LABORATORY AND FIELD INVESTIGATIONS WITH DIFENACOUM, A PROMISING NEW RODENTICIDE

Difenacoum is a new rodenticide recently introduced on the British market; it is one of the most potent of a series of hydroxycoumarin-based anticoagulants. Difenacoum is effective against laboratory rats and mice resistant to conventional anticoagulants and has a marked selectivity in favor of non-target species. Vitamin K1 is an effective antidote and the hazard of secondary poisoning is minimal. Laboratory and field trials confirm difenacoum\u27s efficacy against wild resistant strains. Further work is in progress to evaluate the efficacy of difenacoum against other rodent pest species