Decades on, EPA on verge of curbing use of rat poisons

MSNBC.com ^ | December 22, 2010 | Robert McClure

[CedarDave]

The Brand names include Havoc, Talon, Contrac, Maki, Ratimus and d-CON Mouse Pruf II.

The EPA now is moving to curb widespread use of these rodenticides, starting next June. That move, however, could be short-circuited by a lawsuit filed by the multinational corporation the sells d-CON products.

Pesticide manufacturers, applicators and health officials say controlling rats is an important public health goal because they can spread a number of diseases, including hemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis, salmonellosis and rat bite fever.

[C210N]

I think rats would take offense to that remark. An apology is in order. ;-)

I love those cuddly and furry rats. Its the 'Rats that I loath and detest.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Unofficial NM Motto:

Land of the flea.
Home of the plague.

Actually have a science fiction convention called Bubonicon.

[CholeraJoe]

The CDC should probably stock up on Plague vaccine (FWIW) and antibiotics.

[sportutegrl]

Set traps, they work too.

This leaves the problem of what to do with the still squirming mouse/rat. I suggest Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes. The small box is the perfect size for a mouse or small rat. For only 4.90 you can ship it straight to the EPA. If it fits, it ships.

[CedarDave]

Want to humanely catch the mouse that is running along the baseboards in your house??

1. Take an empty gift wrap roll, cover and tape off one end and place along the baseboard.
2. Chase the mouse with a yardstick or broom handle. It will see the black hole of the open end of the tube and scurry in.
3. Lift the tube and cover the opening with gloved hand.
4. Open door and release mouse in sight of neighbor’s cat.
What happens then you can not be responsible for!

[P.O.E.]

"Hey, Do the Mouse, yeah"

Soupy on "Hullaballoo"

[SunkenCiv]

Ratman, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo,
Ratman, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo,
Ratman, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo,
Ratman, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo,
Ratman, Ratman, Ratman, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo...

Thanks CedarDave.

[bigheadfred]

Used to be the main ingredient in rat poison was Warfarin.

Same thing ya’ll get can from your doctor.

Got some in my medicine cabinet.

[SunkenCiv]

Not too sure that isn’t still in use.

I’ve got some ideas about how to rid cities of rats, and NYC would be a great place to start working on it, with its billion-ish rat population.

And ahead of time, I’d be preparing a huge breeding population of voles (North America’s native relative of the hamster and lemming) to fill the niche vacated by the rats, to keep them from regaining a foothold.

[bigheadfred]

The voles were in epidemic proportions around the area where my folks live. They damaged a lot of the spud crop down there. Our cat caught a lot around here last summer. She just leaves them dead on the doorstep.

All the Health and Welfare has to do is pop out a new food pyramid with a rat at the top and problem solved.

[CedarDave]

It's the same thing as the products listed in my opening excerpted sentence. Here is the entire paragraph which I had to cut to meet the posting limitations:

Known as anti-coagulants, the chemicals prevent blood from clotting or coagulating. One is known as warfarin — the same chemical sold to people as Coumadin, a prescription blood thinner. A new "super toxic" strain of rodenticide was developed in the 1970s because it required only a single dose to kill a rat. The Brand names include Havoc, Talon, Contrac, Maki, Ratimus and d-CON Mouse Pruf II.

[bigheadfred]

I was reading the rats were getting resistant to Warfarin.

[bigheadfred]

Surely you’re not suggesting I break with tradition and actually read the article before I post? :-))

[artichokegrower]

We in the agricultural world are being told to kill off all rodents so they don’t poop on the lettuce. Got the new Food Safety Bill in the works. Now we can’t eliminate the critters that contaminate the spinach with Ecoli. Wish they would make up their minds.

[CedarDave]

Surely you’re not suggesting I break with tradition and actually read the article before I post? :-))

It's a cat and mouse game (poor pun!) between the poster and the poster police (the mods) who would excerpt everything down to a single sentence if they could. I understand the reason for it, but it makes for incomplete posts that leave out good information.

[SunkenCiv]

The reason it worked is because it causes them to bleed to death. But I’ve heard that too. Probably some gubmint busybody forced the dosage down for “safety” reasons (because too many people let their kids play in the rat poison) and rendered it ineffective. My father used to recount how, before WWII, rats could be seen at dawn and dusk, in great numbers, and this was out in the Boonies.

[SunkenCiv]

A $1 bounty would get rid of the urban rats and get the homeless off the street.