What are Rodenticides

Rodenticides, also known as "rat poisons," are ingestible pesticides used to kill rats, mice, and other target rodents. These products are inhumane, pose serious threats to animals, including family pets and wildlife, the environment, and to human health, while at the same time failing to control rodent populations over the long-term. Chemicals classified as rodenticides vary in the active ingredients they include, but generally aim to kill unwanted pests by preventing normal blood clotting, causing internal hemorrhaging, or disturbing nervous system functions. These compounds, enhanced with attractive flavors and colors, are commonly placed in and around homes and commercial areas to attract unwanted wildlife, leading to death.

Symptoms of rodenticide poisoning can take days to appear, and rodents can survive for days to weeks after ingesting a lethal dose. The delayed onset of symptoms, combined with their recognition of the bait as a food source, permits the poisoned rat to continue feeding on baits for days leading up to their death. By the time the rat finally dies, it is possible that it has accumulated poison far exceeding the lethal dose. 

In addition to the harm to the rodent, a weak, poisoned rat serves as easy prey. This gives rise to the secondary poisoning of predators such as foxes, owls, and other raptors who consume the rodent. Contact with poisoned rats can even affect humans, household pets, and water sources.

By poisoning raptors and other predators that feed on rodents, rodenticides effectively reduce the efficacy of natural and chemical-free means of controlling rat populations. Relying on poison for control distracts from the root of infestation problems - by eliminating the resident population, SGARs allow a new group to move in. Additionally, poisoned rats mate faster in the time before their deaths to compensate for thinning numbers.