Procedures for Sampling Urban Rat Populations for Anticoagulant Resistance Evaluation

Abstract

Procedures are described which have been developed by the New York State Department of Health for evaluating anticoagulant rodenticide resistance in project cities of the U.S. Urban Rat Control Program. After several years of preliminary study, it has become necessary to set more rigorous standards for the manner in which rats are collected for testing. The statistical background is described in conjunction with the guidelines for planning the trap-sampling program to be used by the project cities. The procedures are designed specifically for accumulating data on urban rat populations in a statistically sound manner. That is, the rats will be trapped in sufficient numbers and in a well-distributed fashion, so as to be representative of the greater urban rat populations from which they come. Additional details are given concerning the basic statistical analysis of the data obtained from the sampling procedures. The methods described should be easy to follow and are generally applicable to the assessment of anticoagulant resistance in rodents in urban areas throughout the world.