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Chloropicrin Tested as an Area Repellent for House Mice

1964; Wiley; Volume: 28; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3798791

1937-2817

James R. Tigner, W. A. Bowles,

Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research

Chloropicrin was evaluated as an area repellent for house mice (Mus musculus). Two granaries-one for treatment and one for control-were modified into testing chambers by equipping a connecting runway with photoelectric cells and tally-counters which recorded animal activity. Four approximate concentrations of chloropicrin, determined by holes punched in the container, were evaluated, and activity was reduced 23-83 percent in the treated granaries. We concluded that the biological activity of chloropicrin is both repellent and toxic, and that chloropicrin will remove house mice from confined spaces if correct concentrations are chosen. Chloropicrin, CC13NO2, molecular weight 164.39, is a colorless, oily liquid that boils at 112 C. At 20 C the vapor pressure is 18.3 mm of Hg, and the volatility is 165 mg per liter. It has a specific gravity of 1.66, the vapors being 5.6 times heavier than air. Its lacrimatory, vomitory, and toxic properties have been well documented (Negherbon 1959:185-188, Sax 1958:479-480, Stecher 1960:246). The rate of dispersal of chloropicrin from the commercial containers at various temperatures has been determined by the manufacturer (Margareta Lambert, personal communication). Earlier tests that we conducted with chloropicrin in a small environmental chamber where no escape routes existed resulted in deaths to all animals subjected to more than 32 ppm. Mice exhibited signs of distress (blinking eyes, gasping, crouching, and attempting to escape) 2 minutes after entering an atmosphere of 1.2 ppm. Higher concentrations of the chemical produced death in a progressively shorter period of time (Tigner and Bowles 1961, Some effects of chloropicrin on house mice and starlings, unpublished report, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado.) Chloropicrin had been previously evaluated at the Denver Federal Center and found to be a rodent repellent, but recent stringent regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have required additional data on the repellent activity of this material. This prompted the studies herein reported in which a commercial chloropicrin product was used according to label instructions. We thank Miss Margareta Lambert, Morton Chemical Company, Woodstock, Illinois; and Ralph W. Dutton, U. S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Denver, Colorado, for their contributions to the study; and Victor Christenson, Jr., of Littleton, Colorado, for use of the granaries. The study was supported in part by the Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command, U. S. Army, Natick, Massachusetts. METHODS AND MATERIALS Since adequate test sites could not be readily located, testing chambers were devised from two metal granaries of 1,000and 1,500-bushel capacity, located side by side. The larger granary was chosen for the treatment chamber, being newer and easier to seal, while the smaller one was us for the control. In preparation for the chloropicrin treatment, all cracks in the experimental chamber were sealed with calking compound except those openings which had to be retained for ventilation of stored grain after the tests were completed; these were sealed with masking tape. The main door was sealed with a sheet of poly-