A new in-depth study aims to find out how much damage rats and mice cause to farm machinery.
The study has been launched by agrochemical giant Bayer in a bid to better understand how rodents cause damage to tractors and combines.
“Rodent damage to machinery is a serious issue for many farmers,” said the firm’s rural hygiene manager, Ken Black.
“They’re often so pleased to see the end of harvest, that machinery is shut away without being cleaned properly, and this can attract rodents.”
The company has will be issuing a questionnaire to farmers to find out more about damage on farms – this will be distributed by the company at agricultural events throughout the year.
“We’re aware it’s an issue for farmers, but we don’t know the full scale of the problem,” added Mr Black.
“We know that thousands of pounds worth of damage is made by rodents to machinery each year. For instance, combines that are shut away for eight months of the year attract rats and mice as they are often stored in buildings that are undisturbed and contain grain and straw left over from harvest.”
He said large modern machinery provided plenty of areas for harbourage and nesting of rats and mice.
“As part of their natural behaviour, rats and mice gnaw, with stored machinery providing plenty of opportunities for this. Electrical cables, hydraulic hoses, control panels and even cab fittings are likely to be chewed,” added Mr Black.
“We want to know what damage has occurred, how much it has cost, and the further impact it’s had. For example, we’ll find out whether farmers have lost valuable days of harvesting as a result of damage to machinery. This is one of the hidden costs.”
Results of the survey will be published at the end of the year.