Lec. 31 Rodent pests and their management.ppsx

Ppt

1. AEN 301 PESTS OF FIELD CROPS AND THEIR
MANAGEMENT (2+1)
Lec. No. Title
31 & 32 RODENTS AND BIRDS AND THEIR
MANAGEMENT
Dr. N. MUTHUKRISHNAN, Ph.D.
Professor (Entomology)
Department of Agricultural Entomology
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Coimbatore 641 003
94862 57548

2. Rodents
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
India
4 families,
43 genera,
104 (14) Sps. economically important
40 % of mammals
One pair of Chisel shaped ‘incisors.
Diastemma formed by absence of
canine and premolar teeth

3. S. No Family Species
1. Hystricidae
(Porcupines)
1. Indian Crested porcupine, Hystrix indica
2. Sqiuridae
(Squirrels)
1. Five stripped squirrel, Funambulus pennenti
2. Three stripped, F. palmarum
3. Western ghat squirrel, F. tristriatus
3. Muridae :
S.F. Gerbillinae
(Gerbils)
1. Indian gerbil, Tatera indica
2. Desert gerbil, Meriones hurriane
3. Hairy footed gerbil Gerbillus gleadowi
4. Muridae :
S.F. Murinae
(Bandicoots, Rats,
Mice)
1. Lesser bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis)
2. Greater bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica)
3. Bush rat (Golunda ellioti)
4. Field mouse (Mus booduga)
5. Brown spiny mouse (Mus platythrix)
6. House mouse (Mus musculus)
7. House rat (Rattus rattus)
8. Cutch rock rat (Rattus cutchicus)
9. Soft furred field rat (Rattus=Millardia meltada)
10. Tree mouse ( Vandeleuria oleracea)
IMPORTANT RODENT PEST/ VECTOR FAUNA

4. Indian Porcupine- Hystrix indica Family: Hystricidae
Large in size (10-18 kg)
Body hairs -modified into long
tapering spine rattling quills
Quills with alternate deep brownish
black and white bands
A long crest of bristles
Widely distributed in India
Gregarious, lives in crevices- Mostly
prefers hillocks
Breed throughout the year
Gestation period: 109- 112 days
Damage Maize, Sugarcane, Potato &
Carrot etc.

5. Squirrels (Marmots, voles)
Family: Squirridae
Characters
•Bushy tail-tail length equal to head and body length
•Squirrels -broadly divided in to two groups
•Flying squirrels (distributed in forests of Himalayas)
•Tree squirrels
Stripped Squirrels
•Striped squirrel : Funambulus palmarum, Funambulus pennati
•Western Ghat squirrel: Funambulus tristriatus
Non striped:
•Himalayan squirrel: Callosciurus pygerthrus

6. Southern Palm Squirrel- Funambulus palmarum
•Bushy tail equal to head and
body length
•Dorsum have three distinct
stripes
•Distributed in South &
Central India
•Diurnal rodent, lives in nests
made on trees
•Breed throughout year.
•Serious Pest of plantation
crops

7. Northern Palm Squirrel : Funambulus pennati
•Bushy tail equal to head
and body length
•Dorsum have five distinct
stripes
•Distributed in Northern &
Central parts of India
•Diurnal rodent , Arboreal
•Breeds from March to
September
•Damage to orchards and
vegetables.

8. Morphology of a Rat

9. Ever-growing incisors : a strong weapon of
rodents making them highly destructive

10. Gerbils, Family: Muridae, Sub Family: Gerbilinae
CHARACTERS:
•Presence of tassel (tuft of hairs) at the end of tail
Major species
• Indian Gerbil
• Desert Gerbil
Others species
•Hairy footed Gerbil: Gerbillus gleadowi
•Little gerbil : Gerbillus nanus (Confined to Rajasthan and
Gujarat)

11. Desert Gerbil : Meriones hurrianae
•Lion faced, medium size weight(40-160g)
•Dorsum is sandy grey, tassel at tip of the tail
•Distributed in North west desert zone of India
•Diurnal habit, with extensive burrow system
•Breeding during Feb -March and July-Sept. Litter size: 1-9
•Crop pests of all desert crops

