Comparative Rodenticides Palatability Against Rattus Rattus And Mus Musculus On Poultry Farm Facilities

Rodents are frequent pests on a farm environment in Brazil. Among several species that may occur on this kind of facility, there are Rattus rattus and Mus musculus, also known as the roof rat and mouse, respectively. The aim of this study was to evaluate the comparative palatability of 6 distinct blocks against a recent released extruded block (Talon Blocos XT®), called here as P1, on both species mentioned above. The tested blocks were: P1: 0.005% Brodifacoum extruded block (20g), P2: 0.0025% Difethialone extruded block (15g), P3: 0.005% Difenacoum compressed block (20g), P4: 0.005% Bromadiolone extruded block (20g), P5: 0.005% Flocoumafen compressed block (20g), P6: 0.005% Brodifacoum wax block (20g) and P7: 0.005% Brodifacoum wax block (20g). Palatability tests against Rattus rattus were undertaken at Iacri city, São Paulo, in a quails creation facility. During sixty days, 20 bait stations were positioned on strategic points. Ten bait stations contained P1, P2, P3 and P4 simultaneously and the other ten bait stations contained P1, P5, P6 and P7 simultaneously. Consumption was evaluated by weighting the blocks every 15 days, with bait replacement at 15 and 30 days after the beginning of the trials. After that, bait replacement was made whenever there was block consumption noticed during the evaluations. P1 consumption was 122.05% higher than P2, 1950.52% higher than P3, 1950.52% higher than P4, 223.02% higher than P5, 2679.36% higher than P6 and 2114.06% higher than P7. Palatability tests against Mus musculus were undertaken at Bastos city, São Paulo, at a laying eggs chicken facility. During sixty days, 20 bait stations were positioned on strategic points. Ten bait stations contained P1, P2, P3 and P4 simultaneously and the other ten bait stations contained P1, P5, P6 and P7 simultaneously. Consumption was evaluated by weighting the blocks every 15 days, with bait replacement at 15 and 30 days after the beginning of the trials. After that, bait replacement was made whenever there was block consumption noticed during the evaluations. P1 consumption was 117.15% higher than P2, 324.43% higher than P3, 373.85% higher than P4, 144.76% higher than P5, 862.26% higher than P6 and 682.14% higher than P7. Results showed that P1 has superior palatability when compared to all competitors, for both species. The obtained information is valuable when designing an effective rodent program where an attractive bait product is required.