Hecker Odile C, Boelhauve Marc, Mergenthaler Marcus
Department of Agriculture, South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Lübecker Ring 2, 59494 Soest, Germany.
Porcine Health Manag. 2018 Oct 1;4:22. doi: 10.1186/s40813-018-0099-0. eCollection 2018.
Due to the risk of spreading epizootic diseases through rodents, pest control is mandatory in pig farming in European countries. However, there is limited research focused on rodent control practices, usage of anticoagulant rodenticides, and the acceptance of Pest Control Operators (PCOs) in pig farming in Germany. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate current control practices in pig holdings and to analyze the potential of a financial support on the implementation of professional pest control.
Data were collected from monitoring records of PCOs and personal interviews with farmers and PCOs. 33 of 47 farmers, who were offered the possibility to outsource rodent control to PCOs supported by financial contribution of the North Rhine-Westphalian Animal Disease Fund (TSK) for a period of 2 years, joined the project.Despite the widespread opinion that the professional would not be beneficial - the authors figured out that farmers could financially benefit in time saved and by improved rodent control measures from the work of the PCOs. Costs of pest control measures per operation on average did not differ significantly between costs incurred by employment of PCOs (1.310 € per year) and calculated costs that arise by farmers themselves (1.217 € per year).All PCOs used Difenacoum and Brodifacoum against pest infestations. In doing so, the infestation with rodents was reduced and most of the participating farmers assessed the project as successful and employ the PCOs permanently. However, mapping the farm locations to resistance areas of the Rodenticide Resistance Action Committee (RRAC) shows that Brodifacoum was frequently used in areas which are marked as areas that are at low risk or rather have no risk for resistance. The environmental risks, however, are increased in these areas.
The instrument of temporal start-up financing professional pest control allows ensuring the continuous engagement of PCOs after the project period. This could possibly lead to long-term effects on the individual farm hygiene and on disease prevention. Nevertheless, important research questions with regard to the application of anticoagulant rodenticides of farmers and PCOs in livestock farming and with regard to risk mitigation measures were generated, meriting further investigation.
由于存在通过啮齿动物传播动物流行病的风险，在欧洲国家的养猪场中，虫害控制是强制性的。然而，在德国，针对养猪场中啮齿动物控制措施、抗凝血灭鼠剂的使用以及害虫控制操作员（PCO）的接受度的研究有限。因此，本研究旨在调查猪场当前的控制措施，并分析财政支持对实施专业虫害控制的潜力。
数据收集自PCO的监测记录以及与农民和PCO的个人访谈。47位农民中有33位接受了将啮齿动物控制外包给由北莱茵 - 威斯特法伦动物疾病基金（TSK）提供财政支持的PCO，为期2年，并参与了该项目。尽管普遍认为专业服务不会带来益处，但作者发现，农民可以通过节省时间以及PCO改进的啮齿动物控制措施在经济上受益。雇佣PCO的每次操作虫害控制措施成本（每年1310欧元）与农民自己计算的成本（每年1217欧元）平均差异不显著。所有PCO都使用敌鼠隆和溴敌隆来防治害虫侵扰。这样一来，啮齿动物的侵扰减少了，大多数参与项目的农民认为该项目成功并永久雇佣了PCO。然而，将农场位置映射到灭鼠剂抗性行动委员会（RRAC）的抗性区域显示，溴敌隆经常在被标记为低风险或无抗性风险的区域使用。然而，这些区域的环境风险却增加了。
为专业虫害控制提供临时启动资金的手段能够确保项目期结束后PCO的持续参与。这可能会对个体农场卫生和疾病预防产生长期影响。尽管如此，关于农民和PCO在畜牧养殖中使用抗凝血灭鼠剂以及风险缓解措施产生了重要的研究问题，值得进一步调查。
