Improvement of rodent pest control strategy: II - Response of wild brown rats to baits containing preservative previously exposed to unfavourable environmental conditions
Abstract
Control of brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) is an indispensable measure of protection of
human population and domestic animals, aimed at preventing the spread of infectious
diseases, and a measure of protection of goods and commodities that the brown rat
can damage by its presence and activities. Rodent control procedures in environments
with unfavourable conditions, such as high temperature and humidity, may fail due to
reduced bait palatability caused by its degradation. Baits were prepared based on OEPP/
EPPO recommendations, while ECHA recommendation was followed for bait exposure to
unfavourable environmental conditions. Placebo baits were prepared by mixing ground
maize grain and paraffin. Test baits, made by mixing the placebo bait with sorbic acid, were
exposed to unfavourable environmental conditions (temperature 30-35 ⁰C and humidity
90-95%). Brown rats previously captured from a wild population were used as the test
organism. After an acclimation period, the animals were subjected to a four-day choice
feeding test in which they were simultaneously offered placebo and test baits. The average
bait palatability was unchanged, and the palatability of bait containing the preservative was
48.85 %. Furthermore, the preservative had no influence on bait consumption, compared
to baits in the pre-test period, as there was no statistical difference in total amounts of bait
consumed in the tests. The results indicate that 1% sorbic acid can be used as a potentially
good additive to baits that are planned to be used in sewage systems and other areas where
unfavorable environmental conditions prevail and there is a risk of rapid mold development
and bait decay.
References
Akhtar, N., Hayee, S., Idnan, M., Nawaz, F., & BiBi, S. (2023). Rodents human zoonotic pathogens transmission: Historical background and future prospects. In Shah M. M. (ed.) Rodents and Their Role in Ecology, Medicine and Agriculture. file:///C:/Users/Tanja%20Bla%C5%BEi%C4%87/Downloads/1136612%20(1).pdf
Almeida, A., Corrigan, R., & Sarno, R. (2013): The economic impact of commensal rodents on small businesses in Manhattan’s Chinatown: trends and possible causes. Suburban Sustainability, 1(1), pp 13. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=subsust
Anonimus (1988). Final report on the safety assessment of sorbic acid and potassium sorbate. Journal of the American College of Toxicolog y, 7(6), 837-880. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.3109/10915818809078711
Bajčić, A., Petronijević, R.B., Sefer, M., Trbović, D., Đorđević, J., Cirić, J., & Nikolić, A. (2021). Sorbates and benzoates in meat and meat products: Importance, application and determination. 61st Internatioonal Meat Industry Conference, Zlatibor. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 854, (012005). doi:10.1088/1755-1315/854/1/012005
Battersby, S., Hirschhorn, R.B., & Amman, B.R. (2008). Commensal rodents. In Xavier Bonnefoy X., Kampen H. & Sweeney K. (eds.) Public health significance of urban pests (pp 387-419). Copenhagen, Denmark: WHO Regional Office for Europe. https://saludambiental.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Urbanpest-OMS.pdf
Blažić, T., Đurović-Pejčev, R., Đorđević, T., Jovičić, I., Međo, I., Stojnić, B., & Jokić, G. (2024). Improvement of rodent pest control strategy: I - Selection of an adequate preservative for bait base longevity under unfavourable environmental conditions. Pesticides and Phytomedicine, 39(2), 35-41. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2298/PIF2402035B
Blažić, T., Jokić, G., Vukša, M., & Đedović, S. (2017). Acceptability of wheat baits pre-treated with high temperature and humidity to commensal rodent species. In Z. Borowski, W. Olech and A. Suchecka (eds.), Abstracts of 11th European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference (p 14). Warsaw: European Bison Friends Society. https://ripest.pesting.org.rs/handle/123456789/685
Buckle, A.P. (1994). Damage assessment and damage surveys. In Buckle AP and Smith RH (eds.) Rodent pests and their control, (pp. 219-248). Oxon, UK: CAB International.
Channon, D., Channon, E., Roberts, T., & Haines, R. (2006). Hotspots: are some areas of sewer network prone to re-infestation by rats (Rattus norvegicus) year after year? Epidemiology & Infection, 134, 41-48. doi: 10.1017/S0950268805004607
Channon, D., Cole, M., & Cole, L. (2000). A long-term study Rattus novergicus in the London Borough of Enfield using baiting returns as an indicator of sewer population levels. Epidemiology & Infection, 125(2), 441-445. doi:10.1017/s095026889900446x
Diagne, C., Ballesteros-Mejia, L., Cuthbert, R.N., Bodey, T.W., Fantle-Lepczyk, J., Angulo, E. ... Courchamp, F. (2023). Economic costs of invasive rodents worldwide: the tip of the iceberg. PeerJ, 11(e14935). doi: 10.7717/peerj.14935
ECHA (2023). ECHA Guidance on the biocidal products regulation. Volume II Efficacy - Assessment and evaluation (Parts B+C), Version 6. Helsinki, Finland: ECHA.
EPPO (2004). Efficacy evaluation of rodenticides: laboratory tests for evaluation of the toxicity and acceptability of rodenticides and rodenticide preparations – PP1/113(2). EPPO Guidelines for Efficacy Evaluation of Plant Protection Products, Miscellaneous, Rodenticides (pp 23-35). Paris, France: EPPO.
