Have mice? Some mouse poisons have no antidote!

Bromethalin has no antidote!

Quite often we are presented with a dog who has eaten rat or mouse poison and we have to sort out what brand of poison, when they ate it and how much they ate, so we can induce vomiting and give the antidote along with messy oral activated charcoal to stop absorption of the poison.  We also send home oral medication for two to four weeks and draw blood to check clotting times after finishing the medication. Sometimes, the owners don't know that poison has been ingested. They just know that their dog is bleeding. It could be bloody urine, blood in the stool or just bruising on the skin or in the eyes. Then we try to sort out if there is a medical reason for the bleeding or just poison exposure.

Most rat and mouse bait contains an anticoagulant that can be treated with Vitamin K for varying lengths of time depending on the product.  Some mouse bait contains warfarin or diphacinone, so called "first generation" anticoagulants that require 14 days of vitamin K. Other products contain "second generation" anticoagulants like difenacoum, brodifacoum and bromadiolone that require 30 days of treatment with vitamin K.

Fortunately, the EPA set new rules in 2011 to save wildlife from exposure to second generation anti-coagulants. This was after they measured anticoagulant residue in up to 70% of the wildlife tested. Apparently, there has been a 50% reduction in cases of poisoning in children since the new rules took effect. Seems to me that maybe keeping our kids safe should trigger some rules of their own, but keeping wildlife healthy is important too.  Second generation anti-coagulant poisons are still available but only in bulk packaging to be used by professional exterminators. The makers of d-Con finally agreed to comply with the ruling in May of this year after fighting it for three years. 

Anticoagulant rodenticides are pretty scary, but now there are some newer poisons in rodenticides that contain bromethalin - a neurotoxin with no antidote! Many dogs can recover from bromethalin poisoning if detected early and given supportive care for as long as 6 weeks (expensive supportive care).

So what can you do?  

• Check the active ingredient before purchasing a rodenticide product. Make sure it has warfarin or diphacinone - first generation anti-coagulants. 
• If you have an exterminator come to your house, ask for a list of active ingredients of the products that they are using and make sure they don't use bromethalin or one of the second generation anticoagulants. 
• Make sure the bait is in a protective container and not just scattered loosely.
• You can also check the shelves at your local grocery or hardware store and send the store a nice note if they have second generation anticoagulant rodenticides or bromethalin on the shelf. Ask them to discontinue stocking those products. You could even send the store a copy of this blog. Who knows, maybe it will save a pet's life or even a child's?