Repela™ for Rodents (Anti-Rodent Masterbatch) combines powerful aversives for deterring animals from chewing compounded materials, such as electric and fiber optic cables, plastic pipes, foam insulation, and many other materials. Repela™ for Rodents is the anti-rodent solution for damage to virtually all polymers.

The initial work that lead to the creation of Repela™ for Rodents was done by the USDA and released in whitepapers in 1999 and 2000. You can read these white papers on our News page, along with other articles about rodent damage.

Aversion Technologies took these great ideas and created manageable products for incorporation into polymers. The USDA worked with two powders that are extremely aversive – denatonium compounds and capsaicinoids. Both of these materials can be difficult to handle, but Aversion Technologies’ Repela™minimizes those handling issues by putting the powders into EVA, which is widely compatible with customer requirements. We then added chemicals that repel rodents through a fear mechanism, making them unwilling to even approach the impregnated polymers. Laboratory tests conducted at Texas A&M University confirm the effectiveness of Repela™for Rodents in deterring rats from chewing.

The combination of repellents and deterrents makes Repela™ for Rodents (Anti-Rodent Masterbatch) the most effective additive in the world for protecting plastics from rodent damage.

Main Features

EVA-based which makes Repela™ compatible with PVC, LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, LSOH/HFFR, XLPE, EPDM, PP, ABS, and others.

Repela™ mixes uniformly with base polymer at normal processing temperatures.

Non-toxic, non-hazardous, non-dangerous and environmentally friendly

In line with REACH and RoHS (SGS Testing & Control Services Singapore)

Effectiveness test available (Texas A&M University)

Biocidal Masterbatches product type 19 available.

How it works

What the research has proven is that animals chew on plastic materials because they look good, smell good and taste good. Repela™alters that attractiveness in the following four ways:

  First, when the animal bites into the plastic, they will experience an extremely   foul-tasting material.

Second, this foul-taste experience is combined with an extraordinarily pungency that causes severe distress to the mucosa of the animal, making the mouth, nose and eyes burn.

Third, Repela™has a distinct odor that animals will now associate with the bad experience. This leads to behavior modification and animals avoid these products in the future.

Fourth, the fear response and unpleasant reaction is also communicated to other animals in the vicinity.

Typical applications

Wire and cables

Tubes and pipes

Electrical boxes

Wiring harnesses

Food and feed bags

Trash bags

Usage information

Typically, Repela™for Rodents (Anti-Rodent Masterbatch) is typically added at rates of 3-5%, depending on the application, but in certain applications where the product has a very thin profile (like tape and film), rates can be as high as 7%. In other uses, 1-2% is satisfactory. Experimentation to optimize usage is the only true guide for your specific application.

Environmental concerns

Aversion Technologies is guided by the principle of doing no harm to people, plants, or animals and no damage to the environment. Our approach is to not injure animals or add hazardous chemicals to the environment. Using Repela™ meets these goals. Repela does not harm animals. Furthermore, Repela™is permanently captured in the polymer so that it does not leach into the environment.