Farmers’ Perceptions of Rodents’ Damage and Management Practices in Wenchi Highlands, Central Ethiopia

Local perceptions about rodents and the damage they cause and management practices are the first step to design and implement rodent control programs. A study was conducted to obtain information about the perceptions and practices of farmers in Wenchi highlands on rodent damage and their management practices in the late-2020 and early 2021. Farmers (n = 383) from four highland villages of Wenchi district were randomly selected and interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire. Rodents were identified as major pests and perceived negatively among farmers. Arvicanthis abyssinicus (Rüppell), Mastomys natalensis (Smith), Mastomys awashensis (Lavrenchenko, Likhnova & Baskevich), Hystrix cristata L., and Tachyoryctes splendens (Rüppell) were the potential rodent pest species in the study area. There were significant variations in the type of damage (χ2 = 112.698, df = 3, P<0.05) and crop type susceptibility to rodent pest attack (χ2 = 143.26, df = 3, P