Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers,[1] and voles.[2] Despite the crucial roles that rodents play in nature, there are times when they need to be controlled.[3][opinion]
Some rodenticides are lethal after one exposure while others require more than one. Rodents are disinclined to gorge on an unknown food (perhaps reflecting an adaptation to their inability to vomit),[4] preferring to sample, wait and observe whether it makes them or other rats sick.[5][6] This phenomenon of poison shyness is the rationale for poisons that kill only after multiple doses.
Besides being directly toxic to the mammals that ingest them, including dogs, cats, and humans, many rodenticides present a secondary poisoning risk to animals that hunt or scavenge the dead corpses of rats.[7]
- ^ "Rodenticides".
- ^ Mark E. Tobin (1993). Vole Management in Fruit Orchards. U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. pp. 11–.
- ^ "Rodenticides". npic.orst.edu. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ Kapoor, Harit; Lohani, Kush Raj; Lee, Tommy H.; Agrawal, Devendra K.; Mittal, Sumeet K. (27 July 2015). "Animal Models of Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma-Past, Present, and Future". Clinical and Translational Science. 8 (6). Wiley: 841–847. doi:10.1111/cts.12304. PMC 4703452. PMID 26211420.
- ^ "Smithsonian: Why rodents can't throw up". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ^ "How do rats choose what to eat?".
- ^ "Rodenticides".