The susceptibility of Tatera indica, Nesokia indica and Bandicota bengalensis to three anticoagulant rodenticides

Abstract

SUMMARYThree South-Asian rodent pest species were tested for susceptibility to anticoagulant rodenticides. Wheat flour containing 0·025% warfarin, 0·0375% coumatetralyl or 0·005% difenacoum was fed to 260 Tatera indica, 140 Nesokia indica and 81 Bandicota bengalensis for 1–56 days. Tatera was about as susceptible to anticoagulants as Rattus rattus has been reported to be. Nesokia and Bandicota were extremely variable: though the majority were highly susceptible, the slopes of the dose-mortality curves were close to zero. The difenacoum diet appeared to be more toxic than the warfarin diet to all three species, but less toxic than the coumatetralyl diet to Tatera and Nesokia. All of the anticoagulants were eventually lethal to all of the animals tested.