Rodent(RAT) Management

Rat damage

What do you
observe?

What possible effects will rat

damage give on yield? To the
farmer?

2
 Characteristics of field RATS
•Poor vision but sensitive to motion
•Sensitive sense of smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
•Nocturnal, Good climbers & swimmer
•Can jump fairly high.
• Has chisel-like teeth/incisors and continually
•chews to sharpen their teeth.
•Has long whiskers and guard tails to guide them
when they travel.
• Engages in cannibalism when food is scarce.
• Exhibits temporary fear when there is a change in
an otherwise familiar condition, protecting them
from consequences of curiosity.
•High reproductive potentials; few males can mate
with almost all the females in the area
Life Cycle of RATS
 How to Assess Damage due to Rats

There is significant yield loss if...

•Missing germinated plants.
•Missing hills.
•Chopped young seedlings.
•Irregular cutting of stem.
•Chewed developing buds or
ripening grains.
•Tillers cut near the base at a
45⁰ angle.
•Retillering of stems.
•Delayed grain maturity.
•Missing grains or panicles.
≥ 5% of the area has damaged tillers from maximum tillering
to maturity
 Recommendations to Achieve
Key Check 7
• Use varieties resistant to
pests prevalent in the locality.
Change or rotate varieties
every 2 to 4 cropping.

• Practice synchronous planting

after a 30-day rest period.

• Conduct regular field monitoring

to identify potential pests

• Conserve beneficial organisms

6
 Rat Management

Practice proper sanitation by

removing weeds and straw piles
in the paddies.
Practice synchronous planting.
Minimize size of levees to 15
cm wide x 20 cm high to avoid rat
burrows

7
 Rat Management

Trapping
Destroying burrows
Use of flame throwers
Blanketing method
Rat proofing –
Trap barrier system (TBS).

8
Pest Management
KEY CHECK
7:
No significant yield loss
due to pests