An Hybrid Algorithm to Simulate Mice Following Residential Walls

Commensal rodents such as mice that live in the proximity of human are well-known pests that can transmit diseases to man. An agent-based model is presented to formalize the spread of rodents in human habitations. We focus in this paper on the specific behaviour of mice consisting in walking along the walls (thigmotaxis). In order to simulate this behaviour we combine a cognitive architecture with an algorithm simulating rodents’ moves following residential walls. The cognitive model and the ‘wall following’ algorithm developed are successively described. Simulation configurations are tested to evaluate the robustness of the ‘wall following’ algorithm alone. In a data poor context this simple combined algorithm, using a discrete space, fulfils the basic needs to simulate a plausible mouse activity, towards a detailed representation of mice moves within a fluctuating environment.