Woodrat Control in Citrus Groves with Zinc Phosphide and Diphacinone

Abstract

Two studies were conducted investigating the efficacy of Prozap (zinc phosphide), Ramik Green, and Ramik Brown (diphacinone) rodenticides on woodrats infesting citrus. Based primarily on using feeding activity as an indication of population density, Zinc phosphide (ZP) provided a rapid knockdown of the rat population, and offered 60 to 75% control. However, this product is known to cause "bait-shyness" following the initial application so additional control with subsequent applications of ZP targeting the same rat population would not likely result in a significant increase in control. Ramik Green and Ramik Brown are slow acting anticoagulant rodenticides, and performed similarly to each other. Anticoagulant rodenticides are not known to cause bait-shyness. In this study, these products only offered 20 to 38% control, but it is possible that these values may be artificially low since the rats may have been preferentially feeding on stored oat groats used to gauge feeding activity rather than consuming the anticoagulant baits.