Anti rodent measures – Sanitation, Traps, Poisons, Fumigation, Chemosterilants

Antirodent measures are of mainly 5 types:

  • Sanitation
    • Environmental sanitation is probably the most effective method for controlling the rodent population
    • Rodents require food, water and shelter to survive, depriving them of these can will significantly decrease their population
    • Sanitation measures include:
      • Proper waste disposal – prevent access to rodents
      • Making building rodent proof
      • Closing rat holes using concrete
      • Proper food storage
  • Rat trapping
    • Rat traps use baits to capture rats
    • But rats are very skilled at avoiding rat traps
    • The Haffkine Institute, Mumbai has developed an innovative rat trap which can trap upto 25 rats
    • Rat traps should be used by atleast 5 percent of the population to be effective in controlling rats
    • Once the rats are captured, they can be killed by drowning
  • Rat poisons (rodenticides)
    • Rodenticides are poisonous chemicals used to kill rats
    • They are of 2 types
      • Single dose rodenticides
        • Kill rats after ingestion of 1 dose
        • eg: Barium carbonate, zinc phosphide
      • Multiple dose rodenticides – kills rats after ingestion of multiple doses over a period of days
        • They are mostly anticoagulants
        • eg: warfarin, pindone
    • The advantage of multiple dose rodenticides are that the other rats are not immediately alerted to the poisonous nature of the bait and continue to consume them
    • But long term use of these rodenticides have resulted in development of resistance
  • Fumigation
    • Fumigation can kill both rats and fleas
    • Some of the commonly used fumigants are:
      • calcium cyanide (cyanogas)
      • methyl bromide
      • carbon disulphide
      • sulphur dioxide
    • calcium cyanide can be used to fumigate rat burrows
    • It is prepared in powder form and pumped into rat burrows using ‘cyanogas foot pumps’
    • The opening is then sealed
    • Cyanogas powder on contact with moisture gives off hydrogen cyanide gas which is lethal to both rats and fleas
    • Care should be taken during fumigation as exposure is hazardous to humans and other livestock
  • Chemosterilants
    • These are chemicals which cause temporary or permanent sterility in either sex or both sexes
    • They are still in experimental stage

Also read about Flea control measures

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