Szechuan pepper puts prairie voles off their food

Szechuan pepper can be used to deter crop-destroying mammals such as the prairie vole, without affecting non-targeted species, says research published in the journal Pest Management Science.

Researchers discovered that compounds in the pepper probably repel prairie voles by stimulating pain receptors in the nose, mouth and eyes. The component Zanthoxylum, found in Szechuan pepper, stimulate neurons different to those stimulated by other natural deterrents such as capsaicin, from capsicum pepper.

Mammalian responses to natural, non-lethal feeding deterrents vary: Capsaicin had little effect as a feeding deterrent on common pests such as pocket gophers, and no effect on mountain beavers. Szechuan pepper-derived compounds do affect prairie voles and rats, and because they stimulate different nerves, they may also have an effect on pests that don’t respond to capsaicin.

Further still, researchers say that the ‘extract reduced consumption of untreated food presented in close proximity, but not in contact with a sample of extract,’ suggesting that volatile components emanating from the extract are sufficient to put the animals off the food.