Preference of some food types and their efficacy as poisoned baits (zinc phosphide) against fruit bat under laboratory conditions

In laboratory, some food of fruits, vegetables and field crops were tested under non- and free choice to determine the food palatability and preference for the Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus. This is prefatorily to be used as poisoned bait. The obtained results elucidate that generally, under non-choice field crops record, the low palatable was the wheat (the consumption was zero %). While the fruits palatability ranked firstly then vegetables. The average percent of daily consumption of each food group field crops, vegetables and fruits were 10, 30 and 58% respectively. Bats preferred guava, apple, date, tomato and carrot respectively. The toxic effect of compressed date of 5.0, 1, 1.5 and 0.2% zinc phosphide caused  mortality ratios of 30, 60, 100 and 100% to each concentration respectively. On the other hand, the bait consumption was reduced with increased concentration.
So, Apple and Guava used as bait with zinc phosphide rodenticide 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% to enhance the bait consumption and the results showed that the apple bait was more effective against fruit bat compared with guava and compressed date baits. Also, the concentration of 1.0% zinc phosphide with apple caused 100% mortality compared with the same concentration of guava and compressed date where the mortality was 70 and 60% and the average bait consumption was 15.3, 20.4 and 10.9g respectively.