The Roof Rat
The three major pest species
of rodents are the Norway Rat, the Roof Rat, and the
House Mouse. These three rodents are known
as common pests, which describes their ability to
successfully cohabit with man. They are common in
the main population centres in Australia and most
countries throughout the world. Since early times,
rodents have been responsible for the loss and contamination
of feed from crop stage through to storage. Rodents
have been associated with the transmission of disease
organisms, the most notable being the occurrence of
Bubonic Plague in Europe, causing the loss of 25 million
lives.
Rodent Biology
As climatic conditions become less
favourable during the onset of winter months, rodents
move indoors looking for both shelter and food. However,
in commercial premises rodents can be a problem all
year round, and in certain instances, mice can attain
plague proportions in rural areas.
Rodents construct their nests utilising
soft materials, such as shredded paper or fabrics,
close to areas where they scavenge for food and water.
These nests are usually situated in wall cavities,
roof voids or underfloor areas, and in the case of
Norway Rats, in burrows in garbage tips, and other
similar sites. The adult female is capable of giving
birth to 4-6 litters per year, each litter containing
between 5-10 young, which themselves are capable of
reproduction three months after birth. Within a period
of a year the mating of a single pair of rodents can
result in a rodent population of 400-700.
Rodents actively forage for food at night using the
same routes of movement to and from the food sources.
Their diet includes food material of both animal and
plant origin and apart from mice, access to water
is necessary. Mice can obtain water from foodstuffs
providing the food is sufficiently moist.
Although the vision of rodents is
poor, they are complemented with other senses which
are extremely sensitive. Their sense of smell and
taste are so highly developed they can detect minute
quantities of chemicals in foodstuffs, and this can
lead to 'bait shyness'. They are equipped with whiskers
and guard hairs which enable them to feel their way
in the darkness with little difficulty. As previously
mentioned, rodents are nocturnal and therefore activity
is seldom observed during daylight hours, so it is
important to recognise signs of their presence.
Rodents deposit their droppings on
all surfaces on which they travel and this, together
with stains caused by their almost continual urination,
provide obvious indications of the presence of rodents.
Greasy smear marks also become evident along their
main routes of movement where they make contact with
obstacles. Rodents are equipped with incisor teeth
that continually grow, and it is essential they gnaw
at frequent intervals to ensure that these teeth are
sufficiently short to enable them to feed and fight.
Fire can result from short circuiting caused when
rodents gnaw electrical conduiting.
Rodent control
As with all pest management
programs, an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach
is an integral part of successful rodent control.
IPM involves consideration of all control procedures
including attention to sanitation and hygiene, trapping,
proofing of entry points, and the use of baiting procedures.
All control procedures are preceded by a thorough
inspection of the entire premises to identify the
rodent and to define the extent to the infestation.
- Termites - Fleas
- Cockroaches - Silverfish
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- Spiders - Mosquitos
- Rodents -
