The Efficacy of Pure Natural Repellents on Rat Responses Using Circular Open Field

Abstract

Rodent infestation is considered as one of the major pest problems since it is not only acting as a health hazard, but also causes damages to household, agricultural fields and even transportation business. The use of rodenticides is a common approach to rodent control, however, most rodenticides are poisonous to man. Therefore, using natural extracts as a rat repellent may be a better alternative. In the current study, various natural extracts were experimented whether they could repel a rat when testing in the behavioral model, a circular open field. The tested substances were wintergreen oil, chilli, peppermint oil, bergamot oil and geranium oil either being applied as singly or in combination. For the natural behavior of the rats in the apparatus, the rats had the highest activity rate during
the beginning of the nocturnal phase (light offs) as shown by total number of line crossed during 30 min. Therefore, this period was used for testing the efficacy of rat repellents. We found that the number of visit to the tested core and the time rat spent near the tested core significantly lowered compared to blank control. We can therefore conclude
that these natural extracts can repel the rats as determined by rat’s behaviors in the circular open field. However, more studies need to be done to see whether these extracts are of practical in real environment.