The effect of the active substance content in a rodenticidal agent on the effectiveness of deratization treatments
Authors:   Disinfectology Institute of the Center of Hygiene named after F.F. Erisman of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Komarov Vladimir Yu. , Vikulina Ekaterina Ig. ,   Disinfectology Institute of the Center of Hygiene named after F.F. Erisman of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing
Published: September 2024

House mice, gray rats and other mouse-like rodents pose a threat to human health and cause significant damage to its activities. Despite significant advances in deratization practice, rodent control currently remains a significant problem, since these biological species have a unique genetic ability to rapidly recover and increase their numbers. The rodent control program should be based on data on the ecology, behavior and preferences of rodents, their sensitivity to active substances, the specific situation of a certain object and territory. Each species has its own characteristics. It is necessary to take into account species preferences when developing the composition and form of application of rodenticidal baits. It is important to ensure the achievement of target values in the consumption of the product by rodents, its effectiveness, safety in relation to non-target species and safety during its placement and use. It is necessary to take into account what concentration of the active substance (DV) for rodents will be fatal, how much rodenticidal bait will be required for their death and for how long this amount of bait will be eaten by them. The effectiveness of the conducted deratization treatments is directly influenced by the content of the active substance in the applied rodenticidal agent. The analysis of the effectiveness of rodenticidal baits with different contents of the active substance bromadiolone in relation to house mice and gray rats showed that with a decrease in the concentration of DV in the bait, the period from the beginning of its eating to the onset of irreversible changes in the body of rodents leading to their death occurs. The placement of baits during deratization treatments should take place taking into account the species characteristics of rodents. In terms of body weight, the amount of absorbed DV by the body of a house mouse in comparison with a gray rat when eating rodenticidal bait is significantly higher, which is observed in the average daily and total intake. But in quantitative terms, gray rats consume significantly more bait. For the death of a house mouse, an average of about 8 g of bait is required with a bromadiolone content of 0.005?%, and the minimum amount was 3.2 g. For a gray rat, the average amount of bait was 32.4 g, and the minimum ~ 10 g. Taking into account these data, the amount of bait placed at the facility will vary from the number of rodents and the feedability of baits. A lower content of DV in baits contributes to an increase in their consumption during deratization treatments. With a high number of rodents, the amount of bait placed must be multiplied. Keywords: synanthropic rodents, gray rat, house mouse, deratization measures, anticoagulants, bromadiolone.