Fighting a water (earthen) rat, how to get rid of it

The ground rat is a large field mouse, a small fluffy animal. The body length of a rodent can be up to 25 cm in length, and its weight ranges from 500 g. The most common are brown-black, but their color can be pure black, gray, brown, with a white stripe on the back. They do not create such a repulsive impression as ordinary rats, but if one of them starts up in the garden or outbuildings, then serious damage to the economy can be caused. An earthen rat is often called a water rat, how to get rid of it is a popular question among gardeners and gardeners.

Description of the species

It is difficult to determine whether a cat is a rat catcher based on its appearance. There is such a breed of cats - the Kurilian Bobtail, in which catching rodents in the blood, if you have friends, you can ask for a week to exterminate a rat brood, or any country cat accustomed to hunting will do.
The pest has nothing to do with normal rats. They are similar only in size. The body length of an adult earthen rat reaches 25 cm in length. The rodent weighs 500 g.

It has a massive body, a large head with barely noticeable ears and a blunt muzzle. The long, rounded tail is completely covered with small hairs.

For the winter, the rodent is "pubescent", i.e. the coat becomes thick and long. This contributes to a better endurance of the harsh winters. They are not afraid of even the coldest temperatures. By the summer, the coat thins, becomes short. The color of the rodent's coat depends on the age of the rat, place of residence and conditions.

Its back is painted in a dark brown color, which, if you look at the pest from different angles, has different shades. The color of the belly is off-white. Sometimes you can find animals with a pure black color.

The animal is an excellent swimmer, overcomes long distances with ease. On the front short legs, there are slightly curved claws. The hind legs of the rodent are elongated.

The ground rat destroys everything in its path, from cultivated garden plants to weeds. If an earthen rat has started up in the garden, you don't have to wait for a high yield. She is not averse to eating root vegetables, dill, onions. Likes to have fun in pea beds, damage plants in a flower bed. Even saffron with its specific smell cannot scare away a rodent.

Unlike gray rats, which have coarse hair, in the earthen individual it is very soft. Field and water rats differ significantly in the length of the tail; in aquatic rats it is shorter.

The earthen rat, unlike the mole, digs small irregularly shaped passages. Moles sleep in winter, but rats do not. The footprints of the water rats are similar to those of the gray voles.

What is the difficulty of dealing with an earthen rat?

It is very difficult to get rid of the pest in the garden, since the gluttonous mammal is also a prolific rodent. The female brings offspring 3 times a year. In one litter, there are up to 5 cubs. The offspring are hatched underground in specially equipped places. Literally a month later, babies begin to move independently.

The pest has nothing to do with normal rats. They are similar only in size

Scientists, taking into account the peculiarities of the vital activity of these rodents, came to the conclusion that the following methods can be used to scare them away:

• the scent of rodents is very sensitive, so you can scare off with pungent odors;
• the use of ultrasound;
• planting around the perimeter of a plot of plants with a specific smell.

Based on the conclusions made by scientists, many owners have developed for themselves a lot of pest control methods. These methods are used by them for preventive purposes.

The methods of scaring away land rats are as follows:

1. Vishnevsky ointment. If an uninvited guest settles in a barn or accidentally wanders into the house, you can take an ointment, dilute it in water and moisten the floor with the resulting product around the perimeter of the room. The sharp scent of pests will smell a pungent smell, and they will go away.
2. Singed wool. Rats "on the spirit" do not tolerate this smell. It is necessary to look in the house for stale pieces or scraps of fur, animal skins, light them on fire and bring them into the room where rats were seen. A scorched piece of wool can be placed near the mouse's mink. She will have to look for a new refuge.
3. Black Elderberry is an ideal garden shrub to keep rats away. Why? The fact is that the root system of the shrub releases cyanides into the soil, therefore, in order to preserve the harvest in the beds, it is necessary to plant a couple of elderberry bushes next to them.
4. Spruce, juniper. Juniper needles have a pungent specific odor, which is not to the liking of pests. The paws of earthen rats have very delicate skin, and spruce needles can injure it.
5. Sharp objects. Broken bottles can be placed around the perimeter of the site. But this is not quite a suitable option, as pets can get hurt about them.
6. Wood ash. If there is no hair on the paws of the mouse, and it runs over the ash, this will cause inflammation of the skin.

