Rats in Alberta: looking at pest-control posters from the 1950s.

How did the rat-control program, launched by the Government of Alberta in 1950, become associated with the identity and heritage of the province? The authors answer this question by undertaking close visual analyses of the anti-rat posters and pamphlets that were distributed by the government throughout the 1950s. Using a visual methodology inspired by semiotics, they argue that the early rat-control program ambitiously promoted Alberta as a unified, clean province that was both distinct from its prairie neighbours and for the most part populated with vigilant, hardworking citizens eager to remove unwanted intruders.

A cost-effective and efficacious method of pinworm treatment for large colonies of mice.

Rodent pinworm infestations are common in modern animal facilities, and treatments to eradicate these nematodes are often costly and labor-intensive. The authors describe a method they developed to treat rodents with ivermectin using the automatic watering system available at their facility. This delivery method proved an efficacious and cost-effective means of eradicating Aspiculuris tetraptera from a large colony of mice. The system might also be used to provide other orally administered agents to mice and other species.