Non-Anticoagulant Rat Poison
A wide variety of rodenticides are available on the market. They work in different ways, have different effects on the environment and pets, and can take anywhere from a few seconds to several days to kill the rat. Knowing the options available can provide you with an informed opinion to use in consultation with your local pest control expert.
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Warning
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Someone not properly trained and licenced to handle non-anticoagulant rat poisons should not seek to purchase or use them. Misuse of non-anticoagulant rodenticides carries severe legal penalties, and the consequences for humans and animal life can be quite severe, including damage to the nervous system, heart or death. In case of accidental exposure to these chemicals, the US Poison Control hot-line (1-800-222-1222) should be contacted immediately.
Convulsants
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A convulsant is a type of poison that overloads the rat's nervous system. It sends the animal into convulsions and fits of twitching until it eventually dies of asphyxia or exhaustion. These drugs can be harmful to humans and other pets in that they can cause convulsions or fatal epileptic shock. The most comon variety of this drug is strychnine, other types include phenylsilatrane and crimidine. Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine is also categorized as a convulsant rat poison but has been banned world-wide since 1984.
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Inorganic Compounds
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Certain inorganic compounds, such as aluminium phosphide, are mixed with food and ingested by the rodents. Once the compound mixes with the digestive acid in the rat's stomach, a toxic phosphine gas is produced that kills the rodent. Aluminium phosphide, calcium phosphide and zinc phosphide all work in similar ways. Other inorganic compounds include arsenic, barium carbonate, cyanide and thallium. Some of these inorganic compounds are used in fumigation as well but even proximity to these fumes can be deadly for humans.
Organochlorine
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A wide variety of poisons and pesticides have been made from chlorine, many of which (such as DDT) have been banned in several countries due to their adverse affect on local animal and human life. Endrin is a poison produced from chlorine used in agricultural settings to deter rodents from orchards. Another variety is chloralose, which kills birds and mice below 15 degrees Celsius.
Metabolic Poisons
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Bromethalin is a type of metabolic poison used for rodenticide. It poisons the rat's central nervous system which eventually lead to paralysis and convulsions before death. Bromethalin has no antidote, and it is possible for household pets to receive secondary poisoning if they eat the carcass of a rat which has consumed bromethalin. Other metabolic poisons include sodium fluoroacetate and fluoroacetamide.
Calciferols
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Calciferols work by causing the rat to ingest dangerously high levels of vitamin D. This slows the rat's heart and can cause reactions such as ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest. Usually, symptoms do not arise for 18 to 36 hours after the rat has ingested the poison. This can cause the problem of needing to find and remove the rat after it has died. Common forms of this drug include cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol. Calciferols are unsafe for humans and pets.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit intoxicating rat image by Dmitry Polyansky from Fotolia.com
