Methods for controlling damage caused by rodents in rice agro ecosystems include application of rodenticides (BUCKLE, 1999), hunting, fumigation, physical barriers
such as the trap barrier system (TBS, SINGLETON et al., 1998, 1999), and cultural practices such as synchronised cropping, sanitation of fields and encouraging predators (such as barn owls) (LEUNG et al., 1999). There are few data on how rat populations respond to such control actions or how quickly reinvasion occurs. Also of interest is how rats respond to control at different stages of crop development when the ailability of food and cover changes, and whether there are differences in response in breeding and non-breeding seasons of the rats.