Ultrasonic scarers. They are considered the most effective remedies for fighting ground rats. The waves that the ultrasonic device propagates strongly affect the rodents, so they leave this area and seek to find a more secluded place.

It is better to buy in specialized stores. It is recommended to choose scarers from those firms that have proven themselves well in the sales market. At the time of purchase, the seller must provide a suitable model of the repeller in accordance with certain characteristics. It is very important for what area this device is intended, the duration of action, the approximate number of individuals that must be destroyed, other circumstances are also taken into account.

The biological name of the rat is the water vole. It differs from the usual gray house rat in size, also large, but has a thicker constitution and a shortened tail.

Water rat (vole)

The length of the body sometimes reaches 22 cm, and the tail outgrowth is up to 12 cm, which is half of the entire rat (in a common rat, the tail is several times longer than the length of the body). The cover of the water inhabitant is thicker and has a dark gray color.

Its muzzle is flattened, while that of an ordinary land rat is more elongated. The eyes are set very close to the nose, chubby cheeks are located on the sides. In appearance, the water rat looks more like a hamster.

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Where lives

In the summer, it settles on the banks of small reservoirs, but closer to autumn it moves closer to vegetable gardens, where there is a lot of food.

Many summer residents confuse the stay of rats with moles, but here there are differences: a mole digs a tunnel, and the earth piles on the soil surface in the form of a hill, a water pest digs minks, and at the location of the depression there are disfigured plants with roots turned up on the surface.

What eats

A female water vole is capable of dropping twice during the summer.Moreover, 6-10 cubs at once. Therefore, think about what kind of harvest you can expect in the fall. The water rat family feeds on meadow plants, but in the spring, while they are succulent.

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In hot weather, the rat climbs into the garden and eats roots and young shoots of cultivated plants. Makes supplies for the winter, it can be potatoes, carrots, beets. If the tubers are large, then the rodents eat them in the garden, and the smaller ones are dragged into the holes.

Folk recipes

You can get rid of rats forever with folk remedies. Rodent control combines the use of mechanical methods, chemicals. Folk recipes can kill rats or drive them out.

At the sight of a rodent in the house, you should not run headlong into the store for a trap to exterminate pests. You can quickly build a structure yourself, without much financial expense.

• In a plastic bottle with a capacity of 5-10 liters, the neck is cut off. Turn over, insert into the bottle. A fragrant bait is placed on the bottom. The neck is secured with tape. Place the trap in an inclined position near the steps, shelves. The rodent gets inside, cannot get back. It remains to decide how to kill the captured rat. The method is especially effective in the village for fighting rats in a private home.
• Turn over a large pot for indoor flowers. Raise on one side, insert the board with an edge. A bait is placed in the center. The rodent makes its way to the food, clings to the board, and finds itself in a trap. It is necessary to install the structure on a solid foundation in the dwelling - floor, concrete surface, in order to avoid undermining.
• With rats in a private house, you can fight with a bucket of water. It is poured 5-10 cm before the edges. Hulls, straw, dry leaves are spread in a thick layer over the water. Grain and seeds are thrown into the center. A plank is placed in front of the bucket. It serves as a ladder. The rodent makes its way to the bait, falls into the water. It is possible to exterminate rodents without much effort, periodically renewing the appearance of the trap. The method is good because you do not need to kill pests later.

Scare away

Fighting rats The elimination of rats is carried out by a mechanical, chemical method, using methods of scaring away.