12. Indian desert gerbil, Meriones hurrianae

13. Indian Gerbil : Tatera indica
•Tail -longer than head and body
•Eyes -larger rounded ears and black tuft
•Distributed throughout India
•Burrows -zig-zag shape with 2-4 opens
•Gregarious, damage to seeds of nuts and fruits
•Reservoir for plague

14. Indian gerbil, Tatera indica
•Destructive to grains
•Reddish grey in colour- white under side
•Head and body: 18 cm. Hairy tail longer than head and body

15. Bandicoots : Family: Muridae; Sub Family: Murinae
CHARACTERS:
•Short tail and rough skin
•Major group of rodents and inflicts major crop losses in pre
and post harvest stages of crops
Major species
•Lesser bandicoot rat
•Larger bandicoot rat
•Short tailed mole rat
•Nesokia indica (Punjab, Haryana,and Parts of UP)

16. Lesser bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis)
Head - round and broad muzzle
Tail -shorter than head, body
Prefers damp areas
Burrows with scooped soil before entrance
Potential rat, one pair can produce more than 800 off springs in
one year

17. Mole rat or lesser bandicoot, Bandicota bengalensis
•Dominant and robust
•Rounded head and broad muzzle
•Dark brown with grayish white belly
•Scaly tail -about 80% of head and body length

18. Larger bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica)
•Very large rat, body weight is > 500 g.
•Fur with plenty of long hairs on back
•Widely distributed in India, expect at mountain region
•Lives near buildings, storage structures
•Breeding from Sept.-March
•Extensive damage to flooring

19. Large bandicoot, Bandicota indica
•Destructive to grains, fruits, vegetables, poultry, irrigation
structures, gutters, huts, buildings etc.
•Heavily built body. Weight 500-l000g, even more
•Tail equal to head and body length, naked
•Ear rounded, upper incisors strong.
•Dorsum blackish brown. Ventral side grey

20. Short tailed field rat, Nesokia indica

21. Rats, Family: Muridae; Sub Family: Murinae
CHARACTERS:
•Soft fur and smooth skin
Species
•Norway rat: Rattus norvegicus
•House rat: Rattus rattus rufescens
•Soft furred Field rat : Millardia meltada
•Hodgson’s Rat: Rattus rattus brunneusculus
•Wroughton’s rat: Rattus rattus wroughtoni

22. Coconut/ Roof rat – Rattus rattus
Bicolor and ringed tail longer than head and body.
Serious pest of coconut in coastal belt.
Commensal rodent
Gestation period - 22 days

23. House rat, Rattus rattus rufescens
•Nocturnal, feed on vegetables,
grain, and preserved materials
Morphology
•Tail exceeds length of head and
body
•Weight: 140-228g,
•Slender body, pointed snout, dorsal
side has various shades of gray and
ventral side paler
Detection:
•Scattered kidney shaped faecal
matter with peculiar odour
•Contours of gnawing on damaged
structures.
•Rat path, foot and tail marks on
dusty and muddy floor

24. Field rat (Soft furred) : Millardia meltada
Dorsum -with soft fur light grey in color.
Tail -bicolor and equal to head and body length.
Distributed throughout India
Nocturnal and fossorial with simple and small
burrows
•5-6 inches long with equal or shorter tail and
about 60g weight
•Ear lobes - large rounded.
•Body covered with soft coat of fur- brownish
grey on upper side and greyish white on under
side
•Irrigated field, bunds, hedges, grasslands.
Nocturnal in habit
•Lives in simple burrows whose openings are
often hidden in bushes

25. Norway rat/sewer rat : Rattus norvegicus
•Nose -blunt with small eyes
and ear
•Tail -shorter than head and
body
•Confined to port cities
usually found far away
from human habitations
•Nocturnal and fossorial, dig
burrows along river banks
and canals.
•Breeds throughout year
•Major Vector for
Leptospirosis

