FARMYARD FORAY
There is no getting away from the fact that farming operations attract pests and the impact can be at its greatest when uninvited guests home in on the yard. You can’t blame animals such as feral pigeons, corvids and rats from targeting farmyards, as these places provide them with shelter in large buildings and easy food sources.
Most of the farms that I shoot on tend to be hit worst during the winter. Cold, wet weather and a lack of natural food makes five-star living on a farm even more of a temptation during the colder months. As spring slowly rolls around, the days lengthen and temperatures rise – combined with the wealth of food and shelter on the farmyard, this can create ideal breeding conditions. Thankfully, pest numbers on this farm are still comparatively low, but they will soon spiral out of hand if no action is taken.
The main problem posed by pests here is their habit of stealing animal feed, which is not only costly in its own right, but also carries a serious disease risk when droppings contaminate troughs. The threat applies to farm workers too, as
