SAFE RODENT CONTROL

Living Rodent Free While Safeguarding Wildlife, Families, and Pets

Rats and mice have been living with humans for centuries — and humans have been working for just as long to keep them at bay. These animals sometimes contribute to public health risks and problems in people’s homes, and rodents like gophers and moles can eat agricultural or garden produce.

Many people use rodent poisons — aka rodenticides — to control rodent infestations. Unfortunately rodenticides often accidentally poison dozens of species of other wildlife, from bald eagles to bears to bobcats — and even endangered species, like California mountain lions, San Joaquin kit foxes, and Pacific fishers.

Rodenticide poisoning can cause a slow, agonizing death. Since most rodenticides work by disrupting the blood-clotting process, victims can suffer for days from uncontrolled bleeding or hemorrhaging, internal bleeding, cardiovascular collapse, and organ failure. Poisoned animals may be more likely to crash into structures, be killed by predators, or get hit by cars.

Children, especially young children, also accidentally ingest rodenticides — more than 10,000 every year in the United States. So do pets: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that more than 100 dogs, cats and other pets die annually from rodenticide exposure.

The Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Rodent Control campaign promotes resources to help you manage rodents safely, effectively, and affordably without the harms of chemical rodent-control methods. Safe Rodent Control is a resource center striving to protect children, pets, and wildlife from exposure to rodenticides.  

Real-Life Solutions

Check out our easy-to-follow guide of best practices in safe rodent-control solutions — from excellent exclusion tactics to an overview of the most effective, affordable traps.

More Information

Want to learn more about the risks of rodenticides and safe, cost-effective alternatives? Browse our resources on …

• Children, pets, and wildlife at risk: An in-depth, science-based outlook on how chemical rodent-control methods put children, pets and wildlife in danger, including poisoning data.
• Rodenticides — know the science: Our resources include the latest and most comprehensive scientific reports and factsheets on the risks of using rodenticides in your home or business.
• Recursos en español: estrategias para control roedores

Our Campaign

The Center has been working for years to protect wildlife and people from toxic rodenticides through advocacy, science, policy, and law. We support — and often help pass — legislation to create stronger safeguards for wildlife and people unintentionally harmed or killed by rat poisons. And we work to win protections for animals threatened by rodenticides, like northern spotted owls , Florida panthers, and California condors.

Check out our press releases to learn more about the Center’s actions against rodenticides.