Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout)

The scientific name Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) belongs to the order Rodentia and the family Muridae. Also known as brown house mouse, trench mouse, Norwegian mouse, white tailed mouse, and big mouse. Distributed throughout the country, it is a human companion species that inhabits both home and wild habitats.

Host vegetables, meat, fruits, candies, and other foods with high water content, edible mushrooms, etc.

Harmful characteristics: Large rodents are rodent species that inhabit human buildings, often stealing food and debris, and causing a large amount of pollution. Outdoor hunting of small fish, small rodents, young mice, insects, and plant fruits, seeds, etc. Some bite on melon flower trays.

Morphological features: The body is enlarged, with a length of 150-250mm, a short tail, short and thick ears, and a short snout on the head. The hind foot is thick and 35-45mm long, with some embryonic fins between the hind toes. Six pairs of nipples. The back hair is brown to grayish brown, with a dark gray base and brown tips; The abdominal hair is pale gray, with a gray brown base and white tips. The tail is black brown and the tip is white. In addition, individuals with all black or all white colors have been found in some areas. The skull is thick, and the width of the parietal bone is almost equal to the total width of the left and right parietal bones. The upper molars have three longitudinal dentition processes, and the transverse ridge of the third maxillary tooth has healed, forming a "C" shape.

Living habits have a wide range of habitats, strong adaptability, and mostly inhabit residential areas and their surroundings. The regularity of the cave system structure is not strong, and any place that can be used as a hidden place can be used as a nest. There are usually 2-4 openings, with only one entrance and a pile of loose soil at the exit. The tunnel is 50-210cm long and 30-50cm deep. There is a nest and several warehouses inside the cave. Indoors, everyone can move around day and night, and it is most active at midnight. Outdoor activities only occur at night, with peak activity occurring at dusk and before dawn. Skilled in swimming, diving, climbing, and jumping. Strong vigilance, not easily entering unfamiliar areas, and not eating unfamiliar food. Many mice are not good at storing food. Strong reproductive capacity, suitable conditions for year-round reproduction, 2-3 litters per year, with 1-15 offspring per litter, mostly 6-8 offspring. The peak reproductive period is from April to May and September to October each year. The pregnancy period is about 21 days, and when the offspring is 3 months old, they reach sexual maturity. Their reproductive ability can be maintained for 1.5-2 years, and their lifespan can reach more than 3 years.

Prevention and control methods: The rat not only harms vegetables, fruit trees and crops, but also infects many kinds of diseases. It is the natural host of more than 10 kinds of epidemics, such as pestis, pseudotuberculosis, rabies, encephalitis, brucellosis, leptospirosis and anthrax, and should be carefully controlled.

(1) Timely remove weeds, arrange crop layout reasonably, and maintain indoor and outdoor environmental hygiene.

(2) The mouse trap method uses medium sized mouse traps, using meat, peanut kernels, or sunflower seeds as bait, and placing them in mouse holes or rat paths to catch mice.

(3) The current chronic rodenticides that can be used in the poison bait method for rodent control include sodium diphosphate, chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos, bromadiolone, Dalong, and chlorpyrifos. Acute drugs can be used in farmland with glyphosate and botulinum toxin. Prohibit the use of 1081 (fluoroacetamide), 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate), 424 (tetramine, no rat life), and tetramethylprednisolone.

(4) The alternating use of acute and chronic drugs. Since the 1980s, China has been using the first generation of anticoagulants that are safe and effective. Now, the second generation of anticoagulants and rodenticides, bromadiolone and Dalong, have good palatability and save food. They can be used as replacement varieties.

(5) The indoor concentration of enemy rat sodium salt bait is controlled at 0.025%, while the field concentration is 0.05%, and the effect can reach over 90%. The concentration of 1% -5% loses the advantage of anticoagulation, and the killing effect is not good.

(6) Do not use unregistered highly toxic, fake, or inferior rat poison to avoid potential complications. When poisoning large rodents, due to their suspicion, it is best to first release the front bait and then release the bait 6-7 days later before putting it in. The indoor dosage for each room is about 50-100g, using a saturated feeding method. The outdoor dosage is 1500-3750g per hectare, using a lockdown belt and one-time feeding technology.

(7) Advocate the use of C-type botulinum toxin to exterminate mice.