Neophobia in wild rats is elicited by using bait stations but not bait trays

Abstract

ABSTRACTBrown rats (Rattus norvegicus) are among the most common vertebrates often becoming a major pest in urban environments. Managing rat populations is difficult, given the complex behaviours these murids can display. To help improve local control, we studied the response of wild rats to bait stations comparing baits placed on three different kinds of surfaces (on the ground, on trays and in bait stations) near burrows. We show that rats neither avoided nor preferred any tray type in particular – the latency to pick up the food pellet from the ground did not differ from the latency to pick it up from trays. However, the latency to pick the food pellet was significantly higher when food was placed in bait stations. We conclude that for effective administration of toxic baits, common bait stations are not the most effective method and should be used only in cases when placing baits directly on the ground or on a tray poses a threat to other animals and humans.