Rats wreak havoc on the winter-spring rice crop.

(Baoquangngai.vn) - Farmers are complaining bitterly about the rat infestation affecting their winter-spring rice crop. Currently, more than 1,052 hectares of rice in the province have been damaged by rats.

Early in the morning, while checking on her rice fields, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phong, from Dien Chanh village, Nghia Dien commune (Tu Nghia district), sighed, carrying a bundle of rice stalks damaged by rats: "There are so many rats. Every morning when I go to the fields, I feel heartbroken seeing them gnawing at the rice. All four acres of my family's rice have been significantly damaged by rats."

For the past month, farmers have been complaining bitterly about rats destroying their fields. They've tried everything to get rid of the rats, such as bait, traps, flags, and even applying motor oil, but nothing has worked. In the fields of Tinh An Tay commune ( Quang Ngai City), many lush green rice paddies have been devastated by rats. Farmers are having a real headache dealing with the rat infestation.

Farmers are having a headache because rats are damaging their rice crops.

“The rice is in the heading stage, and with them destroying it like this, a crop failure is certain. We’ve tried many methods but couldn’t get rid of them, so we had to buy plastic sheeting to make fences around the fields to prevent rats from getting in and destroying the rice,” said Ms. Le Thi Tan, from Doc Lap village, Tinh An Tay commune.

According to local farmers, last year's rainy season did not bring major floods to the province, so fewer rats were swept away, creating favorable conditions for them to breed and cause serious damage to the winter-spring rice crop.

Rats are causing damage to rice crops from the tillering to the flowering stage, affecting a total area of over 1,052 hectares. The damage is occurring in most localities, except for Ly Son and Son Tay districts.

Rat-repelling flags are planted by farmers all over their rice fields.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quang Trung, rats are currently appearing in large numbers in the fields and will continue to damage the winter-spring rice crop in the coming time. The agricultural sector advises farmers to regularly inspect their fields and organize rat extermination to minimize damage caused by rats and prevent it from affecting the yield of the winter-spring rice crop.

Farmers regularly exterminate rats using various methods, with a focus on mechanical traps and protecting natural predators such as pythons, snakes, and owls. They absolutely do not use electricity to trap rats, as it poses a serious threat to human life.

When using pesticides to control rats, use only those listed in the catalog of pesticides permitted for use in Vietnam. Prioritize the use of new generation rodenticides with active ingredients such as Bromadiolone, Coumatetralyl, Flocoumafen… (with trade names such as Kingcat 0.05RB, Cat0.25WP, Racumin 0.75TP, Ratmiu 0.75TP, Storm 0.005% block bait, Broma 0.005AB…).

Text and photos: ÁI KIỀU

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