Abstract
Rodents cause major economic losses to tree plantations in Australia. This study aimed to determine whether zinc phosphide bait reduced the population size of canefield rats ( Rattus sordidus) on a teak plantation in north Queensland, Australia. Bait was applied at 1 kg ha −1 at two treatment sites and no bait was applied at two paired control sites. Grid trapping was conducted at all four sites immediately before baiting and 7 days after baiting. A total of 137 canefield rats were captured over 1015 trap-nights. Population sizes were estimated by model averaging. The populations at the treatment sites were reduced by 80% and 86% after baiting. No reduction in population size occurred at the control sites. The survivorship of marked rats was 65% and 92% lower at the treatment sites when compared with the paired control sites. The results indicate that zinc phosphide bait is effective in reducing canefield rat populations. No sick or dead non-target species were found by systematic searches at all sites.
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