NYC Rodent Control Academy

Transcription

1 Notes from

2 NYC Rodent Control Academy Bobby Corrigan Industry rodent expert Officially hired by NYC Dept. of Health in 2008 Rat Information Portal Inspect every block Data entered into handheld computers

3 Commensal House mouse, Norway rat and roof rat To share the table Depend on humans for at least part of their food and shelter

4 Field Mice Deer & white-footed mice Semi-commensal Hantavirus Sharp color contrast between back & belly Field mouse House mouse

5 Behavior Rats display greater cognitive thinking planning & decision making. Mice are more opportunistic. They take greater risks. Rats and mice display both neophobic and neophilic behaviors, but rats tend to display more neophobia than mice. 1 out of 10 rats likes shiny things

6 Rodent Senses #1: Touch Rodents memorize their world by touch Vibrissae Nerve organs Mice up to 5.5 in. Rats up to 9 in. Gnawing Exploratory behavior for gathering resources

7 Rodent Senses #2: Smell Locate food, identify territories and colony members Pheromones In body secretions, incl. urine and feces Previous rodent scents last for months

8 Rodent Senses #3: Sound Communicate ultrasonically Ultrasonic devices No data for them working in real world situations

9 Rodent Senses #4: Taste Highly developed Rats can taste chemicals in their food in parts per billion nicotene, insecticides, cleaning agents

10 Rodent Senses #5: Vision Functional for a nocturnal and underground existence Near sighted Can detect distant motion Colorblind

11 Temperature High surface area and low body mass Must stay warm or eat constantly Tail provides thermoregulation (tail away from body dissipates heat)

12 Food & Water Omnivorous Grains and seeds most natural and widely accepted Consume 10% body weight daily

13 Food & Water Daily Mouse Rat Food 3 g (.10 oz.) 1.5 oz. Water - 1 oz. Mice Nibblers Require little to no water Rats Pigeons and smaller defenseless animals

14 Excretia Rodents can control urination & defecation they communicate with it Allergies to urinary proteins cause rhinitis and asthma Daily Mouse Rat Urine 3,000 µ droplets Feces 75 pellets 50 pellets

15 Excretia Urine is the primary means of social communication in mice As a mouse experiences pain, it will urinate a pheromone cue for danger Urine pillars thousand of microdroplets of urine; tend to be in warm corners, ¼ in. high

16 Excretia Rats communicate more with feces Droppings give info about local food sources and help develop food preferences Food sites with feces are more attractive to Norway rats than sites without feces

17 Colonies/Nests Rats do not tolerate mice unless resources are plentiful Abundant resources lead to smaller home ranges and vice versa. Mice: ft. Rats: ft.

18 Colonies/Nests Norway rats are ground dwellers Sloping gradients Ground cover Rump marks bites, scratches indicate colony stress

19 New York City Most densely populated city in the US, esp. Upper East Side Mice outpace rats and are #1 There s a mouse in every single building in Manhattan. - Corrigan It is unique to NYC that mice are outside during the winter

20 New York City #1 predictor of rats: multi-family bldgs. with elevators In Bronx, most rats along Grand Concourse Largest rat caught in NYC was 1.5 lbs. Rats of lower Manhattan have white bellies

21 New York City Tied heavy duty bags are DSNY approved containers 1 lb. of garbage can feed 22 rats (10 adults, 12 juv.) A 60 lb. garbage bag can feed 1,320 rats Grease on sidewalks

22 New York City Parks and sewers are reservoirs One park exterminator in Manhattan Red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park Surplus homeless food donation in Collect Pond Park

23 New York City Subways are mostly foraging grounds Mice more prevalent than rats Rodents move down into subways, sewers and steam tunnels in winter

24 New York City Two leading products sold for rodent control: Glue boards Tracking powder Bromadiolone resistance (Contrac, Maki, old d-con)

25 Rodent Control Sanitation is pest control. Rodents control their own numbers if there is not enough food or places to hide. Rodent zones are where food and harborage coincide.

26 Rodent Control #1 reason for rodent control failures: underestimate population size 96% of population must be eliminated or it will bounce back Clumped distribution of animal populations

27 Rodent Control 1:1 sex ratio Anogenital distance Testicles can ascend Only females have nipples

28 Rodent Control Knock population down quickly by trapping first Droppings and urine smell are road map for traps Used traps are more effective For mice, shuffle traps 5 ft. after each week

29 Rodent Control Pre-bait for rats and mice for 1-2 days. Use four different baits within each territory Match current food source and also provide opposites Recondition rats with something completely new

30 Rodent Control Trap types: Glue boards Clam traps suffocate (mice) Snap traps break back Snap-E is best Multiple catch traps (mice)

31 Rodent Control Electronic shock traps humane

32 Rodent Control Glue boards Most inhumane A mouse population can not be controlled with glue boards Many mice will not step on glue boards Place glue boards in runways, not corners Rodent hair on a glue board means the rodent got taught a lesson

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34 Rodent Control Rodenticides 95-98% are anticoagulants Ditrac takes 3-5 days to kill a mouse Most take effect in 12 weeks Rats are more sensitive to rodenticides than mice

35 Rodent Control Rodenticides Mice & rats do not smell and search for rodenticide bait if it is not on their route Rodenticide baits may not be broadcast and must be retrievable Was it foreseeable that the rodenticide would travel? Nicotene is repellent to rodents

36 Rodent Control EPA Risk Mitigation: June 4th, 2011 Professionals Outdoor placements must be within 50 ft. of a structure Retail/Homeowners 2nd generation and pelleted rodenticides no longer available All rodenticides are now sold in bait stations in quantities of 1 lb. or less

37 Rodent Control Exclusion Humans only have access to 50% of a building Help customer prevent entry from exterior Control sightings in interior areas Tracking powder Metal mesh Traps Mice ¼ in. Rats ½ in.

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39 Rodent Control Thought process Map rodent movement Droppings & rub marks Ask questions Decide what you re going to use Rat snap trap Mouse in sensitive area glue trays, maybe Ketch-alls Exclusion Bait blocks belong outside

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