Page 9 - ALG 1.21

How can allotment sites help?
ST P
THE SPREAD OF RESISTANCE
ANTICOAGULANT
RESISTANCE PROJECT
AN ARMS RACE
Anticoagulants revolutionised rodent control in the 1950s but some rodents soon became resistant to them. The second- generation anticoagulants were introduced to overcome resistant rodents. But rats and mice resistant to some of these compounds are now widespread in the UK.
GENETIC MUTATION
Resistance is due to a single mutation in a rodent’s DNA. Thanks to early genomic work we are able to identify resistant animals from a simple tissue sample (e.g. a tail cutting).
SEND IN TAILS FOR FREE RESISTANCE SCREENING
We can tell you which anticoagulants to avoid based on the mutations we find! The Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) is funding this service in the UK in collaboration with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at Weybridge, Surrey.
RESISTANT?
YES 4 NO
INTERACTIVE
MAPPING TOOL
Information from DNA resistance tests will be shared with the Rodenticide Resistance Action Committee (RRAC) to update a freely accessible interactive mapping tool for pest controllers!
THE MORE TAILS THAT ARE TESTED THE MORE INFORMATION WE CAN PUT ON THE MAP! (http://guide.rrac.info/resistance-maps/united-kingdom)
PLEASE SEE THE SAMPLE COLLECTION PROTOCOL (OVERLEAF) FOR DETAILS ABOUT SENDING IN A TAIL SAMPLE FOR RESISTANCE SCREENING
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Print version of approved
size is available for
download from: www.thinkwildlife.org/downloads/
SCAN THE QR CODE TO DOWNLOAD THE UN3373 BIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCE CATEGORY B
TAIL SAMPLE COLLECTION PROTOCOL (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
• •
Collect 1-3 tails per site. If a tail fails testing you will be invited to send a maximum of 3 replacement tails.
Collect tails from preferably freshly trapped/shot rodents. Fresh, clean and intact bodies are needed for tests to work. If you suspect bodies are not in good condition, do not use them.
THREE EASY STEPS
1. CUT
A tail tip (2-3 cm) is required to provide DNA from each rodent. Each tail tip must be removed using a clean blade or sturdy scissors.
2. DOUBLE BAG
Each tail tip should be DOUBLE-BAGGED i.e. put into one sealed plastic bag (e.g. Zip-Lok) and then put inside ANOTHER similar sealed bag.
Your information should be put inside each outer bag as shown here:
3. POST
If you cannot post the tail the same day, put it in the freezer no later than 12 hours after it was collected. When you are ready to post, put the bag containing the tail into a padded outer envelope (e.g. a Jiffy Bag), minimum size 10 cm x 10 cm.
Fix the UN3373 diamond to the back of the envelope. A printable version of the diamond, of the correct size (i.e. not less than 5 cm on each side), is available from the CRRU UK website or via the QR code.
Write your name and address on the back of the envelope.
Post only on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Address the envelope as shown below and post by first class Royal Mail.
Name: [your name]
Date: [date the tail was collected]
Species: [Norway rat / House mouse]
Site Postcode: [postcode of the site or GPS co-ordinates] Email: [your personal or work email]
REMEMBER TAILS MUST BE SENT WITHIN 12 HOURS
OF COLLECTION OR FROZEN AND SENT LATER TO:
Dr Richard Ellis
Central Sequencing Unit, APHA Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB. Tel: 02078955876
Email: Sequencing.Facility@apha.gov.uk
Web: www.gov.uk/apha
Note: If your samples are from a location within a 5km radius of an existing data point then the samples may not be analysed free of charge. If you would
like to check whether you are near any resistance go to RRAC’s online interactive questionnaire and map: http://guide.rrac.info/resistance-maps/ resistance-maps/.
EXAMPLE – DO NOT USE
Visit our webpage for more information:
www.thinkwildlife.org
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 9
• Current rat and mice bait formulations
• Safe transportation and disposal of rodenticides
• Completing documentation for rat and mice control
It is essential that anyone working
in pest control keeps up to date with changes in legislation and best practice.
This e-learning course is structured into three learning and assessment modules. To receive your certificate for Rodent Control, you will need to achieve a pass rate of 80% or more. You will be allowed two attempts at each module.
Once completed, a Lantra Awards Rodent Control certificate will be made available for you to download and print. This certificate will then allow you to purchase professional use rodenticides.
COURSE INFORMATION:
Course Length – 1.5 to 2 hours
• Whatdoyouneedtodothecourse?
Internet access via PC or laptop
• Re-certification period. It is
recommended to refresh every five
years
• NAS in Partnership with Lantra offer
e-learning courses; website link www.nsalg.org.uk/allotment-info/ lantra-nas-training-courses/
Due to Covid-19 face-to-face courses are on hold but should resume when safe to do so.
Anticoagulants have been in use
to control rodents since the 1950s; however, more recently some rodents have become resistant to them. The spread of rats, against which some rodenticides don’t work, has taken
a “surprising and troubling” turn, according to Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use chairman Dr Alan Buckle. New 2019-2020 survey results show not only that 74% of rats analysed carried a resistance gene but, of those studied, one-in-five had two different genes in widespread locations: County Durham, West and East Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Dorset and on the West/East Sussex border.
“Although one such rat was found in 2017, this is the first time in the UK that ‘hybrid resistance’ has been found on this scale, with potentially unknown difficulties for pest rodent control,” says Dr Buckle. “This is happening because different resistance foci, that were once separate, are now merging
and interbreeding. A critical upshot
is that pest controllers, farmers and gamekeepers should avoid using rodenticides that don’t work where resistance exists or resistance-busters where they’re not necessary: Both are bad for wildlife residues.”
Heightening concerns further, other recent CRRU research finds 58% of professional pest controllers say they are “not very” or “not at all” concerned about resistance. “We want them all
to be concerned and know what to do about it,” Dr Buckle urges. “Equally serious, this research also identified that one-third of farmers couldn’t recall brand names of rodenticides they use, and only 28% claimed to know the active ingredient.
“Everyone connected with rodenticide use needs to wake up to this issue, pay attention to the information available and change the way they use anticoagulant rodenticides accordingly.
“The onus is squarely on rodenticide users to maximise their knowledge and make responsible fact-based decisions about control measures. This can start, of course, with using the CRRU Code of Best Practice, first published in 2015, as the basis of control measures.”
In addition to CRRU, advice is available from the Rodenticide Resistance Action Group about which anticoagulants
will work according to location and resistance status. Every time before rodenticide bait is laid, Dr Buckle suggests that users ask themselves: “Will this active ingredient work here against this pest?”
“Quite what this means for the future of pest rodent control would be inadvisable speculation right now,” he adds. “But it’s certainly bad and CRRU is examining the potential implications and strategies as a matter of utmost importance.”
The Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) is a response to that call. Under the banner “Think Wildlife” CRRU promotes best practice and responsible rodent control, thereby protecting wildlife from rodenticide exposure. The Code of Best Practice is available at thinkwildlife.org/code-of- best-practice/.
Liz Bunting
Legal and Operations Manager
JULY 2020