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"Rat poison" redirects here. For the UNIX window manager, see ratpoison. In Unix computing ratpoison is a free minimalist Window manager for the X Window System primarily written by Shawn For other methods of killing rodents, see "alternatives" below.
A roof rat in urban environment
A roof rat in urban environment

Rodenticides are a category of pest control chemicals intended to kill rodents. Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a Species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's Health A chemical substance is a Material with a definite chemical composition. Rodentia is an order of Mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must

Single feed baits are chemicals sufficiently dangerous that the first dose is sufficient to kill.

Rodents are difficult to kill with poisons because their feeding habits reflect their place as scavengers. Scavenging, or necrophagy, is a Carnivorous Feeding behaviour in which a predator consumes Corpses or Carrion that were killed They will eat a small bit of something and wait, and if they don't get sick, they continue. An effective rodenticide must be tasteless and odorless in lethal concentrations, and have a delayed effect.

Contents

Poisonous chemicals

Anticoagulants

Anticoagulants are defined as chronic (death occurs after 1 - 2 weeks post ingestion of the lethal dose, rarely sooner), single-dose (second generation) or multiple of the vitamin K cycle, resulting in inability to produce essential blood-clotting factors (mainly coagulation factors II (prothrombin), VII (proconvertin), IX (Christmas factor) and X (Stuart factor)). Thrombin (activated Factor II ') is a Coagulation protein that has many effects in the coagulation cascade. Factor VII (formerly known as proconvertin) is one of the central Proteins in the coagulation cascade. Factor IX (or Christmas factor) is one of the Serine proteases ( of the Coagulation system it belongs to peptidase family S1

In addition to this specific metabolic disruption, toxic doses of 4-hydroxycoumarin or 4-hydroxythiacoumarin and indandione anticoagulants cause damage to tiny blood vessels (capillaries), increasing their permeability, causing diffuse internal bleedings (haemorrhagias). 4-Hydroxycoumarins are a class of molecules derived from Coumarin by adding a Hydroxy group at the 4 position Capillaries are the smallest of a body's Blood vessels measuring 5-10 μm in diameter which connect Arterioles and Venules and enable the interchange These effects are painless and gradual, developing over several days. In final phase of the intoxication, the exhausted rodent collapses in hypovolemic circulatory shock or severe anemia and dies calmly. Anemia ( AmE) or anæmia/anaemia ( BrE) (from the Ancient Greek grc-Latn anaîmia, meaning “without blood” is defined as a qualitative Rodenticidal anticoagulants are either first generation agents (4-hydroxycoumarin type: warfarin, coumatetralyl; indandione type: pindone, diphacinone, chlorophacinone), generally requiring higher concentrations (usually between 0. Warfarin (also known under the brand names Coumadin, Jantoven, Marevan, and Waran) is an Anticoagulant. Coumatetralyl is an Anticoagulant of the Warfarin type Symptoms of overexposure relate to failure of the Blood clotting mechanism and include bleeding Pindone is an Anticoagulant Drug for agricultural use It is commonly used as a Rodenticide in the management of Rat and Rabbit 005 and 0. 1%) and consecutive intake over days in order to accumulate the lethal dose, and less toxic than second generation agents, which are derivatives of 4-hydroxycoumarin (difenacoum, brodifacoum, bromadiolone and flocoumafen) or difethialone (4-hydroxy-1-benzothiin-2-one, sometimes incorrectly referred to as 4-hydroxy-1-thiocoumarin, see heterocyclic compounds). Toxicology Brodifacoum has a similar mode of action to Warfarin. Coumarin is a Chemical compound ( Benzopyrone) a Toxin found in many Plants notably in high concentration in the Tonka bean,

Second generation agents are far more toxic than first generation. They are generally applied in lower concentrations in baits (usually in order 0. 001 - 0. 005%), are lethal after a single ingestion of bait and are also effective against strains of rodents that became resistant to first generation anticoagulants; thus, the second generation anticoagulants are sometimes referred to as "superwarfarins".

