When you find that food items in your house have been gnawed and droppings are scattered in the kitchen, it implies just one thing. Your house has a presence of mice and hence the probability of getting affected by bacteria and other diseases has also increased. Characteristically, mice like to hide in places which are difficult to access easily and those which are less frequented by people. Due to awkwardness of these locations, it often becomes tough to catch mice using mouse-traps. So you need to try other alternatives like glueboards, poison, and live-traps. Using mice poison has its own share of advantages and disadvantages.
Firstly, mice poison works on the principle of adding venom to the food which the mice intakes. Generally, two types of mice poison are available in the market. The first variant is the single dose or quick kill poison that can be given with water or food. The second variation is the slow-acting poison that starts showing results after approximately 7 days (week). The chemical substances that are common in both these types of poison are warfarin, pival, diphacinone, fumarin, or chlorophacinone. The color of most of these venoms is green. Among the two alternatives the first category is more popular because of its swiftness in action.
If the action of the poison takes place properly within the mice’s bodies, it takes a few hours to a couple of days to get the desired outcome. Also, the poisons are extremely powerful and hence a small quantity of 2.5 grams is sufficient. Thus the quantity of poison that would lie scattered around in the house is negligibly small. It is important to keep mice poison away from the reach of children and pets, because these substances when ingested in large amounts can cause serious health complications. In order to prevent this, tamper-resistant poisons in secure boxes are used.
Sometimes, it might so happen that a single-dose poison fails to produce the desirable result. Then, the amount of poison administered needs to be increased in a proportionate manner. A lot would depend upon the extensiveness of mice infestation and the categories of poisons being used. You must place the poison boxes or each venom-set with adequate gaps. There should be a minimum distance of 6 feet (approximately 1.8 meters) between two boxes. These boxes must be placed in areas where the rodents are being seen frequently or where they are nesting. This would increase the probability of the mice consuming the poison.
After the mice consume the poison-mixed food, they feel thirsty due to constriction of their blood vessels and subsequent spasms. Certain mice poison companies claim that after ingesting their products the mice invariably go out in search of water. But that might not be the case as on many occasions it is seen that the rodents come back to their nests to die. A lot would also depend on the time taken by the poison kill the mice. A mouse might also die in some inconvenient place in the vicinity of your house. Whenever dead mice are spotted they should be removed immediately, otherwise stench would be emitted. Also parasites and bacteria would develop on the dead body causing various ailments including gastrointestinal problems.
Often the stench of dead mice refuses to go even after their dead bodies have been removed. Then you must clean the place properly and also open the windows in the vicinity to allow proper air-passage. You would find that after a few hours the odor has disappeared on its own. You can also spray home deodorizers or room fresheners to make the ambience more bearable. It needs to be remembered that indications of poisoning are not instantly displayed by mice after consuming anticoagulant rodenticides. This kind of mice poison causes internal bleeding. A mouse that has been poisoned would gradually become very weak and exhibit pallor. But the bleeding is not likely to be visible externally.
In order to understand the exact mechanism of how this mice poison works, you need to understand the method of blood-clotting. Blood vessels are similar to pipes carrying rapid-flowing blood. There is a lining of endothelial cells that help in seamless blood flow. When this vessel ruptures, the internal structure of the vessel beneath the lining also gets exposed to the blood that is flowing inside smoothly.
All the best,
Sergiu Zburatoru
