Experimental assessment of rodent control on two poultry farms of central Argentina

GÓMEZ VILLAFAÑE, ISABEL; MIÑARRO, FERNANDO; VALENZUELA, LUCIANO; BILENCA, DAVID

JOURNAL OF APPLIED POULTRY RESEARCH

POULTRY SCIENCE ASSOC INC

Año: 2009 vol. 18 p. 622 - 629

1056-6171

We experimentally assessed the effect of controlling vegetation height along farm perimeterson the abundance of rodents in 2 broiler poultry farms in central Argentina. We carried out anexperimental design based on the before-after–control-impact method. After vegetation treatments, there was a significant decrease in rodent abundance at the perimeter of the farm withcontrol of vegetation height because of the reduction of the Pampean grassland mouse Akodonazarae. In poultry houses, there was a significant decrease in rodent abundance on nonaffectedfarms because of the reduction of the commensal house mouse Mus musculus domesticus, possibly because of a major collocation of rodenticide. Our results indicate that both the control of vegetation growth at the perimeters and the appropriate timing of rodenticide applications areeffective measures for rodent control on broiler poultry farms when both control measures areapplied simultaneously. We achieved effective rodent control through an understanding of thehabitat use and population dynamics of the species involved and the characteristics of the areawhere the control program would be applied.