• You can remove rodents in 1 day with tree resin. The product is suitable for private houses, if rodents are seen in the barn, cellar, outbuildings, closet, in the sauna. Sprinkle ash on the floor. Rodents are active at night. In the dark, the ash is not visible. Sticking to the body, it causes irritation, burning. The animal tries to get rid of the pollution with its tongue, the substance enters the stomach, causing discomfort. The rat does not die from ash, but flees.
• A pungent smell will help drive out the rats. Moisten a rag with gasoline, kerosene, ammonia, vinegar, put it in a plastic bag, make a small hole in it. The smell slowly fills the room, begins to drive away rodents.
• Burn wool or a dead rat, throw it into the basement. The smell of burning makes rodents run wherever they look.
• Herbs. To make the rats go around the house, do not want to stay in it for a long time, you can use plants. In each room, leave a bunch of wild rosemary, chamomile, wormwood, peppermint, tansy, black elderberry, rat rat race.
• Essential oils. The smell of mint, chamomile, lavender scares off rats. To spread the smell around the house, you can use a special lamp or sprinkle a few drops on a wax candle, lamp bulb. When heated, the scent will spread throughout the house. The smell has a beneficial effect on people, it drives rats out of the house.
• Catch a rat. Set the tail on fire, release. The rodent will run to its relatives, who cannot stand the smell of burnt wool. She herself will drive everyone out of the house.
• Spicy mixture. Scatter hot peppers, dried chamomile, burdock seeds with thorns on the floor.Pepper, chamomile irritate the skin, the thorns cling to the wool, preventing normal movement. Several days of such inconvenience - the rats will leave the territory.

Poisoning

Folk remedies

• Gypsum. The most common method is a mixture of gypsum with flour and sugar. The ingredients are taken in equal proportions. Treats are laid out on plates - lids. A container with water is placed nearby. The mixture inside the stomach hardens, along with the insides of the rodent.
• Poisonous mixture. Mix 15 g of borax with 20 g of rosin. Add 30 g of powdered sugar to mask the taste of the poison. Spread out in areas where rodents have been seen. It is necessary to prepare the mixture with rubber gloves so that the smell of a person does not remain on the prepared dish.
• Soda. Mix equal proportions of baking soda and sugar. Add some flour. The product is safe for humans, pets, and brings death to rats. In the stomach, soda reacts with natural juice, a bubbling reaction begins. Gases collect. Since rats are unable to regurgitate, excessive gas and bloating are fatal.
• Wine stopper. Grind the cork, fry in lard. The fragrant rat bait is ready. In the abdomen, the plug swells, deforms the internal organs, makes breathing difficult, and causes suffocation.
• Alcohol. Moisten bread in beer, put on a plate. Mice are attracted by the smell, they eat the bait with pleasure. After a few days, beer complementary foods are switched to vodka. First, it is diluted with water. Increasing the dose of ethanol every day. Then it is soaked in pure vodka, but the taste of bitterness is masked by the addition of sugar. Rats develop alcohol dependence. They are not interested in other food, they make their way to the bowl every day. At this stage, you can safely kill rats, or watch how individuals degrade. Adult rats die from alcohol, new offspring are born weak, unable to survive.
• Colchicum autumn. The plant blooms in late summer, autumn. All parts are poisonous. The deadly bait will require 10 grams of seeds. They are mixed with 200 g of any product - cheese, grain, seeds, cereals.
• Cook beans and beans over low heat until they crack. Drain and dry. In a skillet in vegetable oil, fry the beans with chilibuhi seeds.
• Stearin. Powder the chilibuha seeds, add sugar, raisins, grated stearin.
• Quicklime. Mix with sugar in a ratio of 1: 3 so that rodents do not notice the unpleasant taste of lime. Spread in plates, put in places where rats like to be.
• Beer. Add alcoholic beverage to milk, leave a bowl. In the morning, you can collect dead rodents.
• Barbaric way. If you can't get rid of the rats, you should use a not very humane, but extremely effective method. They catch several rats and put them in a metal barrel. Starved to death. Over time, the rats begin to gnaw each other, the strongest survives. This beast is set free. In a short time, it will destroy the entire family of rodents, from small to large.

Folk remedies for rats are striking inventiveness. They can be used if there are small children, animals in the house, or if you do not want to deal with toxic substances. If independent efforts do not give the desired result, you should seek help from specialists. Breeding rats is a process that requires special efforts, skill, and caution.

Rodents in the beds (video)

The easiest way, which does not require material investments, is to fill the rat hole with water. Then all its inhabitants will flee. But first, these minks still need to be found. At the exit, you can set traps to catch the surviving rats in them and permanently neutralize them.

You can use a vibrating device that scares off earthen rats. For these purposes, "Tornado OZV.01" is suitable. It is buried in the ground. It is better to install several devices at once throughout the site for greater efficiency.

