In the current rat and mouse plague, extra care needs to be taken to help protect our birds of prey, natives and pets from accidentally ingesting rat sac.
Rat baits are dangerous and potentially deadly to animals and people that consume them. The baits are normally flavoured to make them more attractive to rodents and these can also entice other animals to eat them.
The clinical signs of rat bait poisoning vary considerably depending on the size of the animal and how much and what kind of rat bait they ingest.
There are different kinds of rat bait available, the most common are anti-coagulant poisons that stop the blood from clotting normally, resulting in excessive bleeding.
Brodifacoum is a 2nd generation rodenticide. It is a highly lethal vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant poison. In recent years, Brodifacoum has become the worlds most widely used pesticide. It is typically a rodenticide, but is also used to control larger pests like possums. Due to the long life-span of Brodifacoum in the body, prolonged treatment for poisonings is required. This type of poisoning has also been experienced in humans attempting suicide which also require long periods of Vitamin K treatment.
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin instrumental in activating your dogs blood’s ability to clot. This poison inhibits the dogs ability to use the Vitamin K in their body which leads to hemorrhaging and eventually death.
Snail bait is also harmful and not pet friendly. Alternative natural remedies for snails and slugs include used ground coffee granules around your vegetable patch.
If any types of baits are used it is important to secure the bait to an object. This avoids them being moved and making them accessible to wildlife and other animals with deadly consequences. It is important for owners to be aware that their pets do turn into scavengers and will source out anything they are not meant to have…..owners beware.!
