Abstract
Mus musculus and Rattus sp. are considered pest species because they reach high densities in urban areas, crop fields and food storage and productive systems such as breeding farms and orchards. Their control relies mainly on rodenticide application, but the effectiveness of this application is reduced due to behavioural responses and resistance. Novel methods are based on the use of chemical signals as odours that may be attractants, repellents or may reduce the reproductive success of pest species. The aim of this paper is to study the aversive effect of TMT, cat urine and cat body odour on predator-inexperienced Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus under laboratory conditions. The experimental apparatus comprised three boxes connected by PVC pipes in a linear arrangement. In lateral boxes, odour sources or distilled water were introduced, while animals were placed in the central box at the beginning of the experiment. Rats showed freezing behaviour, reduced visits in the presence of TMT and cat fur. Mice reduced their visits with cat body and cat urine. This study provides evidence of the usefulness of using fear responses as a way to control rodent pests, which must be adapted to the environment and species to be applied.
Highlights
Human activity causes environmental changes that have large effects on many animal species
The aim of this paper is to study the aversive effect of TMT, cat urine and cat body odour on predator-inexperienced M. musculus and R. norvegicus individuals under laboratory conditions
We constructed models in which we considered as response variables the total number of visits to the odour box (Visits) and the number of seconds in which the animal stayed at the odour compartment (Duration), considering the total time as a sum of the duration in each visit
Summary
Human activity causes environmental changes that have large effects on many animal species. While in many cases these effects are negative, many rodent species benefit from anthropogenic changes because of an increase in food sources or refuges (in agricultural or urban areas) or a decrease in predator density [1]. These species may reach pest densities in anthropized habitats, causing several damages through the consumption of food, contamination, damaging building structures, reducing distribution of some endangered species and transmitting diseases to both humans and domestic animals [2,3,4,5,6].
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