Rodent
- Characterized
- Single pair of incisor teeth on each jaw and by absence of canine teeth.
- Have tail with fine scales and few hairs.
Typical rodent tooth system.
Problems
• Spread serious diseases, including salmonellosis (food poisoning), leptospirosis, rickettsialpox and lymphocytic choriomeningitis.
• Carry fleas, ticks and other ectoparasites, potentially spread diseases, such as bubonic plague.
• Consume or contaminate about 20 percent of the world’s food supply.
• Gnaw, expensive structural damage, start fires if they gnaw on electrical wires.
• Cause a great deal of anxiety for occupants (people and pets) of infested buildings.
• Pose serious risks for food facilities. Single rodent can cause fines, poor inspection scores, disgruntled employees and lost business.
Commensals rodent
- Species of rodents we deal most are:
1. Roof rats (Rattus rattus)
2. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus)
3. House mice (Mus musculus)
- Members of Rodentia, family Muridae.
- These rodents are "commensal" because they tend to live in close proximity to humans and eat the same food as we do.
- They destroy property, frighten people & compete with human for food.
- Rats plague many store owners and farmers.
- Undesirable in feed and seed stores because destroy the seed, corn etc.
- Undesirable in poultry houses and bird farms
- Destroy & contaminate structure as well as harm young birds and chicks
Rodent chew on electrical wires and this can cause a house.
Bionomic factors of rats.
• Sensory organ - Long mustache and other fine hairs on their body
- Sensitive hair helps them
• Smelling organ - Very sharp smelling organ.
- They leave special odour as movement guide
- Urine and genital fluid
- Urine and genital fluid
- When active, they shake their head and smell
• Hearing - Detect sound up to 100kHz
- House rats – 90kHz
- Afraid of high level noise
- House rats – 90kHz
- Afraid of high level noise
• Vision - Useful for night vision
- High sensitivity of light but impaired vision
- Can see as far as 15m distance
• Taste - Very good tasting organ
- Ability to differentiate a plain bate and a poisonous bate
• Physical abilities - A good swimmer and diver
- It can swim up to 1.4km/h
- It can climb anywhere
- It can fall from 15 feet without suffering from any injury
- Good balancing
Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus)
• Sometimes called brown or sewer rats
• Burrows found along building foundations, beneath rubbish or woodpiles, and in moist areas in and around gardens and fields.
• Nests may be lined with shredded paper, cloth, or other fibrous material.
• When Norway rats invade buildings, they usually remain in the basement or ground floor.
Appearance
- Up to 40 cm in length, tail shorter than the head and body.
- 350 – 500g in weight.
- Blunt nose, small ears and a thicker body when compared to the Roof Rat.
Lifecycle
- 7 – 8 young per litter; 3 – 6 litters a year.
- Gestation period of about 3 weeks.
- 10 – 12 weeks from birth to sexual maturity.
Habits
- Usually ground living and burrowing, but sometimes climbs.
- The only species to occur in sewers in Malaysia.
- Preferred food is cereals.
- Will eat around 30g of food a day and drink 60ml.
Comparing roof rat and norway rat.
Norway rat
Roof rats (Rattus Rattus)
• Sometimes called black rats.
• Slightly smaller than Norway rats.
• Tails are longer than their heads and bodies combined.
• Very agile climbers and usually live and nest above ground in shrubs, trees, and dense vegetation such as ivy.
• In buildings, most often found in enclosed or elevated spaces in attics, walls, false ceilings, and cabinets.
• Preferring ocean-influenced, warmer climates.
Appearance
- 16 – 24 cm in length, with a tail longer than the head and body.
- 150 – 200g in weight.
- Pointed nose, large ears, slender body when compared to the Norway Rat .
Lifecycle
- 5 – 10 young per litter; 3 – 6 litters a year.
- Gestation period of about 3 weeks.
- 12 – 16 weeks from birth to sexual maturity.
Habits
- Rare in Malaysia. Appearance confined mainly to ports.
- Often climbs, agile, rarely burrowing and rarely outdoors in Malaysia.
- Preferred food is moist fruits.
- Will eat around 15g of food a day and drink 15ml.
Usually at the roof house
House mice (Mus musculus)
• Domestic house mouse
• Live and thrive under a variety of conditions in and around homes/farms.
• Contaminate food-preparation surfaces with their feces, which can contain the bacterium that causes food poisoning (salmonellosis).
• Constant gnawing causes damage to structures and property.
Appearance
- 7 – 9.5cm in length, with a tail around the same length.
- 12 – 30g in weight.
- Small feet & head and large eyes & ears.
Lifecycle
- 4 – 16 young per litter; 7 – 8 litters a year.
- Gestation period of about 3 weeks.
- 8 – 12 weeks from birth to sexual maturity.
Habits
- Usually ground living and burrowing, but often climbs.
- Preferred food is cereals.
- Will eat around 3g of food a day and can survive without any additional water.
- They will drink up to 3ml a day if their diet is particularly dry.
House mice (mus musculus)
Identification of domestic rodents
Sign's of rats present
Public health issues
• Means of disease spreading might be directly or indirectly.
• Direct – Rats carry germs inside their body (organisma eg: bacilli, spirochaetes, rickettsia, viruses, nematodes)
• Indirectly – Rats being a host for fleas, mites etc.
Rodents and Human Health
• Disease related to rodents:
1. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
2.Haemorrhagic Fever
3.Leptospirosis
4.Human Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM)
5.Plague
6.Rat-Bite Fever
7.Salmonellosis
8.Murine Typhus
Rodent control measures
1. Eliminating sources of food.
2. Eliminating breeding and nesting places.
3. Rat-proofing buildings and other structures.
4. Killing them.
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