Mutating rats becoming resistant to poison, research suggests
A genetic mutation found in rats and mice in the northeastern United States may be making them resistant to common pest-control poisons.
One-third of 143 Norway rats and 84% of 147 house mice tested in New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., carried at least one mutation linked to rodenticide resistance, according to a Rutgers University study published in April.
The rodents were collected and tested by pest control companies over a four-year period.
Jin-Jia Yu, the study’s lead author, said the mutation was more common in mice, suggesting they may be adapting more quickly than rats.
“Norway rats also carried genetic mutations, but scientists do not yet know whether most of those mutations affect their susceptibility to rodenticides,” Yu said in a news release.
Yu said one possible explanation is that mice are more likely to consume poison, while rats tend to be more cautious of unfamiliar food.
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