Scientists at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) have developed a distinctive potential rodent management drug in crop fields in Tanzania using domestic cat urine odor.
The production of a cat urine extract was done in collaboration with the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS).
Speaking during a monitoring and evaluation of several projects funded by COSTECH at the Morogoro-based university, Prof. Loti Mulungu said that the efficacy of this product to repel rats was successfully tested in the laboratory.
The testing gave promising results especially for the female cat urine, and was tested again in the field in March this year during the long rains cropping season.
He said that the new rodents control strategy would be more effective, environment and health friendly than current control measures.
He explained that normally the general public and farmers in particular use zinc phosphate to repel or control rodents such as rats at home and in their farms which is often risky.
“This strategy of using zinc phosphate is hazardous to the environment and health because once animals and birds such as chickens feed on it, it can cause death to a number of generations,” the don explained.
He said that the new technologycreates fear among rats because after smelling the drug containing cat urine they assume that a cat is present at that particular field or home, thus they run away.
Explaining the source of the new strategy, Prof. Mulungu said that he started developing the idea in 2008 but didn’t have knowledge of chemicals contained in the domestic cat urine.
After getting funds from COSTECH, Prof Mulungu in collaboration with MUHAS started investigating urine chemicals in August 2012.
“Two samples were taken, the urine of male and female cats put in two different rooms. It was found that the female urine was more effective to repel the rats than the male urine,” he said.
He said after finding that the female urine was more effective, another two rooms were prepared, one with the female cat’s urine and another with no urine.
Food and water were put into the rooms and then fixed with cameras like those used in banks and the results showed that the number of rats pictured in the room with urine were 6.8 percent of all photos taken, while pictures in the room that had no urine took the rest of the photos, 93.2 per cent.
However, unlike the room which had no cat urine, in the room that had urine the rats were found close to the door, seeking means to escape.
The project on investigation of domestic cat urine odor as potential rodent management strategy in crop fields in Tanzania by Prof. Mulungu is one of 56 projects funded by COSTECH countrywide, all of the projects taking up about nine billion shillings.
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