Typical pest control work was the applying of a pesticide powder, or spray, to apple trees (Snelling, 2004, p. 46), which was potentially dangerous work due to the temperamental nature of the mechanisms which were used to apply the powder or spray. Furthermore, with the help of farmers, Kramer accounts that the Land Army helped to eradicate the Colorado beetle. Another common task for the Land Girls was the catching of rats – much to the dismay of the more squeamish girls. The propaganda slogan of the time was ‘Kill That Rat: It’s Doing Hitler’s Work‘. The process involved the laying of sugared bait and clearing away the dead rats. (Mant, 1994)