Sometimes, anticoagulant rodenticides are potentiated by an antibiotic or bacteriostatic agent, most commonly sulfaquinoxaline. In modern usage an antibiotic is a Chemotherapeutic agent with activity against Microorganisms such as Bacteria, fungi or Protozoa Bacteriostatic Antibiotics limit the growth of bacteria by interfering with bacterial Protein production DNA replication or other aspects of The aim of this association is that the antibiotic suppresses intestinal symbiotic microflora, which are a source of vitamin K. This article is about the biological phenomenon for other uses see Symbiosis (disambiguation The term symbiosis (from the Greek The gut flora are the Microorganisms that normally live in the Digestive tract and can perform a number of useful functions for their hosts Diminished production of vitamin K by the intestinal microflora contributes to the action of anticoagulants. Added vitamin D also has a synergistic effect with anticoagulants. Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble Prohormones, the two major forms of which are vitamin D2 (or Ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (or

In some countries, fixed three-component rodenticides, i. e. anticoagulant + antibiotic + vitamin D, are used. Associations of a second-generation anticoagulant with an antibiotic and/or vitamin D are considered to be effective even against most resistant strains of rodents, though some second generation anticoagulants (namely brodifacoum and difethialone), in bait concentrations of 0. 0025 - 0. 005% are so toxic that resistance is unknown, and even rodents resistant to other rodenticides are reliably exterminated by application of these most toxic anticoagulants.

Vitamin K1 has been suggested, and successfully used, as antidote for pets or humans accidentally or intentionally (poison assaults on pets, suicidal attempts) exposed to anticoagulant poisons. Vitamin K (K from "Koagulations-Vitamin" in German Danish Swedish and Norwegian denotes a group of Lipophilic, Hydrophobic Vitamins that A pet is an Animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a househeld animal as opposed to Livestock, Laboratory animals Working animals Some of these poisons act by inhibiting liver functions and in advanced stages of poisoning, several blood-clotting factors are absent, and the volume of circulating blood is diminished, so that a blood transfusion (optionally with the clotting factors present) can save a person who has been poisoned, an advantage over some older poisons. The liver is a vital organ in the human body and is present in Vertebrates and some other animals

The main benefit of anticoagulants over other poisons is that the time taken for the poison to induce death means that the rats do not associate death with eating the poison.

Metal phosphides

Metal phosphides have been used as a means of killing rodents and are considered single-dose fast acting rodenticides (death occurs commonly within 1-3 days after single bait ingestion). A bait consisting of food and a phosphide (usually zinc phosphide) is left where the rodents can eat it. Zinc phosphide ( Zn3[[Phosphorus P2]] is an Inorganic Chemical compound. The acid in the digestive system of the rodent reacts with the phosphide to generate the toxic phosphine gas. Phosphine is the common name for phosphorus hydride (PH3 also known by the IUPAC name phosphane and occasionally phosphamine. This method of vermin control has possible use in places where rodents are resistant to some of the anticoagulants, particularly for control of house and field mice; zinc phosphide baits are also cheaper than most second-generation anticoagulants, so that sometimes, in the case of large infestation by rodents, their population is initially reduced by copious amounts of zinc phosphide bait applied, and the rest of population that survived the initial fast-acting poison is then eradicated by prolonged feeding on anticoagulant bait. Inversely, the individual rodents, that survived anticoagulant bait poisoning (rest population) can be eradicated by pre-baiting them with nontoxic bait for a week or two (this is important to overcome bait shyness, and to get rodents used to feeding in specific areas by specific food, especially in eradicating rats) and subsequently applying poisoned bait of the same sort as used for pre-baiting until all consumption of the bait ceases (usually within 2-4 days). These methods of alterning rodenticides with different modes of action gives actual or almost 100% eradications of the rodent population in the area, if the acceptance/palatability of baits are good (i. e. , rodents feed on it readily).

