Hi there! /some photos/

[Pajarita]

I don't think the problem are the snails themselves but the rat poison. I mean, after all, these cockatoos eat them in nature all the time so it cannot be that the zoo is trying to stop them from doing it, right? Now, the question is whether there is any other way the rat population can be controlled without poisoning it?

[Chantilly]

I am not sure if it was the pison in poo, or just disease in the poo that caused the problem. I know we use all different kinds of traps, and then they are drowned, but they are smart, within long they learn that 'no that is bad, keep away'. I think that they currently use a very weak poison that takes days to kill the rat, this way the other rats dont learn that eating it kills them, supposedbly the poison is so weak that it does not affect the poos and if a bird ate the rat, it would not become ill (this is just what I was told- I dont know if that is possible, or true) . But there are other non poison traps everywhere the rats just manage to learn that they are traps.

[Chantilly]

Thankyou Liz, that is very good to know I will definately let the owners of the park know!
They are such amazing creatures, each so special with there own habits and ways and they all like different things. It is amazing to be able to work with them, for me, and I get so much happiness being around them. I know they are not actually my birds, but I am so proud of the progressions I see these birds making all they need is somebody to stand by them and help them back onto their feet, they are such magnificent little things.

[Pajarita]

I am not sure if it was the pison in poo, or just disease in the poo that caused the problem. I know we use all different kinds of traps, and then they are drowned, but they are smart, within long they learn that 'no that is bad, keep away'. I think that they currently use a very weak poison that takes days to kill the rat, this way the other rats dont learn that eating it kills them, supposedbly the poison is so weak that it does not affect the poos and if a bird ate the rat, it would not become ill (this is just what I was told- I dont know if that is possible, or true) . But there are other non poison traps everywhere the rats just manage to learn that they are traps.

Hmmmm, I don't know what they use in Australia but here in the States, they mainly use two kinds of poison for rats and mice: bromethalin or difethialon. Bromethalin makes them get cerebral edema while difethialon inhibits coagulation and both need days to actually kill the animal (and that's what I hate about them, the mere idea of a poor animal in constant pain and dying by slow degrees for days is something that I can't contemplate). Both are highly poisonous to all animals so even dogs and cats can end up getting poisoned themselves when they eat a little mouse that is either dying or dead from eating poison.

[Chantilly]

It is probably the same here as there.... I think we have something called Ratamicen (that is just a poison you buy, what poison it is made of I dont know...)
Personally for me I hate people controlling there population by poison (or anything for that reason).. This will possibly sound silly(to some anyway) but I actually likerats and mice, I think they are cool little things. I dont think they deserve to die at all, but everyone else I know I have met does, or just dosnt give a care. I do see the problems they cause (we have actually had them nest in the bonnete of our cars and chewed up all the wiring before, very costly experience), but they are only trying to satisfy their needs and survive, we would do no different were we them.

[liz]

I know how you feel.

Even when I step on a bug I make the death quick. But if they are not controlled they will eat your house and everything in it. Correction: they don't really eat it but they have teeth that continually grow and they must chew to keep them at the length they need. They have an valve in their stomachs that keep them from throwing up the poison is how it works on mice but will only make you pets get sick if ingested.

[Wolf]

I would never trust any poison, Liz. There are a lot of rat and mouse poisons that will not only make your pets sick but kill them as well, the deciding factor in many cases is how much your pet has ingested and not that they will not kill them.

I am not into killing animals for my convenience, but I do recognize the need to control rat populations in and around human habitations as they are the primary vector for many very nasty diseases including rabies and bubonic plaque just to name a couple. Sometimes it is not even the rat itself that is the major problem but the fleas that they have that transmit the disease to our pets or us.

Unfortunately they don't often listen when we ask them to find different living arrangements. I usually control them by catching non poisonous snakes and turning them loose near my house.

[Pajarita]

I don't think you strange, Chantilly, I like mice and rats myself. I have mice in the house. There are a few foreclosed homes in the area and they are always a breeding ground for them and, somehow, they end up getting into the basement. But the cats keep them from coming upstairs. There are two living in the canary room though (the cats are not allowed there) but they are either both of the same gender, very old (one has half a tail and the other one has it crooked in two places) or my destroying their nest every day has worked to prevent them from procreating because there have been no babies. I wish they would sell something that would prevent them from breeding instead of killing them...

[Chantilly]

Thankyou all,
I did not know how the poison worked Liz, thankyou.

Snakes is a good idea to control population, be careful , if red touch black safe for jack if red touches yellow it'll kill a fellow


they would invent something to stop mice and rats breeding, that would solve everything, genious .

[liz]

Chantilly, I can never remember that rime.

Wolf, a snake that is easily identified as helpful would be the perfect solution. I had one in the garage at the NC house and I was in city limits.

There is a product here called "Just One Bite". Of course it takes more than one bite but it does what they tell you it does. You can get it in pellet or bar form. I used bars. They are easier to use and see if they are working. They dehydrate the rat or mouse so if it dies in the house it won't stink. Since it will make other critters sick I only use it in the attic and craw space.

I still think the humane thing is the mouse trap. It is instant death and you can find the body. I had that the glue boards were invented. Can you even imagine what the little critter is feeling while stuck to the boards. Horrifying.
Because there are so many critters in my house it is hard to put out a trap without catching one of them.

I only had to use the trap once. I had ferrets. They are suppose to be mousers. Jwi liked to take his nap under my stove. Then I realized there was a mouse under there also. Jwi thought he had his own pet.

I don't like depending on cats to kill or chase off the mice. My cats are also my babies. They could catch all kinds of things from a rodent. They could be injured by a rodent. I realize that farms have to have barn cats. I just hope the human takes time to check his cats every day.

I don't know why it is just my house when Charles and Rachel don't have any. I am infested with wood roaches. They are everywhere. Since I have not come up with a plan of action for my birds I cannot use an exterminator yet. I have been using glue boards for them but hate when they get caught and are still alive when I switch boards. I have 7 places that I put glue boards and change them every three days when they are full.

I put all my dry goods in plastic containers or in the freezer. That is how I survived the bugs in the Phillippines. These bugs seem to prefer cardboard and wood. I have about 50 plastic containers but find the bugs hiding under the containers. Last week I threw out my coffee pot and microwave. Those bugs were living in them too. They are even in the wheels of my dining room chairs.

In my 20s I was a Home Health Aid. My company was state funded to care of the patients who did not have insurance and were sent home before they could care for themselves. I was sent to the slum area in Weirton WV and told not to take anything in with me that I could not just leave or carry on my body. I could not believe the bugs. They do have to be expected in the old buildings though. Never did I see a house with as many bugs as I have.

Any suggestions on safe ways to control them?

Wolf after posting this I believe it should not be here. Please move it to a proper thread.