title: Palatability of bird repellents to Rattus norvegicus.
abstract: The palatability to captive, mostly laboratory-bred, Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) of cereal-based baits containing 0.02 g kg-1 brodifacoum, with and without bird-repellent additives, was compared in a no-choice experimental design. Methyl anthranilate (25 g kg-1), dimethyl anthranilate (25 g kg-1) and cinnamamide (2.5 g kg-1) reduced bait consumption by the rats, but all except one rat ate enough bait to receive a lethal dose. Cinnamamide (1 g kg-1), ortho-aminoacetophenone (0.1 g kg-1) and tannic acid (20 g kg-1) did not reduce bait consumption and all rats died after eating baits. The concentration of cinnamamide palatable to rats has only a low and short-lived repellency to birds, so it does not warrant further investigation. However, ortho-aminoacetophenone and tannic acid should now be field-tested for palatability to all three rat species in New Zealand and for repellency to native New Zealand birds.
authors.affiliation: Landcare Research, PO Box 69, Lincoln, New Zealand. SpurrE@landcare.cri.nz
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Spurr
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thomson
mesh_terms: D015110:4-Hydroxycoumarins / Q000633:toxicity*; D000098:Acetophenones / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D002934:Cinnamates / Q000633:toxicity; D005503:Food Additives; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins / Q000633:toxicity; D010575:Pesticides; D010675:Pheromones / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D012378:Rodenticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D062367:ortho-Aminobenzoates / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D015110:4-Hydroxycoumarins; D000098:Acetophenones; D002934:Cinnamates; D005503:Food Additives; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; D010575:Pesticides; D010675:Pheromones; D012378:Rodenticides; D062367:ortho-Aminobenzoates; C055495:2-aminoacetophenone; C038892:methyl anthranilate; C013418:bromfenacoum; C411088:cinnamamide