Abstract
The effect of male sterilant α-chlorohydrin, microencapsulated with polystyrene, nylon 6-10,calcium alginate wall material, on bait acceptance by wild male norway rats was researched along with its antifertility effect. Compared with the basal diet, rat appetite diminished by 80% with 1% dose of non-encapsulated α-chlorohydrin, while with 2% dose the bait was rejected. But with microencapsulated α-chlorohydrin, bait acceptance was fairly good at 2% dose, particularly with calcium alginate wall material. In this case, the amount eaten was nearly equivalent to 75% of the amount eaten in the basal diet. After the treatment, the rats were paired with nontreated females for 60 days. The females paired with males which had taken α-chlorohydrin did not reproduce while non-treated pairs reproduced twice during the period. The results suggest that microencapsulation of α-chlorohydrin promotes bait acceptance and also has an antifertility effect on male rats.
