Mouse poison 'safe for pets' question...

Well we have our local authority pest control coming round on Friday to deal with the ongoing mouse problem in our road (the reason we got a cat in the first place ).

We have to allow them access, or we will be in breach of our lease, and possibly the law also (environmental health act) if we deny them access.

I have phoned the pest control department, and they have told me that they will be using a poison called Sorexa D, and that a very large amount would have to be ingested for it to be toxic to a cat, dog, or small child. A cat would have to eat its own bodyweight in dead poisoned mice in order to suffer any ill effects.

I was just wondering if other people had any knowledge or experience to back this up.

I have to allow them to put down the bait but *ahem* I am sure no-one will ever find out if I remove it and store it in a sealed container in a locked cupboard until a few minutes before the follow-up visit (and destroy the container afterwards of course)

I don't have any knowledge of that product, but I would do what you are planning and I would also get a few mouse traps incase mice that had eaten it else where got in. I'm sorry for the mice, but not so sorry that I would put my cats at risk.

I really do not like poisons...I've stated that before elsewhere

Cats are iffy with toxic stuff and poisons, it's really easy for them to be effected by small amounts or by amounts that wouldn't bother a small dog. I believe it's because they can't process it out of their body as well?

like you, i would pick it up until the follow-up visit. i don't trust any poisons like that around my cats.

in my experience, my cats were better mousetraps than store-bought traps. the last time we had mouse problems (an apartment we rented while i was in college) the mouse outsmarted several traps. however, he didn't bank on raven being a mouser. raven and nabu camped out around the fridge for 2 days (the mouse would go behind it). well, between when raven got it and mike took it a way (a few minutes) raven had dispatched the mouse. mike disposed of it in the back yard. so, that's my experience with mousetraps.

there was poison under the sink before we moved in, but i locked the cabinets and vacuumed them out before we moved in. we had an inkling then of a possible mouse problem. we joked after the mouse was gone that he had been a suicidal mouse. the apartment was part of an old house split into apartments. he certainly didn't have to hang out in our apartment.

My friends had a carpenter ant problem this summer in their new house, and the pest control guy they hired is all about using the least toxic and most environmentally friendly products on the market, and he teaches related courses at the college. He assured them that the amount their kitten would have to ingest to harm him was basically impossible, and not to worry, there hadn't ever been a problem.

Well there is a first time for everything. Their kitten had a severe reaction. He made it through and has grown into quite the cat, but the pest control guy was shocked that it had even happened.

Just be wary. It it's at all possible to have them lay the poisons in places your cats can't get into, that would be a good precaution to take, and watch for dead mice around your house and property

Originally Posted by vanillasugar

Just be wary. It it's at all possible to have them lay the poisons in places your cats can't get into, that would be a good precaution to take, and watch for dead mice around your house and property

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I didn't even think about that! Nearby poisoned mice could get in.
I think they're rather cruel, but not many mice make it passed the sticky traps. You can put them in a spot the cats can't get to in locked cabinets, closed off rooms or closets. If anyone uses those please try to "dispose" of the mice quickly and not let them suffer.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I didn't even think about that! Nearby poisoned mice could get in.

I think they're rather cruel, but not many mice make it passed the sticky traps. You can put them in a spot the cats can't get to in locked cabinets, closed off rooms or closets. If anyone uses those please try to "dispose" of the mice quickly and not let them suffer.

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Ha! I guess the mice we have here are super mice b/c they just scamper right around or even jump over the sticky traps! I refuse to use poison and a 3 yo. with regular traps (and now a kitten) is not a good combination! I think the stray cat that lives under the house helps more than the sticky traps.

Sticky traps are also very cruel and inhumane plus the cats/kittens you have could also hurt themselves. I had a teacher use them when we had mice in our class and man it was awful the way they struggled. The ones you have to are the best they kill quickly and you can put them away where cats cannot get to the. Cats themselves do it pritty well naturally as well though.

http://www.sorex.com/products.asp?ca...b_categoryid=2

http://www.sorex.com/uploads/Sorexa_D.pdf

While I was living in my previous apartment, sopmebody decided to turn the beautiful meadow and pond across the way into yet another suburban neighborhood... and during construction, the displaced field mice tried to move into our complex.

I didn't have kitties then, but I worried about outdoor cats in the area... so I sought out a mechanical method rather than poison, and the best thing I found was a beige plastic trap that kills the mouse instantly and, once snapped, completely encloses the remains (except for the occasional forlorn little tail hanging out the back). It's a bit expensive, because you just toss the whole thing -- but it avoids poison, and also ensures that kitties can't nibble on the corpus delicious...

When Napoleon died of poison in October, my then vet thought he had probably eaten a poisoned rat or mouse. However, since then, two vets (and my own research) have assured me that an adult cat would need to eat 20-50 poisoned rodents to be seriously affected. Eating the raw poison is another matter - it is attractive to cats and can affect them quickly. There is one product, Eradimouse, that is safe even when eaten by cats, dogs or birds. But I agree that mechanical methods (including those mighty hunters, cats) are safer.

I don't actually have mice, Radar tortured and dispatched 2 before he was 4 months old and they haven't been coming in since.

Unfortunately, despite all the good suggestions here, I don't have a choice in what method is used - this is the local authority pest control department who are treating the entire housing estate, and who by law I have to allow into my flat to put down poison, not a pest controller that I have hired myself. They will be using Sorexa D no matter what I say.

I'd be putting the stuff away as soon as they leave. All you have to let them do is put it out, no one makes you leave it out.

I'd be worried about the cats getting mice that have already eaten poison.. I can't imagine that the poison is immediate, and that might give the mice enough time to wander from somewhere else into your house. In any case... I seem to remember there being a product that emits a noise that keeps rodents away. Now, I've never used it, and I don't know if it will bug the cats as well as the mice, but it might be something to consider. If they're poisoning them, though, I don't know if locking the traps away or even using a different kind will be effective. Even if the poison isn't "poisonous" to cats or deadly to cats until a certain amount.. it might still do some sort of harm to the cat that doesn't kill it. It may cause liver damage or.. you know, who knows what else it might affect. It's a pretty sure bet that the company didn't do extensive research on what harm it might do to a cat, besides seeing how much it takes to kill it.

I'm thinking I'd try for the high frequency "keep away" trap, or see if there's something like that around. I'm pretty sure I've seen one of those.. and now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps I ought to try that for the squirrels in the walls.

You can buy Sonic mouse repellents that just plug in at any B&Q or Robert Dyas store in the UK. I have been using them here. The cats ignore them.

I'd ditch the poison after they put it in your home. My dog had a serious reaction to a very common flea treatment spray that I purchased from my vet. It wasn't even sprayed on him, but on his bedding. It claimed to be safe if sprayed directly on kittens yet harmed a 75 pound greyhound who had a wiff of it on his bed. Every animal reacts differently to these things and I wouldn't risk it. If you find mice in your home, there are lots of ideas in this thread to use that doesn't involve poisons.

UPDATE!

All sorted - they came round and asked if they could put poison down. We explained that we already had pest control in the form of cats, and we'd rather they didn't put poison down for the sake of our pets' safety if that was ok!

They said that was fine, and left

Originally Posted by Epona

UPDATE!

All sorted - they came round and asked if they could put poison down. We explained that we already had pest control in the form of cats, and we'd rather they didn't put poison down for the sake of our pets' safety if that was ok!

They said that was fine, and left

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Good result

Good deal!