Comparison of control effects of four rodenticides on plateau pika

This study conducted a comparative test on the control effect of different kinds of rodenticides—Triptolide granules TPL (g), C clostridium botulinum toxin (granules) BoNT/C (g), C clostridium botulinum toxin (water agent) BoNT/C (w), and D clostridium botulinum toxin (water agent) BoNT/D (w)—under different dosing methods (UAV spraying, casting baits by spoon and casting baits by utensil) on plateau pika, aiming to provide reference for rodent control in the Tibetan Plateau grassland. The results showed that the final burrow extinction rates of BoNT/C (w), BoNT/D (w), BoNT/C (g), and TPL (g) were 72.2%, 66.4%, 64.1%, and 65.5%, respectively. Among the three dosing methods, the burrow extinction rate of casting baits by spoon was the highest, and the burrow extinction rate of UAV spraying was the lowest. The relative increase proportion of edible forage biomass, aboveground biomass, vegetation height and vegetation coverage was BoNT/C (w) > BoNT/D (w) > TPL (g) > BoNT/C (g). The proportion of relative increase of edible forage biomass, aboveground biomass, vegetation height, and vegetation coverage increased the most under casting baits by spoon. The results showed that BoNT/C (w) had the best control effects among the four rodenticides in the short term, while casting baits by spoon had the best control effect among the three dosing methods.