Rodent control in China

Rodent pest problems and their control in China are reviewed. Three commensal species, Rattus norvegicus, R. flavipectus and Mus musculus, are important pests both in urban and rural regions. Mus musculus is the most widely distributed species in China. Its population density is cyclic, unique for a commensal species in being found in the arid Xinjiang (Sinkiang) Autonomous Region in Northwest China. In South China, R. losea and Bandicota indica are serious problems in rice and cane fields. Many different genera of field rodents are considered pests to agriculture and/or are reservoirs of rodent-borne diseases. These include Citellus, Marmota, Meriones, Cricetulus, Microtus, Apodemus, Ochotona, Myospalax, Clethrionomys, Sciurus, and Eutamias. The ecology and control of these rodents are included. There are a series of efficient administrative organizations responsible for rodent control. Most campaigns of commensal rodents have relied on a combination of rodenticides and different types of traps, but in the case of field rodents the reliance is heavily placed on poison baits. Diphacinone (Na-salt) is most frequently used for control of commensal species. Zinc phosphide, fluoroacetimide (1081), sodium fluoroacetate (1080), glyftor and 0.2% diphacinone (Na-salt) are used for field rodent control. Information is supplied on the susceptibility of important rodents in China to different rodenticides, including difenacoum and brodifacoum, and on other means of rodent control.