Describes rodents and their management.

1. Submitted To:
Dr. Sushma Deb
Assistant Professor
Dept. Of Entomology
CPCA, SDAU
Submitted By:
Manish Joshi
PhD (Scholar)
Dept. Of Entomology
CPCA, SDAU

2. • Rats are the most notorious pests of different commodities in
the fields as well as when these commodities are stored.
• A number of crops like vegetables, oilseeds, cereals etc., at
early stage in field, are eaten and contaminated by rats.
• They are also seen playing a vital role in transmission of
public health diseases viz., plague, leptospirosis etc. to humans
and other animals.
Introduction

3. Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Super family: Muroidea
Family: Muridae
Classification

4. Biology
Life span : 1-3 years
Age at puberty : 6-16 weeks
Oestrous cycle : 3-7 days
Duration of heat : 9-24 hours
Mating habit : Promiscuous
Gestation period : 18-30 days
Breeding season : Round the year
Litter size : 1-22
Post - partum heat : 4-96 hours
Breeding potential
/pair/year
: 800-1500
Habits
Sources:Technical bulletin on “Rodent management in Arid Zone” Published by Project Coordinator,
AICNP on Rodent Management, Jodhpur
• Mostly nocturnal
• Can not vomit
• Omnivorous and cannibalistic
• Neophobic / Neophilic

5. The House Rat, Rattus rattus
The House Mouse, Mus musculus
Indian field mouse, Mus booduga The Indian Gerbil, Tatera indica
Soft furred field rat, Millardia meltada
Rodent species

6. Rodent management
1. It has been noticed that the rats restrict their activity within 5-10 meter radius around
the burrow.
2. Methods of killing rats are effective only when carried out on a large scale, covering
large contiguous areas and are repeated time and again. The aim should be to kill
more than 90 per cent of the population otherwise they breed so fast that population
reaches the same level within a few months.
3. The migration of rats from one place to other is also important to born in mind while
planning to manage rat population. The cooperative efforts made by the farmers,
grain handlers and administrators will not provide protection unless as a scheduled
programming is done with a system approach. It should thus occupy a key position
in operational plan for agricultural production and protection.
Rat management is a very complicated problem. It needs a through approach to
minimize the rat menace. Before planning we should know some facts about rats

7. Non-Chemical Management

8. Some methods are given below to deal with the problem.
It checks the movements of house rats and mice into or outside the house, farm,
storage and other building. For this purpose, all smallest and larger openings are
completely, sealed and closed. The edges of all doors, windows and other inlets and
outlets are covered with metal sheets. Concrete walls and shallow foundations should
be constructed. Devices should be installed to keep the door closed. Food grains and
other materials may be kept in metallic container or boxes.
Rat proofing
The heaps of trash, garbage and sweepings should not be allowed for a longer period
near the houses and godowns. The food materials should not be kept in the open
containers. It is very essential to launch clean up programme in the rat infested areas
so that rats may not harbour themselves in the want of food and shelter. In this way
rat population can be minimized.
Cleanliness

9. The traps are employed in the places where rat infestation is small and chemical control
like poison baiting, fumigation is impracticable. There are many types of traps viz., cage
traps, wooden traps, wire traps, snap traps and bamboo traps which are commonly used
in the country. Now the traps manufactured at Jalgaon, Maharastra by galvanized wires
based on the designs recommended by Hoffkins Institute Bombay viz., Bandicoot trap,
double mouth sure success trap and union trap etc., are more efficient, for trapping of
rats. The traps should be cleaned by water after each installation and fresh and attractive
bait materials like breads, fruits etc. should be used.
Traps
Contd…..
Trap: Key For Rodent Management

10. Biological control: Predators like:
CatOwlEagle
Monitor LizardSnake Hedgehog

11. Chemical Management

12. Use of rodenticides is most common practices during severe rat
infestation in various field crops.
Use of chronic poisons (multi dose and slow acting) like bromadiolone
0.005% wax cake, warfarin, diphacinone, Chlorophacinone, brodifacoum,
calciferol - anticoagulants.
Acute poisons (single dose and quick acting) like zinc phosphide 2% or
barium carbonate grain baits are commonly used for the control of rats in the
fields.
Fumigation in burrows by aluminum phosphide tablets (2 tabs of 6 g or half
tab of 3 g per burrow). Give in live burrow, opening must be closed through
soil wherein phosphine gas is generated which kill the rodent.

