Criteria for Rodent Bait Selection

World food shortages become more acute each year, and all too often, rodents are present to take their unwarranted share. To counter this, we must refine our rodent control methods to make them more efficient. To this end, correct bait selection is essential. Grain baits must be selected for purity and acceptability. Grain alterations must be carefully controlled, as well as any additives. Multi-ingredient or composition baits must be checked for size, hardness, protein content and additives. The selection of trap baits is critical for the success of trapping program. In general, fresh coconut is the best bait, but on-site local baits must be checked. INTRODUCTION In recent years, the world food shortage problem has intensified and will continue to do so for the forseeable future. This problem makes the protection of foodstuffs increasingly important during growth, storage and processing. All too often, rodents are present during each stage, taking a share we can ill afford to lose. Basically, rodent control methods have changed little over the past several decades. In fact, due to environmental problems, the use of some effective toxicants has been severely restricted. This, in turn, has made rodent control in some areas difficult. Now, new safer toxicants are being developed. But progress is slow due to the ever-rising costs of research, development and testing. What has to be done now, is to further refine our present rodent control methods to make them both more efficient for us, and more appealing to rodents. There are no simple and elegant solutions to rodent problems, just hard work. This paper is a basic collection of information that will aid in bait selection for a rodent control program. GENERAL COMMENTS In any program, correct identification of the problem rodent is extremely important. From this starting point, information about feeding habits and perhaps bait preferences can be obtained from the literature or others in the field. Since many rodents that are economic or health hazards to man are grain feeders, grain has been the basis of most baits for hundreds of years. Grains are cheap and, in some cases, of a proper size without modification. In selecting a grain as a toxicant carrier, several questions must be answered. First, does the target specie like the grain offered? This is of paramount importance overseas. For example, a wheat or oat-based bait is not well accepted in an area where rice is the staple food grain. This makes on-site bait testing very important.