Posted on 12/29/2016 6:07:10 PM PST by daniel1212
Major cities in the U.S., including New York, Boston, Chicago, and others, began using dry ice several months ago in an effort to reduce rodent populations that had increased considerably after last year's warm winter, and it proved to be very effective. USA Today is reporting that in some cities, there has been a 95 percent reduction in the number of rodents using dry ice.
The rather chilling extermination method involves dropping dry ice, frozen carbon dioxide, into rat burrows and then stuffing the openings with newspapers and dirt. As the dry ice melts, carbon dioxide gas is released, suffocating the rodents, leaving them to decompose in their holes, away from humans.
The dry ice method is efficient and cheap, say officials in cities where it has been tested. Chicago launched its dry ice program in August this year and saw an immediate 60 percent reduction in rat populations. They also say dry ice is very cost effective, costing around 50 cents a pound compared to rat poison pellets that run $57.00 for a 20-pound bucket....
The EPA says that with any product used as a pesticide or rodenticide, it must be vetted for public safety, highlighting the complicated process of approving the use of pesticide use in this country. And states must enforce federal guidelines if the EPA cites any violations. The use of dry ice in controlling rodent populations came to the EPA's attention after the news media gave the rat killing method widespread coverage. Many municipalities and school districts contacted the EPA, asking about the legality of using dry ice.
Other consumer groups wanted to know if cities using dry ice had created any guidelines to ensure the product was being safely handled by employees.
And then People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stepped into the fray, saying rodents "deserve our protection."
Not being picky but dry ice does not melt. It sublimes. It goes directly from the solid state to gas.
Nonetheless; it is a good way to kill rodents if you can confine them.
But of course it’s perfectly fine for EPA itself to stupidly release millions of gallons of heavy metal laden mine tailings into the Animas River basin poisoning untold fish, wildlife and farm/ranch animals along with hundreds of thousand humans water supplies and irrigation for food growth and animal feed. That EPA, right ?
PETA might adapt that, but consider:
Alberta is one of only two Canadian provinces with no sea access, and was settled relatively late in North American history. The black rat cannot survive in its climate at all, and brown rats must live near people and their structures. They cannot evade the numerous predators in natural areas or survive the winters in farm fields. It took until 1950 for invading rats to make their way to Alberta over land from Eastern Canada.[71] Immediately upon their arrival at the eastern border with Saskatchewan, the Alberta government implemented an extremely aggressive rat control program to stop them from advancing further.
A systematic detection and eradication system was used throughout a control zone about 600 kilometres (400 mi) long and 30 kilometres (20 mi) wide along the eastern border of the province to eliminate rat infestations before the rats could spread further into the province. Shotguns, bulldozers, high explosives, poison gas, and incendiaries were used to destroy rats. Numerous farm buildings were destroyed in the process. Initially, tons of arsenic trioxide were spread around thousands of farm yards to poison rats, but soon after the program commenced the rodenticide and medical drug warfarin was introduced, which is much safer for people (it is a commonly prescribed medicine), and more effective at killing rats than arsenic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat
I was going to suggest a propane-air mixture with remote ignition as more fun than Cold CO2, but guessed that the outbuildings might be at risk....
“And then People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stepped into the fray, saying rodents “deserve our protection.”
Huh?
Catch rats in a live trap and take them to EPA office and turn loose.
The EPA of Europe back in 1347 was also against dry ice to kill rats. The Black Plague followed..... True story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
Damn those dry ice using rodents. . . maybe we should just convert them to using regular water ice? Or perhaps they have just moved on to heavier drug use
Good "catch!"
They should have received one of their own heavy fines.
...there has been a 95 percent reduction in the number of rodents using dry ice.That's great. I never would have guessed, though, that there were so many rodents using dry ice that it would be a problem in the first place. :=)
Maybe we should disband the EPA.
We used to use propane in ground squirrel burrows they were digging in our earth-fill dams.
Worked pretty good against NVA tunnel complexes also.
EPA missed the key angle. CO2 is a greenhouse gas. This causes global warming and therefore the method must be banned!
“there has been a 95 percent reduction in the number of rodents using dry ice.”
Interesting. The more dry ice the put out, the more the rodents are using it.
Where does it say it is illegal?
“I’ll have to pass this on to friends of mine who have been dealing with woodchucks in their lawn for years.”
They sell dry ice at most grocery stores. Moles and other burrowing varmits could be removed VI’s this technique.
Just what were the rodents using the dry ice for?
The key is to find the exit. Car exhaust would be even cheaper but that would have to be registered and approved as a pesticide, along with anything else.
EPA would arrest him and jail him.
Why would you describe as “well meaning”, something you called “regulatory excess”? How do you know the motives behind this government diktat? Population control is an EPA objective and there is nothing well meaning about it.
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