Zinc phosphide is typically added to rodent baits in amount of around 0. 75-2%. The baits have strong, pungent garlic-like odor characteristic for phosphine liberated by hydrolysis. Phosphine is the common name for phosphorus hydride (PH3 also known by the IUPAC name phosphane and occasionally phosphamine. Hydrolysis is a Chemical reaction during which one or more water molecules are split into hydrogen and hydroxide ions which may go on to participate in further reactions The odor attracts (or, at least, does not repulse) rodents, but has repulsive effect on other mammals. Birds (notably wild turkeys) are not sensitive to the smell, and will feed on the bait, and thus become collateral damage. The Wild Turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes.

The tablets or pellets (usually aluminium, calcium or magnesium phosphide for fumigation/gassing) may also contain other chemicals which evolve ammonia which helps to reduce the potential for spontaneous ignition or explosion of the phosphine gas. Ammonia is a compound with the formula N[[hydrogen H3]] It is normally encountered as a Gas with a characteristic pungent Odor Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of Exothermic chemical reactions between a Fuel and an Oxidant accompanied by the production of An explosion is a sudden increase in Volume and release of Energy in an extreme manner usually with the generation of high Temperatures and the release

Phosphides do not accumulate in the tissues of poisoned animals, therefore the risk of secondary poisoning is low.

Before the advent of anticoagulants, phosphides were the favored kind of rat poison. During the World War II, they came in use in United States because of shortage of strychnine due to the Japanese occupation of the territories, where strychnine-producing plants are grown (Strychnos nux-vomica, in south-east Asia). Strychnine (ˈstrɪkniːn (British US /-naɪn/ or /-nɪn/ (US Phosphides are rather fast acting rat poisons, resulting in the rats dying usually in open areas instead of in the affected buildings.

Phosphides used as rodenticides are:

Hypercalcemia

Calciferols (vitamins D), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) and ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) are used as rodenticides. Aluminium phosphide is the Chemical compound with the formula AlP Fumigation is a method of Pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous Pesticides to suffocate or poison the pests within Calcium phosphide ( CP, Ca3P2 is a chemical that has uses in Incendiary bombs It has the appearance of red-brown crystalline powder or grey lumps Fumigation is a method of Pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous Pesticides to suffocate or poison the pests within Fumigation is a method of Pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous Pesticides to suffocate or poison the pests within Zinc phosphide ( Zn3[[Phosphorus P2]] is an Inorganic Chemical compound. Cholecalciferol is a form of Vitamin D, also called vitamin D3. Ergocalciferol (Deltalin Eli Lilly and Company) is a form of Vitamin D, also called vitamin D2. They are toxic to rodents for the same reason they are beneficial to mammals: they affect calcium and phosphate homeostasis in the body. Homeostasis (from Greek: ὅμος hómos, "equal" and ιστημι istēmi, "to stand" lit Vitamins D are essential in minute quantities (few IUs per kilogram body weight daily, only a fraction of a miligram), and like most fat soluble vitamins, they are toxic in larger doses, causing hypervitaminosis. In Pharmacology, the International Unit is a unit of measurement for the amount of a substance based on measured Biological activity or effect A vitamin is an Organic compound required as a Nutrient in tiny amounts by an Organism. Vitamin poisoning, or hypervitaminosis, refers to a condition of high storage levels of Vitamins which can lead to Toxic Symptoms The medical If the poisoning is severe enough (that is, if the dose of the toxin is high enough), it leads to death. In rodents that consume the rodenticidal bait, it causes hypercalcemia, raising the calcium level, mainly by increasing calcium absorption from food, mobilising bone-matrix-fixed calcium into ionised form (mainly monohydrogencarbonate calcium cation, partially bound to plasma proteins, [CaHCO3]+), which circulates dissolved in the blood plasma. Hypercalcaemia (in American English '''Hypercalcemia''' is an elevated calcium level in the Blood. An ion is an Atom or Molecule which has lost or gained one or more Valence electrons giving it a positive or negative electrical charge Blood plasma is the Liquid component of Blood, in which the Blood cells are suspended After ingestion of a lethal dose, the free calcium levels are raised sufficiently that blood vessels, kidneys, the stomach wall and lungs are mineralised/calcificated (formation of calcificates, crystals of calcium salts/complexes in the tissues, damaging them), leading further to heart problems (myocardial tissue is sensitive to variations of free calcium levels, affecting both myocardial contractibility and excitation propagation between atrias and ventriculas), bleeding (due to capillary damage) and possibly kidney failure. The blood vessels are part of the Circulatory system and function to transport Blood throughout the body The kidneys are complicated organs that have numerous biological roles In Human anatomy, the stomach is a J-shaped hollow muscular organ of the Gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of Digestion, following lung is the essential Respiration organ in air-breathing Animals including most Tetrapods a few Fish and a few Snails The most primitive It is considered to be single-dose, cumulative (depending on concentration used; the common 0. 075% bait concentration is lethal to most rodents after a single intake of larger portions of the bait) or sub-chronic (death occurring usually within days to one week after ingestion of the bait). Applied concentrations are 0. 075% cholecalciferol and 0. 1% ergocalciferol when used alone. There is an important feature of calciferols toxicology, that they are synergistic with anticoagulant toxicants, that means, that mixtures of anticoagulants and calciferols in same bait are more toxic than a sum of toxicities of the anticoagulant and the calciferol in the bait, so that a massive hypercalcemic effect can be achieved by a substantially lower calciferol content in the bait, and vice-versa, a more pronounced anticoagulant/hemorrhagic effects are observed if the calciferol is present. Synergist is a kind of Muscle which perform or assist in performing the same set of joint motion as the agonists. An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation; that is it stops Blood from clotting This synergism is mostly used in calciferol low concetration baits, because effective concentrations of calciferols are more expensive than effective concentrations of the most anticoagulants. The first application of a calciferol in rodenticidal bait was in the Sorex product Sorexa D (with a different formula than today's Sorexa D), back in early 1970s, which contained 0. 025% warfarin and 0. 1% ergocalciferol. Today, Sorexa CD contains a 0. 0025% difenacoum and 0. 075% cholecalciferol combination. Numerous other brand products containing either 0. 075-0. 1% calciferols (e. g. Quintox) alone or alongside an anticoagulant are marketed.