26. Brown rat (brown rat, house rat, wharf rat,
sewer rat), Rattus norvegicus
•Rats -brown with scattered black hairs, gray to yellow-white on
underside
Characteristics
•Heavy body; coarse, shaggy fur;
•Blunt muzzle, small eyes, small ears with dense short hairs
•Scaly, 2-colored tail- darker on top, and shorter than length of head
and body
•Adult droppings - up to 20mm long, capsule shaped with blunt ends

27. Bush rat, Golunda ellioti
•Diurnal, small sized, tail shorter than HB,
•Yellowish brown speckled with black dorsal fur and under
part whitish
•Tail also bi colored
•Found in North-west arid zones of North India.

28. Cutch Rock Rat, Rattus cutchicus
•Medium sized, long tailed rat with soft fur;
•Dorsum grey to brown, Ventrum dull in color.
•Tail either wholly dark or poorly bi-color

29. Mice, Family: Muridae Sub Family: Murinae
CHARACTERS
•Smaller rodents
•Body weight -less than 30 g.
•Cause damage to non-edible articles due to nibbling behaviour
Species
•House mouse : Mus musculus
•Field mouse: Mus booduga
•Spiny field mouse: Mus platythrix

30. Field mouse: Mus booduga
Smaller rodent (10 g.)
Tiny mouse- pale sandy in desert region
and dark brown to grayish in other
regions
Tail shorter than head and body, slender,
short, naked, bicolour
Distributed throughout India
In crop fields, especially in irrigated fields
Nocturnal and fossorial
Year round breeder
Minor pest but due to more number they
accumulate- heavy loss

31. House mouse: Mus musculus
•Body very small, stout tail, bicolour-longer
than 90% of length of head and body
•Dark above and white below.
•Adult droppings -6 mm long, and rod
shaped with pointed ends, but without
ridges
•Brown to gray in colour.
•Distributed throughout country
•Prefers residential premises/ storage
•Nocturnal and fossorial
•Breeds throughout year
•Feeds on grains, grass
•Destructive in houses, stores, godowns,
poultry farms.

32. GROUPS OF MAJOR RODENT BORNE ZOONOTIC DISEASES
•BACTERIAL
•RICKETIAL
•VIRAL
•PROTOZOAN
•METAZOAN

33. BACTERIAL DISEASES
•PLAGUE
•LEPTOSPIROSIS
•RAT BITE FEVER
•SALMONELLOSIS

34. PLAGUE
•Black Death
•Pandemic, decimated human populations of many
countries
•Alexander Yersin identified pathogen, Yersinia pestis
•Reported mortality in 1969-78 in India
•Reappeared in 1994
•876 cases reported
•(596 in Maharashtra, 151 in Gujarat, 68 in Delhi, 50 in
Karnataka 10 in UP & 1 in MP)

35. Crop losses due to rats
World Health Organization
•35-40 million tones of food every
year
•India loses annually 5-8 million
tones
•Around 15-20 per cent of all
edible- lost
•Besides feeding on products-
destroy a substantial quantity (20
times more than the
consumption) by spillage and
contamination with their
droppings urine, body hair, etc.

36. Estimation of losses
World Health Organization
•Paddy - 4.6 to 54.0%
•Wheat -11.1 to 12.5%
•Sorghum - 5.9 to 7.0%
•Barley - 5.8 to 8.0%
•Maize -14.0 to 16.0%
•Grams -14.0 to 20.0%
•Groundnut - 4.2 to 26.0%
•Sugarcane - 2.2 to 4.5%
•Coconut - 5.5 to 24.0%
•Post harvest and storage -
2.5 to 30.0%

37. Crop losses- Rice
According to ICAR-Directorate of Rice Research- Technologies for
rice production (1990)
•Responsible for 5 to 30% losses in rice alone
•61.0% damage on ADT 36 variety - due to high palatability of
tillers
•All stages -attacked