Fozzard, J., Murphy, G., Olbury, D., & Fearon, S. (2014). Sewer baiting for rats in the United Kingdom- is it money down the drain? In Muller, G., Pospischil, R. and Robinson, W.H. (eds), Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Urban Pests (pp 285-289). Veszprem, Hungary: OOK-Press Kft. https://www.icup.org.uk/media/lwhn0cek/icup1124.pdf
Gajdov, V., Jokić, G., Savić, S., Zekić, M., Blazić, T., Rajković, M., & Petrović, T. (2024). Genotyping of Leptospira spp. in wild rats leads to first time detection of L. kirshneri serovar Mozdok in Serbia. Frontiers in Microbiology, 15(1379021). doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1379021
Hrgović, N., Vukićević, Z., & Kataranovski, D. (1991). Deratizacija: suzbijanje populacija štetnih glodara. Gornji Milanovac: Dečje novine.
Jokić, G., Blažić, T., Đurović-Pejčev, R., Đorđević, T., Međo, I., Marić, I., & Jovičić, I. (2024). Postupak formulacije biocida-rodenticida, namenjenog za primenu u uslovima povišene relativne vlažnosti i temperature (Technical report), pp 1-23.
Jokić G., Blažić T., Rajković, M., Radić Vukičević, O., Savić, S., Gajdov, V., & Petrović, T. (2023). Distribution of Leptospira spp. in Norway rat population in Belgrade, Serbia. Julius Kuhn Archiv, 473 (138) (Zaccaroni, M., Mori E. & Jacob J. (eds.), Book of abstract, 13th European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference.). https://ripest.pesting.org.rs/handle/123456789/587
Jokić, G., Blažić, T., Rajković, M., Radić Vukičević, O., Sibinović Zlatić, R., Dragićević, D., & Stojnić, B. (2022). Prisustvo bakterije Leptospira kod sivog pacova (Rattus norvegicus) poreklom iz skladišta žitarica. Zbornik rezimea radova, XVII savetovanje o zaštiti bilja, Zlatibor (pp 25-26). Beograd: Društvo za zaštitu bilja Srbije.
Kataranovski, D., & Kataranovski, M. (2021). Štetni glodari: biologija, epizootiologija, ekologija i kontrola brojnosti (str. 1-1058). Beograd: NNK Iternacional.
Luo, X., Yu, S., Zhu, Y., & Li, X. (2012). Trace metal contamination in urban soils of China. Science of the Total Environment, 421-422, 17-30. Doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.04.020
Meerburg, B.G., Singleton, G.R., & Kijlstra, A. (2009). Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health. Critical Reviews in Microbiology. 35(3), 221-270. file:///C:/Users/Tanja%20Bla%C5%BEi%C4%87/Downloads/Criticalreviewsmicrobioldef%20(1).pdf
Pickett, S.T.A., Cadenasso, M.L., Grove, J.M., Boone, C.G., Groffman, P.M., Irwin, E. ...Waren, P. (2011). Urban ecological systems: scientific foundations and a decade of progress. Journal of Environmental Management, 92(3), 331-362. doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.08.022
Pustahija, T., Petrović, V., Ristić, M., Jokić, G., Blažić, T., & Medić, S. (2024). Factors associated with the incidence of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and leptospirosis in the territory of AP Vojvodina, Serbia. Book of Abstracts, XXVI Symposium of Epizootiologist and Epidemiologist. Belgrade (pp 166-167). Belgrade: Serbian Veterinary Society.
Stopforth, J.D., Sofos, J.N. & Busta, F.F. (2005): Sorbic acid and sorbates. In Davison, P.M., Sofos, J.N. & Branen, A.L. (eds.). Antimicrobials in food (Third edition) (pp 49-90). Taylor & Francis Group. http://base.dnsgb.com.ua/files/book/Agriculture/Foods/Antimicrobialsin-Food.pdf
Twigg G (1975). The brown rat. Exeter, UK: David & Charles. Wagacha, J.M., & Muthomi, J.W. (2008). Mycotoxin problem in Africa: Current status, implications to food safety and health and possible management strategies. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 124(1), 1-12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18258326/
Wittmer, I.K., Bader, H.P., Scheidegger, R., Singer, H., Luck, A., Hanke, I. ... Stamm, C. (2010). Significance of urban and agricultural land use for biocide and pesticide dynamics in surface waters. Water Research, 44(9), 2850-2862. doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2010.01.030
Authors retain copyright of the published papers and grant to the publisher the non-exclusive right to publish the article, to be cited as its original publisher in case of reuse, and to distribute it in all forms and media.
The published articles will be distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-SA). It is allowed to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and remix, transform, and build upon it for any purpose, even commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the license is provided, it is indicated if changes were made and the new work is distributed under the same license as the original.
Users are required to provide full bibliographic description of the original publication (authors, article title, journal title, volume, issue, pages), as well as its DOI code. In electronic publishing, users are also required to link the content with both the original article published in Pesticidi i fitomedicina (Pesticides and Phytomedicine) and the licence used.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.