Over three quarters of farmers in the UK are not aware if their farm is in an area of known rodenticide resistance, a survey shows.
The research, by chemical giant BASF, aimed to gain a greater understanding into the current rodent control measures and rodenticide usage on farms.
It found that an overwhelming 88% of those surveyed were not sure if resistance to certain baits had been reported in their region.
When asked, one third of farmers were not aware that rodenticide resistance was even an issue to consider when selecting which bait to use on their land.
This is despite over 90 percent of farmers having used rodenticides on their farm in the past 12 months.
The insight suggests that in fact, farmers could be unknowingly contributing to the spread of “super rats,” which are resistant to baits containing first generation anticoagulants.
The 'super rats' are also resistant to those containing the second-generation anticoagulants difenacoum and bromadiolone as the active.
Helen Hall, key account manager at BASF, said the issue of rodenticide resistance was problematic for many farmers.
"[They] may be unknowingly contributing to the pest problems on their farms, with rats potentially going on to spread disease to workers and livestock, and ultimately cost farmers a lot of money.
“While these traditional difenacoum and bromadiolone baits should control non-resistant rodents, the growing populations of “super-rats” will be unaffected by these traditional poisons and will continue to reproduce.
"Thus breeding more rats with the mutated gene and creating an even wider issue of resistant rodents throughout the area.”
