Rodents on pig farms: infestation levels related to environmental factors and management practices

MONTES DE OCA, D.P.; LAMMEL, MARTIN; CAVIA, R.

Posdam

Congreso; 6th International Conference of Rodent Biology and Management & 16th Rodens et Spatium; 2018

Pig meat consumption is globally rising, increasing its production in development countries. Rodents produce economic and sanitary problems on pig farms. Characteristics of pig housing and management may affect rodent infestation. To analyze the relationship between wild small mammal infestation with pig farm?s environmental characteristics and farmer?s management practices, seasonal live-trapping in five habitats within 18 pig farms (seven under intensive and eleven under extensive management systems) were performed in central Argentina simultaneously with an environmental and management practices survey. The last was done interviewing the farmers with a semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 472 wild small mammals individuals were captured (with 2360 cage live trap-nights and 2463 Sherman trap-nights): the three introduced murids, Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus and Mus musculus, three native sigmodontines, Akodon azarae, Oligoryzomis flavescens and Oxymycterus rufus and also two native marsupials, Didelphis albiventris and Lutreolina crassicaudata. The information of the environmental characteristics and management practices registered were synthesized in eleven variables. Based on a Redundancy Analysis, 56% of the variance of small mammal abundances in the farms was associated with the type of management system, the frequency of rodent control activities, the type of disposal of domestic waste and the existence and location of waste deposits. Generalized Linear Mixer Models showed that R. norvegicus, M. musculus and A. azarae abundances depended on the season and the habitat. Moreover, R. norvegicus was more abundant in farms where rodent control activities were absent or were not frequent, while M. musculus where rodent control activities were frequent. For A. azarae, a relationship between the density of pigs and the habitat distribution was found. R. rattus abundances increased with the increase of dog abundances in farms. Management actions influenced infestation levels of rodents but little attention is lent to pest rodent control or prevention.