Although this rodenticide was introduced with claims that it was less toxic to nontarget species than to rodents, clinical experience has shown that rodenticides containing cholecalciferol are a significant health threat to dogs and cats. Cholecalciferol produces hypercalcemia, which results in systemic calcification of soft tissue, leading to renal failure, cardiac abnormalities, hypertension, CNS depression and GI upset.

Signs generally develop within 18-36 hours of ingestion and can include depression, anorexia, polyuria and polydipsia. As serum calcium concentrations increase, clinical signs become more severe, manifesting often via anorexia, vomiting and constipation in the pet. Inability of the kidneys to concentrate urine is a direct result of hypercalcemia. As hypercalcemia persists, mineralization of the kidneys results in progressive renal insufficiency.

Additional anticoagulant renders the bait more toxic to pets as well as human. Upon single ingestion, solely calciferol-based baits are considered generally safer to birds than second generation anticoagulants or acute toxicants. A specific antidote for calciferol intoxication is calcitonin, a hormone that lowers the blood levels of calcium. Calcitonin is a 32-amino acid linear polypeptide Hormone that is produced in Humans primarily by the parafollicular (also known as C-cells of the The therapy with commercially available calcitonin preparations is, however, expensive.

Other

Civilian Public Service worker distributes rat poison for typhus control in Gulfport Mississippi, ca. 1945.
Civilian Public Service worker distributes rat poison for typhus control in Gulfport Mississippi, ca. The Civilian Public Service ( CPS) provided Conscientious objectors in the United States an alternative to military service during World War II Typhus is any of several similar diseases caused by Louse -borne bacteria 1945.

