Protecting Feed Stores and Tack Rooms from Rodents This Autumn
As temperatures drop, rats and mice head indoors looking for food and shelter, and feed stores, tack rooms, and hay barns at Newmarket’s racing yards and studs are exactly the kind of warm, food-rich environment they’re drawn to. A single autumn rodent problem can quickly damage feed, chew through rugs and tack, and put staff and horses at risk.
Why Feed Stores Are a Magnet for Rodents
Open feed bins, spilled grain, and stacked hay bales offer rats and mice an easy, reliable food source, while the building fabric of many feed stores and tack rooms, timber cladding, hay lofts, and gaps around doors, gives them plenty of places to nest undisturbed. Once established, a rodent population can grow quickly, and by the time droppings or gnawing are obvious, the problem is often already well underway.
The Risks to Horses and Staff
Beyond the cost of contaminated feed and damaged tack, rodents can carry diseases that pose a genuine risk to people working around yards and stables. Leptospirosis, spread through rat urine, is a particular concern around feed stores and water troughs, and government guidance on leptospirosis sets out how the infection spreads and who is most at risk.
Protecting Your Yard This Autumn
- Store feed in secure, rodent-proof metal or heavy-duty plastic bins rather than open bags
- Sweep up spilled feed daily rather than letting it build up around bins
- Seal gaps around doors, feed store walls, and pipework where rodents can get in
- Keep hay and straw stacks off the ground and away from walls to reduce nesting spots
- Arrange a professional inspection at the start of autumn, before numbers build up
Our rodent and vermin control service is used to working around horses, yards, and sensitive stored feed, and can put a discreet, effective plan in place with minimal disruption.
Keep Your Yard Rodent-Free This Autumn
We work with racing yards and studs across Newmarket to protect feed stores, tack rooms, and stabling from rodents, with no call-out charge. Get in touch with our team today to arrange an autumn inspection.