Use of local knowledge and collective action in mole rat control at Areka, Ethiopia

Mole rat is the most destructive wild pest affecting home garden crops in Southern Ethiopia. It contributed to increasing food insecurity. The conventional methods of control are fumigation and baits which are costly to the resource poor farmers. The AHI Landcare team collaborated with the farmers to identify effective control measures of this pest.

Few individuals who have had the skill of controlling the pest for a long time were identified in the community. These individuals used to make money by hunting mole rats without sharing their knowledge with others. After negotiation and peer-pressure, they were encouraged to share their methods, which involve the use of local attractant herbs and catching them through local traps. The trap is composed of a metal hook tied with sisal string on a bended stick. The bait is placed behind the metal hook in the hole of the mole rat. The attractants include banana fruit, sweet potato or local spices. The mole rat has to bite and cut the string to pass to the bait. When the string is cut, the metal hook is swiftly pulled out of the hole by the bent stick. It is in this sudden action that the sharp metal hook pierces and kills the mole rat. However, the mole rats started distinguishing the baits (plant attractants) that were contaminated with human hands in the process of preparation. To rectify this problem and enhance the effectiveness of the trap, farmers started treating their hands with the soil dug by mole rats to reduce contamination of the bait with the human ‘smell’. By doing this, some farmers were able to control mole rats in their homesteads and farms.