Poison Control

[Howard E]

To the OP......That sounds like a good trick.......as long as you also use something like a piece of #14 wire (or even a clothes hanger) or something to pin the blocks in place, so rats can't back out with larger chunks. If they can, they would scatter them to the wind. Now we are talking primary poisoning.

Would be easy enough to do.....just put a small L in the bottom so chucks can't slide off the bottom, then stack them in place by sliding down the wire......inside the tube.

BTW, your bait station idea is pretty similar to the commercial made versions intended for roof rats. Those tend to be tubes vs. the rectangular boxes used for brown rats.

 

[JaeG]

If there is a way to trap the rats first so they absolutely cannot escape THEN poison them, I think I'd be okay with it for extreme infestations. The problem is these companies don't make the bait containers that way and most people don't use them safely. Rat poison is considered hazardous waste, so unused bait and the poisoned rats must be disposed of properly.

Depending on the active ingredient some baits are less toxic. Baits containing Coumatetralyl carry a low risk of secondary poisoning. Brodifacoum is the nasty one that carries a much higher risk. The downside of using less toxic baits is that the rodents must eat more of it to receive a toxic dose.

There's a bait available in New Zealand that isn't toxic to other animals. It contains a cellulose that rats cannot digest - they lack the gut enzyme to do this. But it is only suitable in situations where you can really limit access to other food sources as it isn't that palatable.

Vets will tell you the cases of poisoning that they see are where a cat or dog have been able to directly access the bait.

One thing you could do would be to provide a water source as the baits make rodents thirsty. Use a half filled bucket of water that they can easily climb onto and they will fall in and drown. I found that out by accident when we had a mouse outbreak here.

 

[Weeg]

So, you haven’t actually experienced or witnessed it?

I have, I know plenty of people who have used poison, my dog ate a poisoned animal once and we had to take her to the vet our selves, so that is may main concern. I don't want to be the bad guy, and I am sorry if I seemed like I was, I just have my opinions on poison. Sorry for the incoveince, and OP, your DIY bait station is a great idea!

 

[StinkyAcres]

Depending on the active ingredient some baits are less toxic.

Yes, I only recently found this out from Animal Poison Control and my vets. But I also heard that, at least here in the U.S., the newer baits are more dangerous as they are made with vitamin D3 and there is no antidote. My dog could die from eating just one gram of the stuff.

 

[bobbi-j]

I have, I know plenty of people who have used poison, my dog ate a poisoned animal once and we had to take her to the vet our selves, so that is may main concern. I don't want to be the bad guy, and I am sorry if I seemed like I was, I just have my opinions on poison. Sorry for the incoveince, and OP, your DIY bait station is a great idea!

We have used poison for rats here for years. Never had a problem with secondary poisoning. Nor have I ever seen dead or dying rats around here.

I wouldn’t say you sounded like the bad guy, and now that you have shared your experience, it lends credibility to your answer. So often, people just repeat things they’ve read, not knowing if it’s correct or not. (I used to do the same thing at first. I have learned that it’s more helpful to just share my experiences rather than repeat information that I really have no idea whether or not it’s accurate.)

OP, thank you for sharing - I plan on giving this information to DH and have him make a bait tube when he gets a chance.

 

[Stablecoop]

Just my two cents, but previous owner of our property built these devices as well. We agreed that it was pretty foolproof. Unfortunately some of the rats actually dragged poison blocks out of the trap after they were partially eaten. Don’t know how they managed it. Our dog found the stash and ate 7 blocks. That was a bad day, and the only reason I am posting is to mention that these traps are not completely fool proof. Whether you use them or not is up to you of course but this was something we would never have thought would happen to an otherwise well thought out plan.

 

[Krazikatlady64]

I had an inside house cat die from eating a poisoned rat. My neighbors poison everything! The rat got into my house and the cat killed it. She got poisoned and had to be put down. Yes it was rat poison.

 

[Weeg]

I had an inside house cat die from eating a poisoned rat. My neighbors poison everything! The rat got into my house and the cat killed it. She got poisoned and had to be put down. Yes it was rat poison.

Ohh! That is so terrible! I am so sorry! Rat position is dangerous, I never use it, it has it consequences. Thank you for sharing you experience, I am so sorry for you loss! *hugs and more hugs* Avery

 

[Krazikatlady64]

Thank you! I would have not believed it if I had not experienced it myself. You have to choose how to remedy your own situation. All I can say is think it through. Rats are terrible creatures and so destructive.

 

[JaeG]

Yes, I only recently found this out from Animal Poison Control and my vets. But I also heard that, at least here in the U.S., the newer baits are more dangerous as they are made with vitamin D3 and there is no antidote. My dog could die from eating just one gram of the stuff.

Yikes - it sure pays to do your research and read labels so you know what you are buying then. I did see articles from the UK where certain populations of rats have become immune to traditional poisons, which is also scary.