Effective monitoring practices in a low-income, multifamily dwellings

The house mouse, Mus musculus domesticus, is a cosmopolitan pest in low-income multi-family dwellings (MFD’s).  There is a need for effective detection methods and building-wide house mouse management programs.  Bait choice among three different non-toxic baits was evaluated in 2019-2020.  Two commercial rodenticides were then applied over a 63-day period.  Follow up evaluations of were conducted on month six and month 12.  A non-commercial bait was more sensitive than the two commercial baits for detecting mouse activity and the management program resulted in an average 87% reduction in the number of infested apartments.  At 12 months, the number of infestations decreased by 94% in one building, but increased by 26% in the second.  A subsequent study was conducted among four low-income MFD’s to evaluate house mouse spatial distribution.  Building wide monitoring was conducted at a one-year interval.  Permutation tests evaluated house mouse infestation spatial patterns.  There was significant correlation between apartments with house mouse infestations and whether they share a common wall or ceiling/floor in all but one building, which contained a high number of isolated apartments.  While house mouse foraging ranges, speed, and dispersal are relatively larger, faster, and more common, respectively, compared to urban arthropods, these results demonstrate that house mouse infestations tend to occur among apartments that share common walls or ceilings/floors.  This spatial distribution pattern can be utilized in rodent management programs in MFDs.  Sustainable control of house mouse infestations requires the use of effective monitoring strategies, targeted control programs and building wide preventative measures.