Talk:Rodenticide

Removed sections

The following POV section was removed. *Exeunt* Ganymead | Dialogue? 19:55, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

== Criticism ==

The practice of rodenticide is heavily criticized by animal rights activists due to the fact that human beigns are no less harmful to the enviroment than the rats are, since we infest, consume the planet and prejudice other live beings pretty much the same way rats do, therefore, if there is a reason for the unnecessary killing of rats, so there is a reason for the unnecessary killing of people, as in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings by the United States of America. Activists also complain that the rodents are essencial to the ecological balance and that by killing them, one would be unbalancing the balance of ecology, causing the much feared Global Warming. Rats just want a place to live and reproduce, just like we do, and they think and have feelings just like we do, so we should treat them the same way we would like them to treat us: with care and love.

Removed from the Alterntaive segment for being POV and unsourced. *Exeunt* Ganymead | Dialogue? 19:57, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

It's also possible to kill rats by the means of shotgun blasts, but that's an extremely expensive and messy alternative, although it can be quite fun for the challenges it presents. Rat-shotgunning is a popular sport in many rural areas, it usually has no rules but some can be set by the players if so they wish: killing the rat with a head shot worths 5 points, while killing it but not with a head shot worhts one. Incapaciting but not killing the friendly mousey worths 10 points. The dead mice are usually made into hamburgers and fed to the kids. Ratburgers are considered to be one of the many fine delicacies of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and are eaten raw or fried.

WTF man have you never eaten a ratburger? --Cuzandor 20:14, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

Vomit reflex

I understand rats have no vomit reflex so if an emetic is added to the rat poison it will cause other animals to puke it up before a lethal dose can be assimilated. Is this true?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomiting

• Partially, yes. Some rodenticides (e.g. zinc phosphide, scilliroside) are emetics themselfs, sometimes, an antimony emetic (antimony-potassium tartrate) is added (f.e. to zinc phosphide or thallium sulfate) so they are partially safer in animals that can vomit (such as dog or cat), however

even if vomiting occurs soon after ingestion of the poison, an intoxication can be possible due to the amouth of rodenticide, that is resorbed prior to vomiting (especially, metal phosphides/phosphine generated from them in gastric juice, strychnine, crimidine and tetramin are resorbed very quickly). Another, similar approach in making the baits more safe for pets and children is adding a little amouth of extremely bitter tasting agent (Bitrex, denatonium benzoate, added to most baits at 0.001%); however, this approach, despite claims of the manufacturers, makes the baits less palatable to rodents (they can taste Bitrex as well). Only reliable protection of pets and other non-target animals is to apply the bait in closed bait-stations and to use rodenticides, that pose no or very little secondary poisoning hazard (intoxications of carnivores by eating poisoned carcasses of rodents; safe in this sense are f.e. zinc phosphide and first generation anticoagulants, as warfarin and coumateralyl).--84.163.116.7 22:23, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Burning Mouth?

Removed the last sentence in the intro paragraph - it was added by anon, with no reference and was silly. --Storkk 21:21, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Edit of October 07th 2006

I edited the list of (formerly) used non-anticoagulant rodenticides;

Barium is not a heavy metal, it's an alkaline earth metal; thallium is a heavy metal, in turn; Zyklon B was pure HCN, (not a solution of it) absorbed in an inert carrier; curare was NEVER used as an rodenticide because it is poisonous only upon parenteral application (i.e. injection, or wound contamination with a sufficient dose of the poison). It's highly unlikely, that chasing single rats with a syringe full of curare and needle on it would be an effective mean of decimating rat population. I also removed the Paris green mentioned, because this compound was used only as insecticide and conservation agent. If author (or somebody else) can provide a reasonable source, that mentions some use of it as rodenticide in the past, I'll accept it.

P.S.: this article should, in my opinion be named "Rodenticide" and there should be a redirection on it from the "Rat poison" title; the reason of doing so is obvious: the mentioned compounds/poisons (anticoagulants; metal phosphides; bromethalin; thallium salts etc.) are not only used for eradicating rats ("raticides") but also house and field mice and other commensal or agriculture-compromising rodent species; "rat poisons" (raticides) are in fact a part of the whole rodenticides group of compounds, particulary useful for use in exterminating rats (as first generation anticoagulants are, for example). If someone has objections against changing the title from "Rat poison" to "Rodenticide" with redirection from "Rat poison", he/she should present it here, otherwise, I will change the title in next days.--84.163.124.102 21:46, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Edit of October 14th, 2006

I edited the anticoagulant and hypercalcemia sections. In hypercalcemia, I mentioned specific brand mark product, but only for the historical reason (the mentioned Sorexa mark was first to apply calciferol as an active toxicant).--Spiperon 21:31, 14 October 2006 (UTC)