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Designer repellents: combining olfactory, visual or taste cues with a secondary repellent to deter free‐ranging house sparrows from feeding
Author(s) -
Clapperton Barbara Kay,
Porter Richard ER,
Day Tim D,
Waas Joseph R,
Matthews Lindsay R
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.3244
Subject(s) - pest analysis , taste , biology , pulegone , insect repellent , anthraquinone , food science , toxicology , botany , ecology , chemistry , essential oil , organic chemistry
BACKGROUND: Repellents may prevent bird pests from eating crops or protect non‐target birds from eating harmful substances. The feeding behaviour of free‐ranging house sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) presented with wheat treated with the secondary repellent anthraquinone (AQ), paired with visual and/or olfactory and taste cues, was recorded in a series of trials. The aim was to determine the suitability of repellent combinations for preventing birds from consuming pest baits. RESULTS: Anthraquinone significantly reduced wheat consumption. The addition of cinnamon oil did not reduce consumption further, but the addition of either a blue colour or d‐pulegone enhanced repellency. Green wheat was consumed more than blue wheat. In a multichoice test, the sparrows did not differentiate between low and high concentrations of AQ on blue‐dyed wheat. With treatments on separate tables, the higher concentration was more repellent. Additional olfactory/gustatory cues palatable to pest mammals did not make the AQ‐treated wheat more or less acceptable to sparrows. AQ‐treated blue wheat with/without cinnamon oil was more repellent than green wheat with cinnamon oil, a colour/odour combination typically used for pest baits in New Zealand. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate the potential of combining the secondary repellent AQ with additional salient cues for modifying the feeding behaviour of sparrows. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry