Prevention and Control of Rodents – Sustainable Rodent Management
The project aims to enhance the knowledge necessary for sustainable rodent prevention and control strategies.
About the project
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Project period: 01.09.2023 - 31.12.2026 (Active)
- Coordinating Institution: Norwegian Institute of Public Health
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Project Manager:
- Heidi Sjursen Konestabo, Pest Control
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Project Participants:
- Mari Steinert, Pest Control
- Bjørn Arne Rukke, Pest Control
- Anders Aak, Pest Control
Summary
The project, titled "Prevention and Control of Rodents – Sustainable Rodent Management," aims to enhance the knowledge necessary for sustainable rodent prevention and control strategies. This initiative aligns with the Pest Control Regulations' principle of substitution, mandating that pest control practices use the least environmentally and health-damaging agents and methods while achieving effective results.<br /> Small rodents are an important group of pests in large parts of the world. They can cause extensive damage by gnawing and burrowing, and contaminate food and feed. Furthermore, rodents pose health risks by potentially spreading infections, triggering allergies, and inducing psychological stress. In Norway, notable rodent pests include the introduced species Rattus norvegicus (brown rat) and Mus musculus (house mouse), both of which are closely associated with human activity in urban and semi-urban areas. Additionally, several different species of free-living mice can enter into buildings. Rodent control constitutes a substantial portion of pest management work in Norway. Traditionally, poison has most often been used, followed by trapping and environmental modifications. Recently, there has been a paradigm shift towards more sustainable practices among pest control businesses and their clients, driven by factors such as regulatory restrictions on poison usage and advances in technology for monitoring, identification, and electronic traps. Currently, the industry lacks a good overview of method usage, the frequency of rodent control measures, how much rodenticide is used, and quantifiable changes. Exploring non-toxic approaches and emphasizing building security and sanitation might offer viable recommendations. Rodent control must be based on scientific and documented knowledge in combination with practical and professional understanding of the situation. Norway is in a unique position in Europe where we have a relatively unified pest industry with a lot of knowledge and a great willingness to cooperate with research communities. The project will describe rodent control in Norway, contribute to optimizing control strategies, and lay the foundation for better and more sustainable rodent management. In particular, it aims to identify situations that can be addressed through prevention and protection, as well as to describe which control measures can be implemented without the use of toxic substances. Through cooperation with the pest management industry and other relevant public actors, we will be able to provide a good overview of the situation in Norway, and ensure that newly acquired knowledge is disseminated quickly and effectively. The project is a collaboration between VIS Forsikring, Norwegian pest control companies, Boligbygg Oslo, OsloBygg, the Norwegian Environment Agency, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).