Rats! New poison targets super rodents
![Rats can be cute but they're never welcome on a farm (Picture: Getty)](https://www.scotsman.com/webimg/b25lY21zOjZkOTE3OGY3LWM3NzMtNDc1OC1hOWU1LTkyNjlkZjdkMDZhMDpmMzA4MWE1OS1kYWExLTQyNTUtOWRlMi04MjllYzc2ODFlZWE=.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&width=640&quality=65&enable=upscale)
![Rats can be cute but they're never welcome on a farm (Picture: Getty)](/img/placeholder.png)
A new product which also controls so-called super rats which are resistant to other poisons, Selontra, manufacturers BASF claim, can stop rodents feeding in grain stores within 24 hours – minimising feed losses and reducing the bio-security risk of rodents in animal feed. Concerns over resistance to anticoagulant rodenticide baits had created the need for a new active ingredient to be introduced to tackle the super rats, a spokesperson said.
They added: “ Some rats have developed resistance to difenacoum and bromadiolone actives which are used in a number of common baits. To help control resistant rats BASF has developed Selontra, which contains cholecalciferol in a highly palatable bait matrix.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe company said that the product was more appealing to rodents than common farm food sources – and in farm trials it had been shown to be 13.2 times more palatable than maize silage.
It was also claimed that a new baiting technique, known as “speed baiting” could reduce the time needed to control farm infestations, allowing farmers to control even large infestations quickly and with less bait:
“The new active ingredient, cholecalciferol – which works by raising calcium levels in the rodents’ blood – also means fewer, less harmful residues, which will help to minimise the risk to non-target species,” added the spokesperson.