A dead Norway rat is held by a Calgary bylaw officer. Norway rats were captured in the Calgary Acadia neighbourhood back in 2004.

Eastern Alberta farmers are being mobilized to keep the province rat-free after an infestation of the critters was found in a Saskatchewan town close to the border.

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development is urging farmers to bait their greenfeed and straw bales every six metres, and make sure rats don’t hitchhike into Alberta on equipment or bales.

Swift Current has been dealing with an unprecedented rat infestation since late May, and some have appeared in Maple Creek, 40 kilometres from the border. One rat was also found in Calgary recently after apparently hitching a ride from Saskatchewan.

So far none have shown up on the eastern border, said Rob Pulyk, a member of the province’s rat patrol based in Vermilion.

“I’ve been out to 35 farms along the border, and other municipalities have also been keeping watch. We’ve still got the rest of October so it’s important to keep watching for signs of an unwanted visitor.”

Setting up bait stations with an old tire propped up with a two-by-four works well, Pulyk says.

The two-by-four leaves enough room for the rat to get inside, and a piece of plywood on top weighed down with a brick keeps out bigger animals.

Bags of poisoned grain are placed inside, and it takes three or four visits before the rat dies.

“That way they don’t relate getting sick to the food until it’s too late.”

Other things to look for are small holes in bales or under structures, chew marks through wood, wire or cinder block concrete, and rat scat, which is capsule-shaped and dark brown to black in colour, Pulyk said.

People often mistake muskrats for rats, which can be identified by their fat, ringed tail, he said.

“We don’t have rats here so people have never seen one. I had one lady call who said she had followed this thing around with her cellphone taking pictures. When she sent them to me it turned out to be muskrat.”

If you spot a rat or a nesting area, call the Ag-Info Centre at 310-FARM (3276)