Rodent pest control

Abstract

Background. Rodent pests are natural reservoirs and vectors of a vast array of human and animal diseases caused by bacteria, rickettsia, viruses, protozoans, fungi and some parasites. The most important risk factor for human infection with Trichinella is the rearing of pigs on small farms and by rural households, if rodent pest control is not conducted regularly. Rodent pests cause economic losses by consuming, contaminating and/or damaging foods intended for human or animal consumption. Scope and Approach. The aim of this work is to point out the epidemiological and epizootiological importance of regular rodent control, and the importance of integrated use of all measures in deratization, as well as mistakes which can be made in implementing this procedure. Key Findings and Conclusions. The control of populations of pest synanthropic and hemisynanthropic rodents is a very complex and delicate task to carry out. Given all characteristics of the majority of rodent pest species, e.g. high reproductive potential, extraordinary adaptation to life in a variety of habitats and ability to develop resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides, the issue of controlling the number of rodent pests is considerably more problematic than it might seem at first glance. Therefore, appropriate scientific and professional knowledge is necessary to accomplish effective rodent control, which if done improperly, can have far-reaching negative consequences for human populations, non-target species and workers performing the task.