Safety Measures of Handling Farm Poisons

Rodenticides, whether chronic (i.e. anticoagulants) or acute, are farm poisons and should be treated as such and at all times. Some may be more toxic to humans or non-target animals than others; some non-targets may be less affected by certain rodenticides than others.

Nevertheless, it is important that safety procedures are rigidly enforced wherever they are used.

Standard safety precautions when handling poisons include:

Wearing protective clothing during operations;

Not eating, drinking or smoking during operations;

Not breathing in dust during operations (wear dust mask);

Keeping baits out of reach of others, especially children and domestic animals;

Thoroughly washing the skin, clothing and equipment after operations.

Unwanted Poisoning

Much has been written about the potential danger to non-targets of feeding on bait (primary poisoning) or animals feeding on poisoned rats (secondary poisoning). It is difficult to assess the exact effect under practical conditions.

Unwanted poisoning reported by large scale operations or through accidents, usually involves domestic animals. The danger of unwanted poisoning can be virtually eliminated in buildings if some simple rules are adhered to:

Bait should be laid so that no other animals, including man, can have access to it; in buildings this should be fairly simple;

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The amount of bait laid out should be adapted to the anticipated population of rats, that is as little as necessary and placed in small quantities per station;

application should be late in the afternoon, just before rats become active and as birds retire; in stores this is not so important;

Bait should be removed entirely after a control programme is terminated;

Dead rats, if found, should be buried or burnt; and

Rodenticides should be under lock and key and empty containers should be disposed of properly.

Stray dogs and cats (and crows and vultures in some countries) may be at risk through feeding on dying or dead rats (secondary poisoning). Normally, these animals, because of their size, would need to feed on several rats before they would be affected and more to receive a lethal dose.

The chance is very low with most anticoagulants and even with zinc phosphide, because most of the poison is broken down in the stomach. Nevertheless, operators should be aware of these potential dangers at all times.

In summary, the important role which the reduction of the losses in stored products can play in the solution of the overall problem of food supply cannot be over-emphasized. The most substantial losses in stored produce are caused mainly by insects, mites, fungi and rodents.

Understanding the various methods of controlling pests and rodent is a precondition for successful rodents and pests control programme in storage.

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