Repellent protection test on electrical, signaling or communication cables against rodents (rats and/or mice).
The cables are made up of a conductive wire surrounded by a sheath, generally made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE: High Density Polyethylene), sometimes associated with other compounds such as polyamide 12, terephthalate, etc.
Rodents cause damage to them, causing significant economic losses and sometimes endangering public life. The primary damage to wiring harnesses is due to the rodents´ habit of gnawing objects, due to their need to limit the continued growth, throughout their lives, of their prominent front teeth. To achieve this, they gnaw all kinds of materials.
Different types of components are currently incorporated into the outer sheath of the cables to act as rodent repellents, generating a bitter taste or a burning sensation that prevents the cables from being gnawed on by them.
The tests to evaluate the desired effect of the repellents consist of exposing rodents to the cable under evaluation. These tests can be of choice or non-choice, depending on whether the rodents are simultaneously with the product (cable) under evaluation and ad libitum food, or on the contrary, during a large part of the day they are only with the product under evaluation, but without having their usual food. The test is carried out in parallel with the cable treated with the rodent repellent and with a control cable without rodent repellent treatment.
The tests are carried out in triplicate (three animals in individual cages for the test group and three animals in individual cages for the control group). The effects produced are evaluated by macroscopic observation of the exposed pieces with the corresponding description of the observed effects and by objective determination of the weight loss of the exposed pieces, to calculate the percentage of weight loss of the samples with repellent, with respect to samples without repellent. Images of the observed effects are included in the results.
Tests carried out
- No-choice bite test with 7-week-old rats (Wistar / Sprague-Dawley breed) (250 to 300 g), in individual cages, for 7 or 14 days, with three exposed only to the product with repellent for 12 hours daily, and three for the control group exposed to the product without repellent.
- Choice bite test with 7-week-old rats (Wistar / Sprague-Dawley breed) (250 to 300 g), in individual cages, for 7 or 14 days, with three exposed to the product with repellent and food ad libitum, and three for the control group, under the same conditions and exposed to the product without repellent.
- Non-choice bite test with 8-week-old mice (non-inbred Swiss breed) (20 to 25 g), in individual cages, for 7 or 14 days, with three exposed only to the product with repellent for 12 hours a day, and three for the control group exposed to the product without repellent.
- Choice bite test with 8-week-old mice (non-inbred Swiss breed) (20 to 25 g), in individual cages, for 7 or 14 days, with three exposed to the product with repellent and food ad libitum, and three for the control group, under the same conditions and exposed to the product without repellent.