Could Eradibait be the Answer to Stopping Secondary Rodenticide Poisoning in Raptors? And an African Grey Parrot Cam!

Earlier today as I was checking my email, I cruised past the chat room connected to the NYTimes City Blog and Hawk Cam which features Rosie, Bobby, and the two new fuzz heads of the Washington Square Park nest.

I suspect that due to the loses of so many beloved Red-tailed Hawks in New York City, when the words rat poison scrolled by the corner of my eye on the chat, heart in mouth, I focused.  What?  

WHAT INDEED?  Is this a DREAM???

There is actually a rodenticide, apparently non-toxic to everything except rats and mice and there is absolutely no chance of secondary poisoning from it?


Number one, this I had to see!  

Number two, why didn't we know about this before?

My apologies for not nabbing the screen name of the person who was the fount of this information I just grabbed the link and went.

The PDF was on the website of the Barn Owl Trust in the U. K. who are out to save Barn Owls from secondary poisoning.  Barn Owls also are often victims just like our Red-tails...and our owls and other raptors as well.


After comprehensive information concerning the first generation poisons, the second generation poisons, then came the usual first step sane suggestions. 


Number 1-the need to eliminate food sources.
Number 2-the need to eliminate areas of rodent entry. 

Then came Number 3- the folks at the Barn Owl Trust's  recommendations for rat killing.  

Their recommendations were...?


Number 3. Use non-toxic products such as Eradibait (see box)
or alternative methods of killing such as traps, cats,
terriers, ferrets or shooting.

(They're so British and so practical you can just see the tweeds and the sensible shoes can't you.) 


Though Central Park has used traps,  an officially sanctioned Rat Killing Day once a month in which you bring your black- hearted assassin  Fox Terrior, Fred,  or James, your Jack Russel, your pet ferret Francis, or Francine your fluffy Persian cat lusting for blood, and of course your rat killing rifle just didn't seem to be in the cards.


BUT ERADIBAIT ?  COULD THIS BE THE ANSWER WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR?

They said (SEE BOX), and I was on it!
 

Eradibait

Also sold as -

Growing Success Rat & Mouse Killer

NON-TOXIC PRODUCTS

Made entirely of food-grade natural vegetable

materials with NO added toxins or artificial

chemicals.

Environmentally safe.

Highly effective against rats and mice (when used

properly) and apparently safe for other species.

Humane

For more information and a list of suppliers

please visit www.eradibait.com or phone the distributors

Ilex EnviroSciences on:

01673 885175

You ask, how does this stuff work?  

"It coats the lining of a specific part of a rodent’s lower gut.  The coating of the “fine hairs” in the lower gut called “villi”, disrupts the message system of the rodent’s brain causing it to stop drinking.  This leads to dehydration, blood thickening, kidney dysfunction, coma and eventual death."

And as rodents can’t vomit and get rid of it, there we are.

Death occurs in 4 to 7 days.

Okay, supposing this really works and is rodent specific, what about other members of rodentia?  What about squirrels?  Can a squirrel vomit?  (I have that query out to some squirrel people. )  Or perhaps more to the point,  they don’t have the same breakdown of brain signals that rats and mice do from coated villi.  Or we use squirrel proof bait boxes.

Wow.

Here are the links.  Check them out.  I've got my fingers crossed and I'm hoping to see a safe avenue of rat control plus a new rat control brochure in our future. 

http://www.eradibait.com/

http://www.eradibait.com/EradiBait_FAQ_SHEET.pdf

Remember hawk watching Jackie Dover of Oklahoma?  She's sent a heads up about a cam that watches Bibi an African Grey.  Bibi has quite the vocabulary to say nothing of personality.  She's well worth a look.

In fact, I can't wait to show the cam to Quicksilver, the Grey who lives with me and see his reaction.  He is constantly attempting to get other birds to talk. The resident pigeons though proven to be extremely smart in any number of ways don't have the double larynx which allows parrots to speak English, and are therefore  a sore disappointment to him. 
Check out Bibi's cam by clicking the link.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Watch-the-Birdie

Happy Hawking!

Donegal Browne