Non-lethal mouse repellents: evaluation of cinnamamide as a repellent against commensal and field rodents

Abstract

Cinnamamide, a non-lethal repellent, deters feeding by a wide range of avian species. We investigated the potential of cinnamamide as a repellent for house mice ( Mus musculus) and wood mice ( Apodemus sylvaticus), using a 3 day, ‘short-term no-choice test’. Both species were presented with cinnamamide-treated food at 0.8% w/w. After an initial sampling period, both the house mice and wood mice reduced their consumption of cinnamamide-treated food to 32% and 17%, respectively, of control (pre-trial) consumption. Consumption of treated food by house mice remained depressed for the remainder of the trial, suggesting that at this concentration, the house mice had developed a strong and persistent learned aversion to the treated food. In contrast, the wood mice rapidly habituated to the presence of cinnamamide and food consumption returned to control (pre-trial) levels on days 2 and 3. In a subsequent trial to determine the dose-response relationship between cinnamamide concentration and consumption of treated food by the house mouse, cinnamamide reduced food consumption at concentrations as low as 0.1% w/w and this reduction increased with increasing concentration. Our results indicate that cinnamamide has the potential for use against the commensal rodent Mus musculus in situations where use of lethal control methods could be hazardous (e.g. food stores).