Other chemical poisons include:

Alternatives

Mechanical rat traps are one possible alternative to poisons; another alternative is to have a raptor, a barn owl, or a mouser cat (cats must be trained to kill mice by their mother cat). In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by Arsenic (ˈɑrsənɪk is a Chemical element that has the symbol As and Atomic number of 33 Barium (ˈbɛəriəm is a Chemical element. It has the symbol Ba, and Atomic number 56 Toxicity is the degree to which a substance is able to damage an exposed organism The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across Barium carbonate ( Ba[[Carbonate CO]]3 also known as witherite, is a Chemical compound used in Rat poison, Bricks Bromethalin is a Rodenticide which poisons the Central nervous system by uncoupling Mitochondrial Oxidative phosphorylation, which causes The nervous system is a Network of specialized cells that communicate information about an animal's surroundings and itself An antidote or counterdose is a substance which can counteract a form of Poisoning. Chloralose is an Avicide, Rodenticide used to kill mice in temperatures below 15 °C and Bird repellent. Endrin is a cyclodiene Insecticide used on Cotton, Maize, and Rice. Phosphorus, (ˈfɒsfərəs is the Chemical element that has the symbol P and Atomic number 15 Urea is an Organic compound with the Chemical formula ( N[[hydrogen H]]22 C[[oxygen O]] Sodium fluoroacetate (also known as sodium monofluoroacetate, compound 1080 or 1080) is a potent metabolic poison that occurs naturally as an Strychnine (ˈstrɪkniːn (British US /-naɪn/ or /-nɪn/ (US Thallium (ˈθæliəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Tl and Atomic number 81 Zyklon B (tsykloːn ˈbeː also spelled Cyclon B or Hydrogen cyanide is a Chemical compound with Chemical formula HCN A machine is any device that uses Energy to perform some activity A rat trap is a trap designed to catch Rats however it may also catch other similar sized animals RAPTOR ( R econnaissance A irborne P od TOR nado is a reconnaissance pod used by the Royal Air Force on its fleet of Tornado GR The city in Russia is spelled Barnaul. The Barn Owl ( Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of WikipediaManual of Style (spelling, articles should conform to one overall spelling style of English typically the one most linked to the article topic (if it is geographic Both of these methods have a disadvantage of being comparatively messy, a particular problem when the building with a rat problem is to be uninhabited for some months. Anticoagulants have the advantage that their first effect is dehydration from blood loss, causing the unfortunate rodent to leave the building in search of water. Another alternative is the use of biological, non-toxic, yet lethal baits, consisting of anhydrous powdered maize/corn cobs, containing high fractions (over 40%) of α-cellulose, which is incorporated into a solid, gastric-resistant matrix, that is dissolved in the gut. Cellulose is an Organic compound with the formula, a Polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β(1→4 The α-cellulose anhydrous powder released in the gut of the rodent disrupts water and electrolyte balance and so kills the rodent. This material is commonly formulated with taste and flavour additives to increase its palatability, and is compressed into granulate of appropriate size (granules of bigger size for rats, smaller granules for mice). This material is completely non-toxic, leaves no harmful residues, is environmentally friendly and accidental ingestion of it by pets or children is simply treated by giving laxatives, plenty of water and electrolytes. Laxatives (or purgatives) are foods compounds or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool most often taken to treat Constipation. An electrolyte is any substance containing free Ions that behaves as an electrically conductive medium Dead rodents killed by this mean pose no risk of secondary poisoning.

Newer rodenticides have been developed to work by reducing the sperm count in males to deprive them of the ability to procreate rather than to kill rodents outright. They are usually administered in the breeding seasons of most rodents.

List of rat eradications

References


C. Molokai (also Molokai) is an Island in the Hawaiian archipelago. San Jorge Island is the second largest island in the Isabel Province, Solomon Islands. Canna ( Gaelic Eilean Channaidh) is the westernmost of the Small Isles archipelago in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. Gillies; A. Styche; P. Bradfield; K. Chalmers; M. Leach; E. Murphy; T. Ward-Smith; R. Warne (2006) Science for Conservation 270. p. 20. Department of Conservation, New Zealand. [1]

G. A. Morriss; C. E. O'Connor; A. T. Airey; P. Fisher (2008) Factors influencing palatability and efficacy of toxic baits in ship rats, Norway rats and house mice. Science for Conservation 282. p 26. Published by Department of Conservation, New Zealand. [2]

External links

Dictionary

rodenticide

-noun

  1. any toxic substance used to kill rodent pests
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