When autumn approaches, these rodents move to land, closer to crops of root crops and cereals. It was at this time that they inflict maximum losses, building burrows in the ground with numerous passages. If the rodents settled in the garden, they will have to start a real war, since getting rid of a water rat on the site can only be done with harsh methods. The fact that they appeared can be guessed from the dug up earth.

Sometimes the owners of the plots think that moles are digging the ground, but they do not eat vegetables, and water rats are dangerous in that they can destroy the entire crop of potatoes, carrots, and beets. They don't necessarily eat everything on the spot. They tend to make supplies, dragging the crop into the pantries equipped underground. So, these animals store small potatoes for the winter, and large ones, which they cannot carry off, are eaten on the spot.

Gardeners suffer from water rats as much as gardeners. They devour young shoots, flowers, literally devastate everything in their path. Many plants do not die because the animals eat them. The reason for the death of flowers, shrubs and trees is the very fact of digging minks by water rats. They plow the ground, the roots turn outward, dry up and die.

The fight against the water vole is to remove it from your plot or garden as soon as possible. When choosing the means, you will need to decide which of the methods you prefer to choose - humane or inhuman, but more effective and faster. It depends on your personality traits and the stability of the nervous system.

Humane methods are those that force the rat to leave your area. All rodents are extremely sensitive to ultrasonic waves. It is on this fact that the methods are based that create uncomfortable living conditions for rodents.

One of these methods is the use of ultrasonic scarers, which will force both moles and vole mice to leave the site. When installing devices, it should be borne in mind that concrete bases are an obstacle to the passage of ultrasonic waves.

In the photo, the ultrasonic (vibration) repeller TORNADO against moles and water voles

For this reason, several devices are placed at different ends of the backyard area so that there are no uncovered areas left.

Important! See our rating of the most effective water vole and mole repeller for the site according to gardeners' reviews.

If it is impossible to purchase ultrasonic scarers, you can try using folk methods, although their effectiveness is an order of magnitude lower than ultrasonic devices. One of them is to create sound vibrations above the ground. To do this, a thin iron pin is driven into the ground by at least 40 centimeters. An empty tin can is placed on the ground part (from 50 to 100 cm).

It's not bad if a cat or a cat lives in your house, it's better - mongrels. They can easily deal with a whole family of water voles without your participation. It is more correct to say that the smell of felines can scare away rodents even when they appear on the site.

If a water rat starts up on the site, how to get rid of this animal as soon as possible? To physically destroy pests and reduce their number to zero, there are 3 methods:

• chemical;
• mechanical;
• biological.

Earth individuals lend themselves to biological destruction: they are hunted by cats, some purebred dogs. The smell of cats scares away rodents, but if the cat has already smelled them, the pests will be in trouble! They do not catch rats for the purpose of food, purely on an instinctive level. Hunting dogs train on them, improve their hunting skills.

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Among gardeners, it is common to fight earthen rats by a mechanical method.They buy mouse traps and traps. But this method is not considered very comfortable. It takes a lot of free time to control the catch. We often have to check the installed traps and extract the trapped rodents.

The use of glue traps is considered the least effective way. Catching with sticky Velcro is not suitable for large individuals, because they can easily free themselves from captivity.

Earth individuals lend themselves to biological destruction: they are hunted by cats, some purebred dogs

Fighting an earthen rat with a chemical method is considered the most effective way in trapping pests of the garden and vegetable garden. But, despite the advantages of the method, it is unsafe for human health and pets. Therefore, when using pesticides, care must be taken and control must be carried out strictly in accordance with the instructions on the packaging of the chemical.

It is better to entrust the chemical treatment to professionals. They know exactly what dosage is rational to use so as not to harm humans and destroy the entire rat population. Deratizers in the shortest possible time will be able to process a plot or house from an invasion of rodents, using the most effective method.

The named methods of struggle are rational only if applied in combination. Do not think that earthen rats are stupid animals. Sensing danger, they can hide for several days, and when the threat to their lives disappears, they can again take up their dirty business.

The ground rat is a dangerous rodent. Pests occupy river banks and settle in swamps. When they do not have enough space and food, animals move closer to a person's dwelling. The animal leads an underground lifestyle, makes moves for itself, similar to labyrinths.

In order to preserve the planting and not lose part of the crop, it is required to see the appearance of pests on the site in time and take timely measures.

