glumshoe:

cjwhiteshizzle:

THINK BEFORE YOU BUY POISON!!

I know none of you want to see this but something has to be done! Awareness and education are key!!!

A friend of mine found this great horned owl that had eaten a poisoned rodent and died a slow terrible death.

When you’re setting out poison to kill rats, mice, ect. you’re very well setting poison out to also kill hawks, owls, etc.– basically animals that are “on your side”, helping you to eliminate those rodents.

Poisoned rodents don’t just immediately flop over and die. They’ll slowly stagger around as the poison begins to take effect, making them an easy meal for another animal to grab.

Some people might remember that I’ve posted about this before (the Great Horned owl baby found laying on the ground in April– also found too late to be saved.) This is unfortunately a common tragedy. Many people admire birds of prey, saying how beautiful they are, how they “absolutely love owls”, yet a disturbing amount are unaware that their uneducated/inconsiderate actions are leading to those birds dying an agonizing death as they slowly bleed internally.Someone I know who does wildlife rehabilitation/rescue recently got in a Red-tailed hawk that had consumed poison. They were ultimately unable to treat him, and she wasn’t even in the same room when she heard him gasping and wheezing, dying. For at least 10 years she has treated hundreds, probably thousands of animals and said it was one of the most disturbing things she’s witnessed dealing with wildlife.

Please consider what your actions may lead to. There are safer alternatives. Again, when you put out poison, you’re setting up a death for those that are naturally taking care of those rodents you want gone.

This is extremely important. Rodent poisons often market themselves as “single-feed kills”, but since it can take several days for them to die, rats and mice will go back and feed many times from the same poison, resulting in a toxin build-up many times higher than the poison manufactures advertise. The poison makes rodents very thirsty, which is what causes them to leave your house in search of water to become prey for non-target species - including house pets. 

In California, the only state other than New York that has looked carefully, rodenticides showed up in 79 percent of fishers (one fisher even transferred poisons to her kit via her milk), 78 percent of mountain lions, 84 percent of San Joaquin kit foxes, and, in San Diego County, 92 percent of raptors.  - Audubon Society

The bird rehab center my father works at sees countless cases of poisoning in raptors every year. Owls, hawks, and even bald eagles will bleed out from weakened and ruptured blood vessels and/or suffer from large, debilitating hematomas. It’s gross. It’s ugly. And, ultimately, it’s ineffective - I don’t think I need to describe how killing off the natural predators of a pest species you’re trying to control completely backfires. 

I’m seeing a lot of articles, including the Audubon one linked above and this one from Scientific American, focusing exclusively on second-generation “super-lethal” poisons like Talon and Havoc. That’s fair, but it risks downplaying the dangerous effects of first-generation poisons, which also accumulate in predator species. The truth is, there aren’t any ‘safe’ rodenticides, despite what advertisers may claim. 

If you want to get rid of pests, avoid sticky traps - which are cruel and can trap non-target species - and all poisons. Traditional baited snap traps and more sanitary rat zappers are reusable and kill immediately. Don’t want to deal with disposing of a body? Use live traps and release the rodents far from your home. 

I realize most of my followers are probably in their mid to late teens and don’t have any involvement in household pest control. However, I seriously urge you to talk to your parents or guardians about the dangers of rodenticide poisons and wildlife/pet-safe alternatives. This is a huge issue that is just incredibly difficult to raise awareness for and get people to care about.