When it comes to protecting wildlife and domesticated animals, the solution to the problem of disease infested rodents is not always a cut and dry one.  

Rodenticides are a common solution to the common rodent problem, but some fear that these traps might do more harm than good.   

Many of us around the VTSU Castleton campus may not be aware that rodenticides were installed around the entire campus to control rodents like rats and mice, but some are a bit weary of the traps, fearing they may be harmful to small, non-threatening wildlife or household pets, like Max the campus cat for instance. 

There are many different types of rodenticides, and some are more toxic than others when it comes to pets and smaller wildlife, according to The National Pesticide Information Center.   

 “The rodenticides that pose the greatest secondary poisoning risks for wild mammals, dogs and cats include chlorophacinone, diphacinone, bromadiolone, and brodifacoum,” the NPIC site reads. 

However, District Manager of Vermont Pest Control Ian Gordon addressed the concerns about the rodenticides used on campus.  

“Yes, they are all over campus…In terms of harm to wildlife, it’s a yes or no question,” Gordon said. 

Gordon has been conducting work for VTSU Castleton for quite some time, although he said the traps were distributed across the entire campus about three months ago. 

“I’ve been doing work with the campus for about 15 years or more,” Gordon reported. 

He claimed that the rodenticides are “focused on rodents” and do not provide a lethal dose of toxicity to animals that are larger, such as most non-rodent wildlife and pets. 

“The amount of toxicity is not enough to kill them,” Gordon said. 

VTSU professor and program coordinator for Wildlife and Forest Conservation, Kristen Ross gave some pros and cons to rodent traps. 

“Yes, traps can pose a threat to wildlife, but having rats or other disease carrying animals in close quarters with humans can also pose a threat,” she said.   

She also pointed out that the risk depends on the trap and the animal target.   

“In terms of roaming pets, yes, any poison accessible to animals left free to roam is a threat,” she said. “In some styles of traps, a dog or cat wouldn’t be able to access the poison if the trap is designed for a target animal like a rat.” 

However, the secondary poisoning could be more cause for concern depending on the trap and toxicity. 

“The dog or cat roaming free might eat a poisoned animal and get sick themselves.  That is the risk the pet owner takes by allowing their animal to roam free,” Ross said.  “The biggest threat to wildlife, particularly birds, are outdoor cats. Outdoor cats kill over 2 billion birds a year in the U.S. alone.” 

Ross addressed the larger threat to wildlife: humans.   

“Usually traps are band-aid approaches to a problem that is human-driven.  Unless individuals, businesses, and institutions learn to contain their trash better, there will always be temptations for animals both wild and domestic,” she said. 

While rodenticides may provide a shorter term solution, the real problem is the most difficult to address and correct. Human behavior, ultimately, is the most dangerous threat to our wildlife and even pets. 

“The ultimate best solutions for wildlife are to, one, keep our waste material, especially food, disposed of and contained properly,” Ross said.  “And two, don’t let our pets roam free.  However, these are human behaviors that need to change, which is the most difficult challenge.”