Comparative Wax Blocks Rodenticides Palatability Evaluation Against Rattus Rattus On Poultry Farm Facilities

Rodents are frequent pests on a farm environment in Brazil. Their presence usually is related with general
animal stress, loss of productivity and food waste. Among several species that may occur on this kind of facility, there is Rattus rattus, also known as the roof rat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the comparative palatability of 3 distinct wax blocks – all available in Brazilian marketing for rodent control in 2013, when the trial was done – on the species mentioned above. The tested blocks were: P1: 20g wax block - 0.005% Brodifacoum (Klerat Blocos®), P2: 20g wax block - 0.005% Brodifacoum and P3: 20g wax block - 0,005% Brodifacoum. Palatability tests on Rattus rattus were undertaken at Bastos city, São Paulo, at a laying eggs chicken facility. For sixty days, consumption was evaluated in 8 strategic points in an animal feed deposit. All the baiting points contained P1, P2 and P3 simultaneously in a random order. Consumption was evaluated by weighting the blocks every 15 days after field exposure; bait replacement was also done every 15 days. P1 consumption was 1757% higher than P2 and there was no consumption of P3 when offered together with P1 and P2. Results showed that P1 has superior palatability when compared to all competitors. The obtained information is valuable when designing an effective rodent program.