Chemical rodent control: doing it right and the first time

Integrated Rodent Management (IRM) not only foresees or reduces the damage caused by rodents in different areas, it prevents the transmission of diseases that they transmit as biological vectors by being reservoirs of some pathogens or as mechanical vectors by carrying multiple microorganisms and even toxic contaminants in their bodies. One Health, “One health”, this concept applies today more than ever, since human health, animal health and environmental health are intrinsically connected and interdependent (1). It has become more relevant than ever, considering the current COVID-19 pandemic. Some relevant data on the potential for zoonoses, that is, those diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans, are cited below and in many of these, rodents play an important role in transmission:

60% of the pathogens that cause animal diseases come from domestic or wild animals.
75% of emerging human pathogens are of animal origin.
80% of the pathogens with risk of use in bioterrorism are of animal origin. Rodents are also important vectors of at least 50 diseases that affect humans, such as Salmonellosis, Colibacillosis, Leptospirosis, Murine typhus, among others. An infestation of rodents in the food industry, restaurants or simply the kitchen of a home puts food safety at risk, affecting public health through food-transmitted diseases. FBDs can be classified into infections, poisonings or toxin-mediated infections. Foodborne infection is an illness that results from the ingestion of food contaminated with live pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, hepatitis A virus, Trichinella spirallis, among many other pathogens (2). In a study carried out by the Barcelona Public Health Agency, analyzing 212 specimens of sewer rat (Rattus norvegicus) captured in sewer tunnels, positivity to these pathogens was detected at necropsy (3):
71% Escherichia coli, resistant to some antibiotics.
59% Listeria monocytogenes.
18% Yersinia enterocolitica.
12% Leptospira interrogans.
7% Salmonella enteritidis.
7% Campylobacter jejuni.
17% Hymenolepis nana.
17% Calodium hepaticum. If we add to this that there are researchers who focused their research on the possible role of rodents in the transmission of SAR-CoV-1 from the 2003 outbreak in Amoy Gardens, Hong Kong (4) and recently due to the SAR-CoV-2 pandemic, the causal virus of COVID-19, Integrated Rodent Management becomes more important as long as the unknown role they could play as mechanical or even biological vectors persists. A recent paper is circulating (note: not yet peer-reviewed) suggesting that the Omicron mutation jumped from humans to mice and quickly accumulated mutations conducive to infecting that host and then returned to humans, indicating a cross-species evolutionary trajectory for the Omicron outbreak (5). Scientific speculation or not, we know that rats and mice transmit diseases with morbidity and mortality rates higher than COVID-19, they are pests that must be urgently controlled when infestations occur. Syngenta has launched the Conscious Control initiative (6), which when implemented in a timely and strategic manner prevents health and economic damage to the detriment of the facilities and damage to food caused by rodents, which is why it is important to detect rat and mouse populations by carefully carrying out the inspection, reviewing the presence of these signs of infestation, their population abundance and mapping areas in which they are located:
Fresh and old feces.
Urine stains and odors.
Cracks and damaged materials
Body fat stains on walls, beams, doors.
Active trails or routes.
Rat burrows, mouse nests that are active or inactive.
Paw prints and tails of rodents.
Rodent sightings at night and during the day.
Sighting of corpses. Within Conscious Control, chemical control is a very important element to consider, since there are many rodenticide formulations on the market, but not all of them provide the Pest Management Professional with the expected result, since there are differences between rodenticides, not only because of the active ingredient they contain, but also because of the quality of the attractants in the formulation and the safety margin of these products. Klerat® is the most powerful rodenticide in the world, it is marketed in Peru and other Andean countries, and also under brands such as Talon, Weatherblok XT, Havoc, in countries such as the USA and Mexico. This Syngenta rodenticide is marketed in more than 90 countries and is characterized by achieving satisfactory results in managing rat and mouse populations effectively and “the first time.” Klerat® is formulated with the second generation anticoagulant hands, which increases its safety margin. Quick and lasting results are what the Pest Management Professional seeks, but in addition to effectiveness, efficiency in the cost/benefit relationship with fewer visits and avoiding complaints. With Klerat® it is possible, as it has the most powerful toxicodynamics in rodents and because it has the patent for a formulation based on specific attractants for synanthropic rodents. highly succulent, which helps speed up consumption by rats and mice, even in very challenging situations. Additionally, it contains denatonium benzoate, a very bitter aversive to avoid ingestion by hum. The chemical control carried out in 2021, in a poultry farm located in Tepatitlán Jalisco (7), where the management of poultry manure is very complex and the environment encourages continuous reinfestations, a 72.4% reduction of active burrows was achieved, consequently the reduction of the rat population, in just one week and control increased in the following 3 weeks, obtaining long-lasting results, using only Syngenta rodenticide. Dr. Alan Buckle, famous rodent specialist, who was one of the most famous researchers at the University of Reading, UK, often says that if the rodent population cannot be reduced in a month, something is being implemented wrong: It could be a bad inspection combined with a bad estimate of the population, it could be the poor choice of rodenticide, or simply having placed the bait points incorrectly and in insufficient quantity. The next time you are faced with a challenging situation with pest rodent populations, consider using rodenticides rationally and selecting the rodenticide to be used for high efficacy and quality, rather than just the price estimate. 1. - World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). (Internet site). One health. 2021. (Cited 2021 December 5). Available at: URL: https://www. hey. int/es/ what-we-do/global-initiatives/one-health/ 2. - Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). (Internet site). Foodborne diseases (ETA). Food Safety – HACCP Sanitary Control. 2021. (Cited 2021 December 5). Available at: URL: https://www3. paho. org/hq/index. php? option=com_content& view=article& id=10836: 2015-diseases-transmitted-by-food-eta& Itemid=41432& lang=es 3. - Ansede, M. Ediciones El País, S. L. (Website). In Barcelona there are more than 200. 000 sewer rats and are “a public health problem.” September 19, 2018. Madrid, Spain. (Cited 2021 December 6). Available at: URL: https: //elpais. com/ elpais/2018/09/19/ciencia/1537345699_187217. html 4. - Duan J. -H, Wu J, Lin L. -F, Pei F. -Q, Yi J. -R, Lu W. -C, Cai S. -W. Preliminary report on SARS coronavirus detection from vector rat and cockroach by RT-PCR. Chin. J. Vector Biol. Control. 2003; 14: 332–334 5. -. Changshuo W, Ke-Jia S, Weiguang W, Shuya Z, Qing H, Wenfeng Q. Evidence for a mouse origin of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. bioRxiv's. December 14, 2021. (Cited December 17, 2021). Available at: URL: https://www. biorxiv. org/content/10. 1101/2021. 12. 14. 472632v1 6. - Syngenta Urban Solutions. (Internet site). Conscious Control. Mexico. 2021. (Cited 2021 December 6). Available at: URL: https://www. syngentappm. com. mx/conscious-control 7. - Syngenta. Rodent control in a poultry farm, Tepatitlán, Jalisco, carried out by the MVZ. Guadalupe Gutiérrez, Farm Pest Control Advisor, Syngenta Professional Solutions. Mexico. 2021.