13. Use of Explosive Paper Tubes (EPT) is developed in 1986 which
contains the explosive of dinitrodizophenol or nickel nitrohydrazino.
Acute poison (Zinc phosphide) single dose acute poison produces
phosphin gas in stomach which creates necrotic lesions and damage to
kidney and finally death due to heart failure within 30 minutes.
While chronic poisons (bromadiolone) act as antagonistic to
vitamin K which required for the production of fibrinogen, inhibit
prothrombin, play role in breaking the blood vessel, blood leak out from
the circulatory system, leads to hemorrhage and die within 20 days
(slowly).

14. This group is generally used to kill the rats with various rodenticides. The rodenticides
can be divided in to two groups
1. Single dose poison: This group comprises acute poison which kill the rats by single
exposure to poison baits. Ex. zinc phosphide
2. Multiple dose poison: These chemicals are effective only after the multiple feeding
of poison baits by rats, because their cumulative effects lead the death of animals.
Ex. warfarin, ratanfin, rodafrin etc.
Some newer rodenticides: Vacor (RH-782), silmurin and bromadiolone are of very recent
origin. They are found to be most effective against rats. Their single dose of poison baits
kills the rats. No bait shyness reflex build up by the use of these poisons. They are safer to
human beings and domestic animals.
Poison baiting and fumigants

15. PREPARATION OF POISON BAIT WITH ZINC PHOSPHIDE
For 1 kg of Pre-bait : 980 g cereal + 20 g oil mix thoroughly with
bare hands
For 1 kg poison bait : 960 g cereal + 20 g oil + 20-25 g Zn3P2 powder
mixed with the help of any stick
Pre-baiting is required prior to Zn3P2 poison baiting
 Do not prepare the poison bait with bare hands. Use gloves and stick for
mixing
Some newer rodenticides: Vacor (RH-782), silmurin and bromadiolone are of very recent
origin. They are found to be most effective against rats. Their single dose of poison baits
kills the rats. No bait shyness reflex build up by the use of these poisons. They are safer to
human beings and domestic animals.

16. For 1 kg Bromadiolone : 960 g cereal + 20 g oil + 20 g bromadiolone bait
concentrate (0.25%) mix thoroughly with the help of
stick
• Do not prepare the poison bait with bare hands. Use gloves and stick for mixing.
• Use any broad leaf as spoon for bait application in burrows/ stations/making
packets
Preparation of poison bait with bromadiolone

17. Poison bait preparation
Burrow baiting
Station baiting
Application of poison bait in field

18. BURROW BAITING
For Zinc Phosphide:
Pre-baiting: @ 8-10 g/burrow 2-3 days prior to poison baiting. (Pre-baiting helps in
acclimatization of rodents to feed on new food at an specific place).
Poison baiting: 6-8 g/borrow for one day only (in largest possible area and in the
same burrows where pre-baiting was done).
For Anticoagulants:
Bromadiolone (0.005%) @ 15-20 g/burrow
Bait placement

19. Keys to ensure effective control by poison baits
• Installation of fresh baits and bait points in rodents high activity area.
• Placement of enough bait points to ensure better access of rodents to poison baits.
• Matching the right bait formulation (loose grain baits/ wax blocks/ pellets)
(eg. if the area is infested by M. musculus only, large number of bait points be
required.)

20. CALENDAR OF OPERATION IN CROP FIELDS
Day 1 : Plugging of burrows and estimation of bait, man power and
poison, etc., removal of weeds, harbourage, etc.
Day 2-3 : Identification of live burrows/ pre-baiting.
Day 4 : Zinc phosphide baiting (2.0%).
Day 5 : Collection and burying of dead rodents.
Day 7 : Plugging of burrows/de-plugging of bandicoot burrows.
Day 8 : Bromadiolone (0.005%) baiting (loose bait/wax cake).
After 10 days, all burrows to be plugged for assessing the success of control
operation.

21. CASE STUDY

23. Table 2.