Rodent management in urban and rural ecosystems: experiences from central Argentina

Rodent control based only on the use of rodenticides is known to be ineffective over the long-term, although it is the main method applied by farmers and public authorities in central Argentina. This paper presents field results and then discusses the successes and failures of three rodent control experiences based on ecological knowledge. The rodent control experiences discussed here are the following: 1) chemical control combined with environmental management in a shantytown, 2) reduction of vegetation height along farm perimeters and chemical control in poultry sheds, and 3) prevention of rodent reinfestation using physical barriers in poultry sheds. In the first two experiments rodent infestation decreased in the treated areas, althought in the shantytown infestations levels increased 90 days after the last application of rodenticide. In the third experiment the variation in rodent infestation was similar in sheds with and without physical barriers. A combination of rodenticide application and environmental management reduced rodent abundance.