BRAKES,
C. R. and SMITH, R. H. (2005), Exposure of non-target small mammals to
rodenticides: short-term effects, recovery and implications for secondary
poisoning. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42: 118–128.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.00997.x
Available
online at:
Accessed
February 6, 2013
Albert,
C.A., Wilson, L.K., Mineau, P., Trudeau, S., Elliott, J.E. (2009),Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Three Owl Species from Western
Canada, 1988–2003. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol,DOI
10.1007/s00244-009-9402-z
Available online at:
Accessed:
February 5, 2013
Get rid of those pesky rodents!?!?!
It’s
probably fairly common for people to hate unwanted rodents in their houses. It
is a huge problem that faces rural communities, and a lot of people deal with
this problem by buying rat poison, and leaving it in their houses to get
discovered by their unwanted guests. The mice/rats find the poison, consume it,
and then go outside to die. Problem solved, right? WRONG.
These
mice go outside to die, and in their weakened state, they are very easy prey
for hungry birds. The birds eat the mice, and then they get sick and/or die. A
study by Albert et al., 2009, analyzed birds found in western Canada and the
Yukon. They analyzed the livers of 164 dead owls looking to find different
rodenticides present in their livers.
Table 1, above showed that of the 164 owls tested, 114 of
them had rodenticide residue in their livers.
70% of all owls tested had at least one type of rodent
poison in their bloodstream!
SAVE THE OWLS!
Owls aren’t the only small mammals affected by rodenticides
either. A study by Brakes and Smith in 2005 showed the effect of 6 different
rodenticides on other non-target mammals such as weasels, and stoats. Brakes
and Smith found that there was about a 60% decrease in population of non-target
mammals on farms that used rodenticides.
So what can we do?
There are several other methods devised to rid your house of
mice without using harmful poisons.
1.
Live traps. People can buy live traps, in which
the mouse enters, gets stuck, and later can be release outside.
2.
Sonic waves. Some companies have devised a
machine that plugs into your walls emitting sound waves that mice do not like,
and therefore they do not stay.
3.
Traditional mousetraps. There are hundreds of
different types of mouse traps, all with the same purpose – to kill the mouse.
Although some methods are obviously more humane than others,
all are effective. If people were planning on killing the mouse anyway with
poison anyways, they might as well save the owls, and get rid of only the
animal that they are targeting.
Word Count: 446
It's crazy how one pesticide can have such a cascade effect! I'm sure there's many species that rely on the owls as well. I bet snakes are even big targets to rodent poison too.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if the rodenticides have negative effects on humans? I mean, if they can kill rats that easily, I'm sure they could harm small children as well.
Well, that's not very cool. Might as well use mousetraps and kill them varmints the old fashioned way!
ReplyDeleteThose poor owls. Mouse traps sound like a much better way to go, even if it's kinda gross. Owls are more important in my opinion!
ReplyDeletePoor owls
ReplyDeleteEven though only 6 of the 164 owls actually died from AR, I still think that it's good that we're realizing the possible consequences of our actions early. The traditional mousetrap is probably still the best way to go.
ReplyDeleteOnly 6 had the actual cause of death from the mouse poison. But the poison causes them to be "dopey" and behave in ways that they normally would not, which could lead to the trauma, etc. I think its alarming the percentage of owls that had significant amounts of poison in their livers!
DeleteThat is very interesting!! I wonder how many of our numerous something-cides have unintended side effects like this! Scary.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I'm surprised by how obvious this problem is, but something I've not considered. The rats eat the poisin, the owls eat the rats. Very interesting that 70% of owls had rat poison in their systems!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you included the statistics! I wasn't aware this was such a problem, although it makes sense. I personally (and my family) have never used rodenticides, only live traps. As for its harm in humans, I'm assuming rodenticide needs to be consumed in order to have any adverse effects. I hope we don't have small children running around catching and ingesting weakened rats. Although, I suppose children have put stranger things in their mouths!
ReplyDeleteCool post! I wonder, do you think mice and rats also eat the poisons people put out for things such as ants and stuff? Just curious mostly.
ReplyDeletePeople need to be made aware of the trickle down effects of things like rat poison. Better understanding should convince people to manage their rat problems in a more ecosystem friendly way. Unfortunately, rat poison doesn't force the person to actually see the result in the same way that a mouse trap does. Out of sight, out of mind.
ReplyDeleteSAVE THE OWLS. I agree people in rural communities should find a different way to kill mice!
ReplyDeleteproblem solved, right? WRONG < lol. cool blog. cool pic of the hunting owl. interesting dilemma.
ReplyDeleteum, owls aren't small mammals :P good blog, definitely need to pay attention to where these poisons end up
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
ReplyDeleteI have a solution! People shouldn't leave food scraps lying around or better yet, ensure that any reasons the mice could be becoming pests are eliminated.