Enhancement of poison bait acceptance through taste additives in Rattus norvegicus

Abstract

Abstract The palatability of poison bait plays a vital role in successfully controlling rodent populations. If the bait is not well accepted there will be poor rodent kill and the whole rodent control operation will be a waste. Unpalatable bait may also lead to a bait aversion trend in rodents. In order to increase poison bait acceptance, six taste additives—yeast, egg shell, egg yolk, sheep blood, chicken blood and minced meat—were incorporated 2% (w/w) individually in a bait base of wheat flour and broken rice. Under no-choice tests (single feed), R. norvegicus showed potential for preference of additive baits. In paired-choice tests (two feed), baits with yeast and egg shell were significantly preferred against plain bait (reference). Yeast additive was first and egg shell second in order of preference. A similar order of preference was observed in three feed choice tests. Yeast additive, which was highly preferred in choice tests, increased acceptability (palatability) by 68.2% and 60.1% of the bait containing brodifacoum and bromadiolone, respectively against non-additive poison bait (reference). It is therefore concluded that yeast additive 2% in poison bait can be helpful in enhancing poison bait acceptance by R. norvegicus , thus achieving successful control of this important commensal pest.