Managing resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides: An appraisal

The action necessary for resistance management is specified and compared with what has actually been done, with reference to executive, extension and research activities and to the role of rodenticides and rodenticide development. Some obstacles to resistance management are discussed. To account for the fact that no plausible programme to manage resistance has been developed over the last 36 years, the hypothesis is examined that resistance management is injurious to the parties concerned and, hence, that resistance is perceived not as a problem but as an exploitable asset. If correct, this hypothesis yields the prediction that the action necessary for resistance management will be taken when such action is judged to be economically efficient. The establishment of the Rodenticide Resistance Action Committee indicates that this time may be approaching.