses of smell taste and touch. They have an acute sense of hearing, frequently using ultrasound to communicate, and are particularly sensitive to any sudden noise. Both species breed rapidly and become sexually mature in about three months. Each female may produce from 3 to 12 litters of between six and eight young in a year. Rats need to gnaw to keep their constantly growing incisor teeth worn down. They damage woodwork, plastic, bricks and lead pipes, and will strip insulation from electrical cables.

Habitat

Brown Rats live in any situation that provides food, water and shelter. In homes, they will live in roof spaces, wall cavities or under floorboards. In gardens, they will burrow into grassy banks or under sheds. Brown Rats are often found living in sewer systems. Black Rats are rare and are occasionally found in shipping ports.

Diet

Rats feed mostly at night and an average rat will eat 50g of food a day. Preferred foods are cereal products, although rats are omnivorous and will eat almost anything that humans eat.

Rats carry many nasty diseases which they can spread to humans, normally through their urine. including; Leptospirosis or Weil’s disease, Salmonella, Listeria, Toxoplasma gondii and Hantavirus.

Rats can inflict a great amount of structural damage. They can cause serious fires by gnawing away the insulation around electrical cables, floods by puncturing pipes and even death by chewing through gas pipes. The insurance sector have estimated that rodent damage to wiring is responsible for 25% of all electrical fires in buildings.

Rats can ruin an organisation’s reputation. If clients and customers spot evidence of rodent infestation in the premises you manage, they are unlikely to want to do business with you.

Property owners have a legal obligation under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 to keep premises rodent free, or, if rodents pose a threat to health or property, to report infestations to the local authority.

Fox

Find out how to solve a pest problem with foxes, moles and mink in order to protect your property or business.

For general advice about controlling pests, see Pest control on your property.

Any foxes, moles and mink that you catch are protected under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. You can be jailed and fined up to £20,000 for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Illegal control methods

You must only use control methods set out in this guidance. Failure to do so could mean you face a jail sentence of up to 6 months and a fine of up to £5,000.

You can’t use the following for foxes, moles or mink:

• self-locking snares
• bows and crossbows
• explosives other than legal ammunition for a licensed firearm
• live birds or animals, as bait or live decoys

Foxes

To discourage foxes from coming to your property you should:

• secure food waste in bins
• use fencing to protect pets and livestock from foxes

If the problem persists you can use the control methods set out in this guide, but you must not:

• use gassing or poisoning
• block or destroy fox earths if they are occupied

Catch with cage traps and snares

You can use cage traps and snares to catch foxes.

You should check cage traps at least once a day to stop a captured fox suffering.

You shouldn’t relocate or release captured foxes. This will cause foxes stress by transporting and relocating them to an unfamiliar environment.

You must:

• only use free-running snares, which relax when the animal is captured
• check snares at least once a day
• humanely kill any fox you catch while it’s in the trap or snare
• release all other animals unharmed – except grey squirrels and mink, which you must humanely kill

You must not:

• place traps or snares near a badger sett or where badgers are present
• place snares in urban areas or public spaces
• use spring traps

Shoot

You can shoot free foxes using a suitable firearm and ammunition.

You shouldn’t use firearms in urban areas for reasons of public safety.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation has a code of practice on shooting foxes at night(lamping).

Use dogs

You can’t use dogs to hunt.

You can use dogs to stalk or flush out foxes above ground, but only to stop serious damage to your property. You must:

• use no more than 2 dogs
• shoot the foxes as soon as they break cover
• carry proof that you own the land or have written permission from the landowner

Use repellents or deterrents

You should only use repellents and deterrents approved for use against foxes.

Vermin Control Training