Rodent Control Pesticide Safety Review
EPA completed a safety review in 2008 of rat and mouse poison products. Based on that review, EPA tightened safety standards to reduce risks to humans, pets, and non-target wildlife. Most companies have ensured that products are in compliance.
Read about cancellation of products that do not meet the stricter standards.
To minimize the possibility of children and pets being exposed to mouse and rat poisons, we require consumer products:
- Be sold with bait stations that securely contain the poison.
- More protective bait stations that offer resistant to tampering by children, pets, and/or to weathering are available and required for applications made around children, pets, or outdoors.
- Contain the block or paste poison bait (loose bait forms are no longer permitted).
Rodenticide manufacturers may no longer sell consumer products:
- With more than one pound of poison.
- Containing four pesticides that pose the greatest risk to non-target wildlife (called second generation anticoagulants – brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum, and difethialone).
- Baits containing these poisons may still be used in homes by pest control professionals.
Non-target wildlife and pets can be poisoned if they eat rodent baits, as can predators or scavengers that consume rodents that have eaten certain poisons.