Does diphacinone (common type of 1st Gen rat poison) in an animal that has ingested it and died underground or been buried, break down in soil, and if so, how quickly?
I attempted to research this online and about the only definitive info. I could find was that:
A) Diphacinone is metabolized fairly slowly in the body of living warm blooded creatures.
B) Critters with blood with clotting properties, and might consume the dead animal, can ingest enough “second hand” diphacinone to be harmed or killed.
C) Insects & worms that consume the dead animal may temporarily show elevated levels of diphacinone but do not seem to be harmed (they are not dependent on “our” type blood clotting mechanisms) and apparently pass diphacinone through without significantly metabolizing it.
D) “No info” on decomposition by fungus, bacteria, etc., consuming the dead animal. I found “no info” on decomposition / degradation of diphacinone by soil bacteria and such, either.
E) DDT is more persistent (2-15 years half-life) in the environment than diphacinone, but no further data or specifics regarding diphacinone persistence was given.
I have a raccoon in a paw (dog proof) trap. I’m pretty sure it ALSO consumed quite a bit of rat poison B4 encountering the trap. Will have to shoot the ‘coon, of course, but, instead of cooking it & feeding it to our chickens, burying it SEEMS the best bet? Trash pickup is 5 days away, temps will be in the 90’s - not a good option...
I have no idea! Pinging others for help. I’m not in charge of Critter Trapping/Disposal around here. For all I know Beau takes them to another farm where they can live a happy life with other happy critters, LOL!
If you have a sawmill near you, get some sawdust, set racoon on the ground and then cover well. No odor and it will be nothing but bones in a couple of months. I did it with a goat once and there was nothing but bones left behind. No fur even. The ground was raised up where the goat’s organs would be. Microorganisms are amazing.
You could probably put a couple of inches of sawdust down first as a bed/base, then add coon, then cover. Wouldn’t hurt to wet the base layer. Microbial life needs water.
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/composting-dead-animals-in-sawdust.334013/
http://compost.css.cornell.edu/turkeys.html