The fact that it was she, we determined by the nature of her behavior, moles cannot leave such devastation on the site: young shoots are eaten up, vegetables are spoiled, flowers are ruined. She moved to our site at the end of summer, when the harvest began to ripen, she came from the river bank to make supplies for the winter. We started thinking about how to catch this rat.

Like all living things, water rats (or water voles) try to survive. How to deal with water rats if none of the above remedies help, and there are more and more rodents? Many rodents are sensitive to ultrasound, including ground rats. Control methods based on scaring away rats with ultrasound are also applicable at the summer cottage.

The first type is more effective, since the more rats you exterminate, thereby protecting yourself from a repeated invasion of rodents. But the second species is more humane in relation to nature, but having scared off the vole once, it is not a fact that it will not return to you for potatoes.

Biological

These are perhaps the most effective methods. This includes the capture of animals by large pets, this is a cat or dog. If the cat is not such a rat-trap, then the presence of the cat's smell in the garden is enough to scare away an uninvited guest.

Nora Rat

They do this: sawdust soaked in cat urine is poured into the rat holes that have appeared and they are added dropwise. Smelling the smell of excrement, the rat turns to run. Dogs are also able to scare away small rodents, although they will not eat it, but they can gnaw. At night, hedgehogs and ferrets fight with rats.

Mechanical

These methods have been tested for centuries. Traps and traps have long been used to catch rats and mice. Here, these adaptations can also come in handy, but if the populations are small.

1. Place a trap or mousetrap next to the burrow;
2. Wear gloves to keep human odor out of the device;
3. You can put a piece of potatoes or other bait;
4. Smelling the smell of the bait, the rat will not stand aside and will definitely visit a metal trap.

Chemical

Chemical methods of exposure to rats

Mention should be made here of rat poisons, which can be found in any veterinary store. Poison should be used as a last resort, in case of a large invasion of rodents. But since pets can live on the site, it must be used very carefully.

As a poison, you will need powders containing zinc, phosphorus or arsenic. To prepare bait with a poisoned agent, you can make the following structure:

1. Cut any vegetable in half;
2. Remove the pulp from it;
3. Stuff the insides with poison;
4. Fasten the vegetable halves together and place them near the burrow.

You can put poison in small boxes, bury it in the ground at some distance from the hole, put bait in it. Acts with a bang.

An alternative to purchased poisons can be simple bleach. Once on the mucous membranes of the rat, a reaction begins, after a while the animal will die.

Ultrasound

Ultrasonic rodent repellents

everyone knows the modern method of scaring away rodents - this is ultrasound. The more scarers are placed on the site, the better. The emitted sound waves negatively affect the nervous system of the voles. When installing the device, it is necessary to set the maximum radiation value so that the effect is enhanced.

Combined devices that emit sound and vibration waves can be used as scarers, such are designed to combat moles, but they are also suitable for such rodents.

Folk ways

Since the rodent lives in the ground and moves like moles, the methods applicable in the fight against moles are also suitable for the extermination of water rats.

Repellers from the bottle

1. Stick metal rods or pieces of reinforcement into the ground. Put on tin cans on them, which, when the wind blows, will create noise, rumble;
2. As a homemade repeller, constructions made of plastic bottles are suitable. They can be made in the form of windmills, you can simply put them on colas and place them around the perimeter of the site. By creating rotational movements from the wind, vibration and noise will enter the ground and scare away pests.

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Shrew

This little animal can be found in the garden, in the summer cottage, as well as in the garden. The shrew feeds on various insects, which are abundant in such places. Despite this, these animals bring a lot of trouble to their owners. This article tells why this is not a large animal, similar to mice, but with a long proboscis, and how to deal with it, by what methods, appears on the site.

Description of the earthen rat

If hatred of the rodent prevails over pity, then an arc trap is placed near the rat's hole, the same as when catching small fur-bearing animals. It will be lucky if the water rat, which you are fighting with, is alone in your garden, but if a whole brood of them, and even with neighbors, has taken root, then you will have to look for other ways.