38. Crop losses- Rice
Nursery
•Germinating seeds -eaten away
During growth phase
•More damage at 3 to 4 nodes stage
Sheath blade stage-
•Highly preferred stage
Ripening stage
•Cut mature ear heads and take to
burrows
•A marked depression -seen in
damaged areas- noticed 3 to 31/2
meters away from bunds

39. Crop losses – Oil seeds
Groundnut
•Infestation during maturity stage
•Take away pods to burrows
•Root portions-damaged in a
spreading variety and affected plants
get wilted
Gingelly
•Mole and grass rats cut capsules
along with stalks and remove to
burrows

40. Crop losses – Pulses
•Matured pods
Yield loss
•65.0 and 61.0 per cent on
black gram and green gram

41. Crop losses – Sugarcane
•Ideal habitat for rodents
•Damage by chewing out a portion of stalk internodes
•Kill stalk or severely reduce sugar production as
microorganisms enter wounds

42. Crop losses – Coconut
•Cumulative damage - serious
problem
•Prefer young and tender nuts
•One or two holes -made just below
portion where stalk is situated
•Enter bony endocarp, drink water
and eat edible portion
•Holes made -serrated and uneven
•Damaged nuts drop down in a
week’s time

43. Crop losses – Tuber crops
•Production of tuber crops
like cassava - difficult with
rat infestation
•Tubers -completely
damaged and lost market
value

44. Crop losses - Millets

45. Crop losses – Fruits

46. Control Methods
Inspection
Sanitation
Trapping,
baits repellents
Biological control
Exclusion
Principles of Rat Management in Houses and Godowns

47. Inspection
Ten signs or indication for monitoring
1. Droppings
2. Tracks
3. Gnaw marks
4. Burrowing
5. Run ways
6. Grease marks
7. Urine stains
8. Live or dead rodents
9. Rodent sounds
10. Rodent odours.

48. Sanitation
•Rodents find warmth and shelter
inside structures-food their first
reason for living in and around
structures
–Eliminate rodent food sources in
and around structures
•Foods – to be kept in sealed
containers made of materials
difficult for rodents to chew through
such as metal and hard plastic
•Water -not be allowed to stand
around air-conditioning units-Repair
leaking pipes

49. Exclusion
•Rats -enter structures through ½-inch holes and mice through
¼-inch holes- seal those external entry points
•Do with ¼- inch mesh metal screen or hardware cloth, metal
wool products, concrete mixes or durable sealants for smaller
openings
•To help prevent rodents from burrowing under structure, a
metal band should extend two feet below ground
•Rodents enter structures through doors-Doors should be kept
closed
•Use various types of tin bands for agricultural and horticultural
crops and in storage godowns

50. Various types of tin bands

51. Trapping
•Glue boards
•Cage traps

52. Repelling
•Ultra sound rat and mouse repeller
•+ 30,000 – 60,000 HZ

53. Biological control
Immuno-contraception
•Process of inducing body’s immune
system to attack reproductive cells of
own species, thus preventing animal
from breeding
•Biological control of mice - achieved by
viral –vectored ‘immuno-
contraception’
•Trained cats and dogs - also used for
control of rats
•Bird perches on field bunds and inside
field for owls for predation on rats
•Encourage natural check of rats by not
killing rat snakes, water snakes,
vultures, oweleds, kites, cats and dogs

54. RODENTICIDES
oSubstance used to kill rats and mice
•Types of rodenticides
oBaits
oTracking powders
oFumigants
•Classes of rodenticides baits
oAnti–coagulants
oCholecalciferol
oBromethalin
oZinc phosphide
oStrychnine

55. Anti–Coagulants
oBlocks vitamin k dependent synthesis of blood clotting
substance prothrombin
oPredisposes animal to wide spread internal bleeding
resulting in death
oWarfarin
oBromadiolone
oCoumafuryl
oDiphacionone
oChlorophacinone
oCoumarin

56. Cholecalciferols
oVitamin D3
oAffect calcium and phosphate homeostasis in the body
oBromethalin :
oMitochondrial poison
oSkin and eye irritation
oRespiratory arrest
oStrychnine
oCauses violent convulsions
oRespiratory failure and death
oZinc phosphide
oWhen ingested releases phosphine gas from reaction with
water and stomach juices
oLethal gas- Death

57. Fumigants or Lethal Gases
oAluminium phosphide
oCalcium phosphide
oMagnesium phosphide
oMethyl bromide

58. Tracking powders
oZinc phosphide and other anticoagulants- used as
tracking powders
oUseful in controlling mice where food is plentiful and
good bait acceptance is difficult to achieve.
oLaid on the runways
oStick to the foot of the mice
oIngested while grooming- death ensues.

