Both sexes of rodent pests such as Bandicota bengalensis, Millardia meltada, Mus booduga, and Rattus rattus were subjected to toxicity tests (acute rodenticide: 1.5% and 2% zinc phosphide and chronic rodenticide: bromadiolone (0.005%), under no-choice and choice tests) by using their preferred germinated cereals, namely, paddy, pearl millet, and finger millet, as bait base, individually. The results indicated that the poison baits in the germinated cereals induced all the chosen four species of rodent pests to consume greater quantities of bait perhaps due to the bait carrier’s palatability and texture. Besides these, the chosen three germinated cereals proved themselves that they are also capable of acting as suitable bait base for both selected rodenticides in bringing maximum mortality among the tested rodent pests under both no-choice and choice tests. Therefore, these germinated cereals may be recommended as a bait carrier for both zinc phosphide (2%) and bromadiolone (0.005%) poisons for the control of all these four species of rodent pests under field conditions. However, this requires field based trials with rodenticides for making a final recommendation. 1. Introduction Rodents are economically important organisms and some of them are reported to be serious pests destroying crops, fruit gardens, orchards, and stored food grains. Moreover, they cause damage to the properties of various kinds belonging to men which results in huge economic losses. They have a high breeding rate and many show periodic increase in the population which coincides with the availability of food [1]. In India, they are responsible for 10–15% of loss to total national produce [2]. In Tamil Nadu, four species of field rodent pests are found in Cauvery delta, “the Granary of South India.” According to Sivaprakasam and Durairaj [3], Neelanarayanan et al. [4], and Neelanarayanan [5] the rodent pests such as Bandicota bengalensis, Millardia meltada, and Mus booduga are known to inhabit the crop fields and Tatera indica is found in barren lands around the crops fields. Neelanarayanan [5–7] and Neelanarayanan et al. [4, 8–11] reported that these rodent pests inflict damage to different stages of various crops of this area. Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) and house mice (Mus musculus) along with the roof rats (Rattus rattus) are known as commensal rodents; that is, they are usually found in association with humans. Rodents also pose a serious health risk as transmitters of several diseases to human and domestic animals such as leptospirosis, salmonellosis, trichinosis, hantavirus
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