Rodent baits and their effect on native fauna

It is a common misconception that native wild life is immune to the effects of 1080 if ingested. But.....it is not an immunity but rather a tolerance they have to the poison. Different species have different tolerance levels and some have none.

1080 comes in different strengths so the selected 1080 laced bait is strong enough to kill the target species but not a bigger animal. Say 'X' amount will kill a fox but not kill a dog and "Y' strength will kill a rabbit but not a fox or dog.

It is a poison that causes massive pain and convulsions before death occurs. I do wonder at how it ever got approved for use in Oz. Our bureaucracy tips unknown quantities out of planes over vast areas of public lands targeting wild dogs/foxes. How many do they kill? Unknown! How many native species die from first or secondary poisoning? Unknown! Yet the routine continues. [bigsad]

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Originally Posted by Grumbles

It is a common misconception that native wild life is immune to the effects of 1080 if ingested. But.....it is not an immunity but rather a tolerance they have to the poison. Different species have different tolerance levels and some have none.

1080 comes in different strengths so the selected 1080 laced bait is strong enough to kill the target species but not a bigger animal. Say 'X' amount will kill a fox but not kill a dog and "Y' strength will kill a rabbit but not a fox or dog.

It is a poison that causes massive pain and convulsions before death occurs. I do wonder at how it ever got approved for use in Oz. Our bureaucracy tips unknown quantities out of planes over vast areas of public lands targeting wild dogs/foxes. How many do they kill? Unknown! How many native species die from first or secondary poisoning? Unknown! Yet the routine continues. [bigsad]

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It amuses me when people rant about 1080 to control vermin when they will happily use insecticides to control flies, mozzies, cokaroaches etc around their homes.[bigwhistle]

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Originally Posted by trout1105

It amuses me when people rant about 1080 to control vermin when they will happily use insecticides to control flies, mozzies, cokaroaches etc around their homes.[bigwhistle]

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What's amusing is insecticides don't actually work by poisoning but by drowning, so you actually have to identify the bug you are trying to kill, unlike indiscriminate killing of wild animals, pets, working dogs, etc with 1080.

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Originally Posted by RANDLOVER

What's amusing is insecticides don't actually work by poisoning but by drowning, so you actually have to identify the bug you are trying to kill, unlike indiscriminate killing of wild animals, pets, working dogs, etc with 1080.

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The common ones such as the organophosphates (commercial) and pyrethrins are nerve poisons.

Others often work by delaying or advancing moult timing when the insect is not ready, etc.

DL

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Originally Posted by scarry

i wonder if its also effecting the birds?

Many live predomately on mice,kestrels,Black shouldered kites,Owls,etc,etc.
Barn owls live exclusively on mice.

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That's the point of the thread.

All the bird organisations have condemned the use of the type 2 rodenticides (containing brodifacoum, brodidialone, etc) because they are killing those sorts of birds.

Post mortem tox tests have confirmed it.

DL

Many rodenticides are blood thinners, causing the victims to rapidly bleed to death.
For example, Warfrin is a blood thinner which causes victims such as rats and mice to bleed out. In humans, it is used to thin blood and combat blood clots.
If poisoned rats, mice or other rodents are eaten by other animals such as birds, pets or children, the treatment is massive doses of Vitamin K to cause blood to clot.
The use of rodenticides to combat the mice plague has caused a huge number of deaths of native fauna, as well as domestic animals.
The demand for Vitamin K has been so great that supplies are depleted.

Rodenticides

Weekly Dose: Warfarin, the blood-thinner that's still used as a rat killer

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Many rodenticides are blood thinners, causing the victims to rapidly bleed to death.
For example, Warfrin is a blood thinner which causes victims such as rats and mice to bleed out. In humans, it is used to thin blood and combat blood clots.
If poisoned rats, mice or other rodents are eaten by other animals such as birds, pets or children, the treatment is massive doses of Vitamin K to cause blood to clot.
The use of rodenticides to combat the mice plague has caused a huge number of deaths of native fauna, as well as domestic animals.
The demand for Vitamin K has been so great that supplies are depleted.

Rodenticides

Weekly Dose: Warfarin, the blood-thinner that's still used as a rat killer

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With respect Mick, you're missing the point.

There are type 1 rodenticides and type 2.

Warfarin is a type 1, brodifacoum and brodialone are type 2.

They work in the same way, but the half lives of these groups of chemicals and the way birds metabolise them are very different.

The way rats behave after ingesting them is different as well. A rat (or mouse) will feel crook after one dose of warfarin and needs more than one feed to be fatal.

Rodents don't feel crook after one feed of the type 2's so they pig out and can accumulate enough in one body to kill a bird. Because the half life of these type 2's is so long it will accumulate in birds after multiple feeds over time, till they die.

The half life of warfarin in rats is about 2 weeks, brodifacoum..... over 100 days.

Brodifacoum is banned for domestic use sale in the US.

I strongly suggest anyone with an interest in 'domestic' rat and mouse death and a healthier and greater raptor population (free range rodenticides) reads this:

https://birdlife.org.au/documents/Bi...trol_final.pdf

cheers,DL

That's good information. Thanks.
My attitude is to avoid using them if at all possible.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

That's good information. Thanks.
My attitude is to avoid using them if at all possible.

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Yep, my attitude too, which is why I encourage our reptilian visitors to remain at our house.[bigsmile1]

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Originally Posted by Saitch

Yep, my attitude too, which is why I encourage our reptilian visitors to remain at our house.[bigsmile1]

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Same here, but you have to remember this is Vic, in April reptiles are starting to have a nap and rats want to move indoors, causing concern and causing damage.

Unfortunately this year rat numbers are up, birds dealing with, way down, sales of type 2 poisons way up, supermarket shelves stripped of type 2 one hit wonders.

Very empty skies, even magpie numbers are down.

DL