title: Production of UV-light-detectable faeces from house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) after consumption of encapsulated fluorescent pigment in monitoring bait.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The authors investigated whether fluorescent pigment in thermoset melamine microcapsules incorporated into monitoring baits would be excreted in the faeces of wild house mice in a quantity and intensity that would be detectable by a human observer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Experimental mice produced 24-116 UV-visible faecal pellets per 24 h; the mean dry weight was 582 mg. The number and weight of the faeces was independent of mouse sex and weight. The defecation of UV-visible faeces began at 2-3 h, peaked at 5-8 h and was complete at 17 h after bait ingestion. The detectability of the highly fluorescent faecal pellets using a small UV flashlight approached 100%, and no false positives were recorded.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The tested formulation is of significant value for rodent pest monitoring because faeces that are highly visible by UV light are produced for 15 h by mice after ingestion, and their detection is easy and unambiguous.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. frynta@centrum.cz
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frynta
authors.forename: Barbora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eliášová
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fraňková
authors.forename: Radek
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aulický
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rödl
authors.forename: Václav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stejskal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004435:Eating; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000502:physiology*; D012375:Rodent Control / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes