Developing a new resetting tool for controlling rats
A resetting toxin device (the “Spitfire”) has been designed that delivers a toxic paste to a rat’s ventral surface when it passes through a tunnel. The rat grooms off the paste and ingests the toxin. The system was assessed in cage trials and one field trial. The purpose of the cage trials was to in...
Published in: | New Zealand Journal of Ecology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
New Zealand Ecological Society
2023
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10182/16015 https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000953321800001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=42fe17854fe8be72a22db98beb5d2208 https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.47.3517 |
Summary: | A resetting toxin device (the “Spitfire”) has been designed that delivers a toxic paste to a rat’s ventral surface when it passes through a tunnel. The rat grooms off the paste and ingests the toxin. The system was assessed in cage trials and one field trial. The purpose of the cage trials was to investigate whether a range of toxins can be delivered by the Spitfire to rats (Rattus rattus and R. norvegicus), namely 0.55% sodium fluoroacetate (1080), 0.2% brodifacoum, 15% cholecalciferol, and 12.5% zinc phosphide. The trials with 1080, brodifacoum, and zinc phosphide were successful with > 85% of rats ingesting lethal doses. The trials with cholecalciferol were less successful with only 58% of rats dying. A one-month pilot field trial was undertaken using 1080 in the Spitfires. There was a knockdown in rat (and stoat Mustela erminea) abundance, establishing proof of concept for the Spitfire delivery system with this toxin. The long-term, effective control of introduced rats will require a range of toxins with different modes of action. The Spitfire could be a useful additional control tool for rats and is currently being re-engineered to be made more reliable. |
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