If neither cats nor traps help, and you at all costs need to get rid of the rats, then baiting is used. Usually, baits with rat poison, consisting of sugar, rosin and borax in a ratio of 4: 4: 3, are used; all this is grinded and carefully laid out next to the rat norms. This is one way to deal with a water rat, but it is not applicable if you have pets, as they can also become victims of poisoning.

Biological

Nora Rat

Folk ways

Chemistry

To quickly get rid of the earthen rat will help special poisons designed to destroy rodents. Some of these drugs are used by pest control services. This is by far the easiest way to kill pests. Powder or granular mixture is mixed into bread or other product.After eating it, the rat dies within 1-5 days. However, this method has significant drawbacks.

Having scattered poisoned food baits around the garden, you risk poisoning your own pet. Yard and domestic animals visit the garden and vegetable garden. Cats rarely eat bread, but dogs grab everything that is not right from the ground. Often, chemical poisoning is fatal for the pet. Before dying, poisoned rats leave underground dwellings and run out into the fresh air. A cat or dog can get hurt by catching a poisoned rodent.

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If you are confident that your pets or your neighbors' pets will not run in the garden, harsh chemicals can be used.

The most effective poisons:

• Zoocoumarin;
• "Pied Piper";
• "Rat Death";
• "Mongoose";
• "Efa";
• "Nutcracker";
• "Tornado";
• "Storm".

It should be remembered about the high organization of the inhabitants of the pack and resistance to poisons and chemicals. To lead the rats around your finger and force them to eat the poisoned bait, you need to adhere to certain rules:

• Feed the enemy. For 2-3 days, toss baits without poison, so that the animal gets used to this product.
• After the death of the first victims of the chemical, the relatives will stop using the poisoned bait. You will need to change the product and the drug itself.
• If you poisoned rats with Zoocoumarin last year, do not expect the same good results from this drug this season. Rodents quickly develop resistance to even the most aggressive substances.

Interesting to know!

If optimal conditions are created for the life of a mammal, the field mouse will multiply very quickly. One hectare can count up to 400 pests.

In the daytime, the pest calmly rests in its shelter, and during the day it goes hunting. This is the second reason that prevents the fight against the earthen rat. A rodent is rarely found in the city. Stronger representatives of the genus - gray rats, do not let them into their abode. And there is no need for them. Why leave so many attractive places to live?

After all, the main source of food for rodents is located in the backyard - these are the roots of plants and flowers, and loose soil that does not interfere with their movement. Rats live in the ground, make holes, passages, cutting off the entire root system of plants that meet on their way. This is the third reason why pest control is difficult.

Krawchik (snow beetle)

Representative of the dung-dung family. Only now it differs from its relatives in that it eats herbivorous food. They called him a snow beetle because with his powerful jaws he literally shears off the stems of plants.

The beetle is black, up to 2.5 cm in length. His head is large and very noticeable, for which he is also called the bighead.

The kravchiks dig deep holes for themselves, quite complex and large. This happens mainly in early spring, during the mating season. Then the female begins construction of the burrow. A common, not yet branched mink sometimes reaches up to 70 cm in depth.

Did you know? Kravchiks are real architects. In their holes, there are even outlets for rainwater.

Then the female lays one egg at a time in specially prepared cells and proceeds to a stage that is very dangerous for the future harvest. Krawchiks harvest plants by cutting off grass and shoots.

From the greenery and their secretions, they form enough cubes to fill the hole. This mass will subsequently feed on beetle larvae. Next year, the number of kravchiks will increase, and all the cycles will be repeated over and over again.

Crovchiks damage corn, sunflowers and, of course, grapes very much. These beetles are so carefully stocked with food for their children that they are able to cut off literally all seedlings.

Did you know? Just one kravchik per day is able to destroy 10 grape shoots.

To get rid of those who live deep in the earth, chemicals are ineffective. As a preventive measure, you can advise a thorough and deep (60–70 cm) digging of the site. This depth should be enough to freeze the burrows over the winter. The main way to get rid of the snow beetle is to collect it by hand.

You can loosen the ground, filling the entrances of burrows, you can dig in the area around the perimeter, putting grass treated with special substances - pyrethroids into the grooves formed, but in any case, you will have to collect pests and monitor their appearance.

Another effective method - the most fragrant and cheapest vegetable oil, diluted with water, pour into the holes, and after the kravchiks come out, collect and destroy them.