Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
2/2/00
Contacts:
Terry Steinhart, Keokuk County Extension, (515) 622-2680,
x1steinh@exnet.iastate.edu
Sherry Hoyer, Iowa Pork Industry Center, (515) 294-4496,
shoyer@iastate.edu
Rodent Assessment And Control Project Under Way
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Keeping rodent numbers down in a swine operation does more than make the facilities look clean. It also minimizes the potential for disease spread, feed contamination and structural damage. Iowa State University Extension livestock field specialist Terry Steinhart said the first step in getting a rodent population under control is to determine the extent of the problem. After numbers are known, a control program specially tailored to the situation can be implemented. That's the focus of a special rodent assessment and control project now under way at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. The project is funded by the Iowa Pork Industry Center at ISU.
"Dr. Arlin Karsten, head of the swine unit at Kirkwood, said he wasn't satisfied with the current rodent control procedures there," Steinhart said. "Neither he nor his students see mice, but they know there's a problem based on droppings and gnawing marks on paint sticks."
In this project, Steinhart and Karsten decided to concentrate efforts in one building on a small, relatively undisturbed area between a cool cell and a curtain. Initially, an infrared camera mounted on a small box with wheels and powered by hydraulic motors was used in an attempt to film mice. After 24 hours of filming produced no mice on tape, the two changed their approach.
"We adapted a trapping procedure protocol from the Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program (PEQAP) for estimating mouse populations," Steinhart said. "We're using Tin Cat live rodent traps in the building and will determine the infestation level using the PEQAP protocol. Then we'll work on figuring out what type of poison or traps to use here and go back to the camera to monitor our progress."
This protocol calls for 12 Tin Cat traps to be set in a building for seven days. Some movement of traps is allowed if no mice are being caught. At the end of the week, the number of mice caught is used to provide an estimate of the seriousness of the infestation problem. Up to 10 mice is a low population, 11 to 25 mice is a moderate population and more than 25 are considered a high population.
Steinhart said individual producers will be able to use knowledge from this project to determine mouse infestation levels, evaluate treatment options and implement control plans. In addition to project results, information on rodent control is also available in video format from the National Pork Producers Council and in Pork Industry Handbook publications.
Preliminary project results should be available later this spring from Steinhart or the Iowa Pork Industry Center.
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