After the flood, rats ravaged the fields.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga was heartbroken when her corn field was destroyed by rats again. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The house has 4 sao of corn, including 1 sao of waxy corn and 3 sao of hybrid corn. After the flood receded, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga (Hop Tan hamlet,Thuong Tan Loc commune, Nam Dan) took the opportunity to visit the fields. “1 sao of sticky corn was destroyed by rats, leaving only the cob of corn, losing about 50%, so we had to break it off and sell it young for 10,000 VND/dozen, half the market price. The most painful thing was 3 sao of hybrid corn, which was also destroyed by rats, any large ears with firm kernels were all eaten by rats. For this type of corn, we have to wait until the corn ears are dry and old before we can harvest. From now until then, it will take another month, at this rate, by the time we harvest, there will be no ears left.”

Rats bit down the tree, ate all the kernels, leaving only the corn cob. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only Mrs. Nga, hundreds of hectares of hybrid corn and dozens of sao of glutinous corn on the fields of the 5-nam region (Nam Dan) were also severely damaged by rats. In the lightly damaged fields, rats destroyed 30% of the flowers, in the heavily damaged fields up to 60-70%. “2 sao of hybrid corn, a lot of investment costs, such as land preparation, seeds, and phosphate fertilizer. Like this year, the corn flowers are big, long, and thick, the expected yield is 3 quintals/sao, which is about 3 million VND. However, before we could celebrate the good corn crop, the flood came, the fields were slightly flooded, the corn plants did not fall but were destroyed by rats. Nearly 1 sao of corn was chewed to pieces by rats, the broken plants had to be harvested young to feed the cows, which is considered a total loss of 3 million VND”, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cam, a corn farmer in the Gia Nen field (Thuong Tan Loc commune) sadly said.

For the sticky corn area, people have to harvest and sell it early at a cheap price to avoid damage by rats. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to statistics, the entire Thuong Tan Loc commune currently has 180 hectares of hybrid corn, 15 hectares of cassava, and 30 hectares of peanuts that have not been harvested. “During the recent flood, some areas of Thuong Tan Loc were heavily flooded, mostly outside the river. As for the inside, a part was flooded, the area on high ground receded quickly, and was less damaged by the flood. However, when other fields were flooded, rats flocked to high places to take shelter and look for food. Therefore, although there was no damage from the flood, the entire area was ravaged and destroyed by rats, many areas were damaged by rats up to 70%.”

Many eggplant fields of Nam Anh people were bitten off at the roots by rats. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Late afternoon, on the colorful fieldsNam Anh commune, many people went to the fields to collect rats that had been set traps since yesterday afternoon. "In just one night, around the family's field, 20 rats were caught in the traps. Nearly 1 sao of eggplant that was bearing young fruit was bitten and destroyed. Not only did the rats bite the fruit, but they also dug up the roots, causing the plants to die," said Mr. Hoang Van Chuong (Hamlet 5, Nam Anh Commune).

Currently, after the flood, in many localities in the province, rats are raging, destroying winter crops. Especially in localities that grow the winter crop early, when crops begin to be harvested, rats gnaw and destroy, causing heavy damage.

Nam Anh people go to the fields to collect trapped rats. In his field, after one night, Mr. Hoang Van Chuong collected 20 trapped rats. Photo: Thanh Phuc

To prevent rats, localities have launched a movement for the whole population to kill rats; many localities have allocated funds to support people in buying biological rat killer products; supported people with crescent-shaped rat traps; many localities organized the purchase of rat tails...

“Although before the rainy season, the locality launched a campaign to kill rats to protect crops, after prolonged heavy rains, rats still gathered in large numbers, causing damage to the fields in the crop areas. Currently, we are implementing plans to kill rats by trapping, digging rat nests, using chemicals, etc.; and requesting the district to provide funding to support farmers in killing rats to protect winter crops. In the near future, when the sun comes up, the water recedes, and the soil dries, in order to plant crops safely, we must prevent rats from causing damage,” said Mr. Nguyen Dinh The, Head of the Department of Agriculture of Nam Dan district.

Rat extermination campaign in Nghi Truong commune (Nghi Loc). Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to Master Phan Duy Hai - DeputyProvincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, to effectively kill rats, it is necessary to deploy many measures synchronously. Fields near villages, near roads, near cemeteries that are often heavily damaged by rats need to clear bushes and mounds so that rats have no place to hide; combine nylon fences, trap rats with traps or organize digging holes, pouring water, smoking, fumigating with carbide vapor, shining lights. Encourage people to raise cats, protect natural enemies of rats such as snakes and birds. In addition, when using chemical measures, pay attention to only use drugs on the list such as Biorat, Rat-K 2%, Ranpart 2%D, Rat-Kill 2%DD...

Collecting rats for burial, ensuring safety for pets, the environment and people's health. Photo: Thanh Phuc

However, when using rat poison, it is necessary to widely announce in residential areas and organize the collection of excess bait. The rat carcasses must also be carefully buried to ensure the safety of pets, the environment and people's health. Absolutely do not use electricity to kill rats"./.