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Publication - Statistics

Pesticide Usage in Scotland: Rodenticides on Arable Farms 2024

Published
11 March 2026
From
Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, +1 more … Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
Directorate
Energy and Climate Change Directorate, +1 more … Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate
Topic
Environment and climate change, Farming and rural
ISBN
9781806437115

This report presents survey results of rodenticide use on arable farms in Scotland in 2024. Almost 46 tonnes of rodenticides were applied on an estimated 39% of all arable farms in 2024. Rodenticide use in 2024 shows a significant downward trend compared to the previous ten years.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Appendix 3: Ten year trends in rodenticide use on arable farms 2014-2024 (1,2,3,4,13)

Figure 11: Percentage of holdings using no rodenticides and percentage users of rodenticides on arable farms - 2014 to 2024
Figure 11: A Line chart showing the percentage of farms using no rodenticide, and percentage of holdings where rodenticides were applied by PCPs or farmers between 2014-2024. The percentage of holdings using no rodenticide increased from 29% in 2014 to 61% in 2024. The percentage of holdings where farmers applied rodenticides fell from 39% in 2014 to 15% in 2024. Pest control professionals also applied rodenticide on fewer holdings over time, falling from 33% in 2014 to 24% in 2024.

Line chart showing the percentage of farms using no rodenticide, and percentage of holdings where rodenticides were applied by PCPs or farmers between 2014-2024. The proportion of holdings using no rodenticide increased over time and farmers applied rodenticide on fewer holdings over time.

Figure 12: Weight (tonnes) of product used on arable farms - 2014 to 2024
Figure 12: A line chart showing weight (tonnes) of the dominant rodenticide products used on arable farms in survey years from 2014-2024.There was an overall decrease in weight of product used from 112 tonnes in 2014 to 45 tonnes in 2024, largely due to a decrease in use of bromadiolone and difenacoum. However, brodifacoum use increased considerably in 2024, to 13 tonnes compared to 1.5 tonnes in 2014.

A line chart showing weight (tonnes) of the dominant SGAR products and all specified products used on arable farms in survey years from 2014-2024. There was an overall decrease in weight of product used, but brodifacoum use increased from 2022.

Figure 13: Weight (tonnes) of products applied by professional pest controllers and farmers on arable farms between 2014-2024
Figure 13: A line chart showing weight (tonnes) of dominant rodenticide products applied by PCPs and farmers on arable farms – 2014 to 2024. Farmers applied more rodenticide than PCPs in 2016, 2018 and 2020, while PCPs applied more in 2014, 2022 and 2024. There was an overall downward trend in the amount applied.

A line chart showing weight (tonnes) of dominant rodenticide products applied by PCPs and farmers on arable farms – 2014 to 2024. Farmers applied more rodenticide in 2016, 2018 and 2020, while PCPs applied more in 2014, 2022 and 2024. There was an overall downward trend in the amount applied.

Figure 14: Percentage by weight of bromadiolone bait types applied to arable farms – 2014 to 2024
Figure 14: A column chart showing percentage by weight of different bait types containing bromadiolone applied to arable farms between 2014-2024. Grain-based baits dominated in all survey years but increased from 82% of all baits used in 2014 to 95% in 2024.

A column chart showing percentage by weight of different bait types containing bromadiolone applied to arable farms between 2014-2024. Grain-based baits dominated in all survey years.

Figure 15: Percentage by weight of difenacoum bait types applied to arable farms – 2014 to 2024
Figure 15: A column chart showing percentage by weight of different bait types containing difenacoum applied to arable farms between 2014-2024. Grain-based baits dominated in all survey years but increased from 79% of all baits used in 2014 to 84% in 2024.

A column chart showing percentage by weight of different bait types containing difenacoum applied to arable farms between 2014-2024. Grain-based baits dominated in all survey years.

Figure 16: Percentage by weight of brodifacoum bait types applied to arable farms – 2014 to 2024
Figure 16: A column chart showing percentage by weight of different bait types containing brodifacoum applied to arable farms between 2014-2024. Pasta dominated in 2014 and wax-based based baits dominated in 2016. Grain-based baits became more dominant from 2018 onwards but a preference for wax blocks was evident again in 2020. Use of grain-based brodifacoum baits accounted for 97% of brodifacoum baits in 2024, compared to 0% in 2014.

A column chart showing percentage by weight of different bait types containing brodifacoum applied to arable farms between 2014-2024. Pasta dominated in 2014 and wax-based based baits dominated in 2016. Grain-based baits became more dominant from 2018 onwards but a preference for wax blocks was evident again in 2020.

Contact

Email: wildlifeunit@sasa.gov.scot

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