59. Rodenticide (%) Usage rate
Chlorofacinone 0.005 Multiple feed
Brodifacoum 0.005 Single feed
Difenacoum 0.005 Single feed
Bromadiolone 0.005
(Roban, Moosh Moosh)
Multiple feed
Brodifacoum 0.005 Single feed
Difenacoum 0.005 Single feed
Denatonium benzoate 0.001 Single feed

60. Rodenticide Brand Name
Zinc phosphide
Aluminium phosphide
Ratol
Celphos, Phostoxin
oZinc phosphide 80% (inert matter 20%)
oAluminium phosphide 56-60%, available as tablets
(3 gm) and pellets (0.6 gm)
oReleases 1/3 of their weight as phosphine gas

61. Holistic management methods
Field
•Carry over control operations in larger areas-prevent re-infestation
from adjoining areas
•Dig out burrows and kill at the beginning of season during
rectification of bunds- narrow bunds-difficult to construct burrows
•Avoid keeping hay stakes near fields-excellent harborage for rats
•Single dose poisoning
–If infestation-widespread-acute
–Pre-baiting (food without poison) for few times-to avoid bait-
shyness-and baited food (millet grain or flour 95 parts+
vegetable oil 3 parts + zinc phosphide or aresinous oxide or
thallium sulphate 2 parts)
–Produce pulmonary hyperemia leading to paralysis of heart

62. Management
Field
•Chronic or multiple poisoning
–Warfarin 0.5% or bromadiolone 0.005% (Food material 450g+ edible
oil 10g + powdered jaggery 15g + antocoagulant warfarin 0.5% 25g or
bromadiolone 0.005% 10g)
–Act as anticoagulants-inhibit prothrombin production-external and
internal hemorrhage
•Fumigation
–Aluminium phosphide 1.5 g pellets-insert in live burrows-seal
burrows-humidity important-effective in humid zones and irrigated
fields
•Trapping
–Suitable for small population
–Indigenous local rat traps –bow traps at 50-60/ha-only few enter traps
–Cage traps/spring death trap/death fall trap/ bamboo noose trap-
continuous cleaning and washing-frequent change of places of traps-
to avoid trap shyness

63. Management
Field
•Repellents
–Substances (chemicals) or noises to force rats to enter
godowns/premises where poison-baits -kept
–Malathion 50 EC and cycloheximide- repellents for rattus rattus
–Ultrasound or ultrasonic vibrations-new idea in the control of rats
•Environmental control
–Avoid dilapidated conditions of buildings or godowns’s refuses on
streets, neglet of patch of land or field and high bunds around
fields
–No congenial surrondings for living and survival
–New buildings with proper designs, repairing of old buildings,
quick disposal of refuses, lowest and thinnest bunds
–Publicity to educate people through audio-visuals on advantages
of living in rat free surrounding

64. Management
Field
Biological agents
•Bird perches on field bunds and inside field for owls for predation
on rats
•Encourage natural check of rats by not killing rat snakes, water
snakes, vultures, oweleds, kites, cats and dogs
Godown
•Keep multidose or chronic antocoagulant rodenticides in small
cups on rat run and dark places-Replace consumed bait daily-
collect dying rats and bury
•Use WATER-SOLUBLE BAIT (MIX 25G OF WATER-SOLUBLE ANTI-
COAGULANT IN 475 ML OF WATER)-keep in many places
•Once rat population contained –discontinue baiting- remove all
baited food and destroy