Need straight talk about Final Blox rodenticide


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Old 06-17-08, 05:08 PM
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Need straight talk about Final Blox rodenticide

I hope there's someone here who knows about this product.

I already have one cat on Vitamin K for a month after getting into a piece of Final Blox and gnawing on it (though seemingly not actually swallowing any of it.

Today my husband got home and there was ANOTHER block of it -- presumably from a bait station, because our exterminator swears up and down that he didn't put anything out that wasn't in a bait station -- on the floor of our basement family room -- about 1/4 gnawed.

Our exterminator was here last week and put bait stations inside the ceiling, but there are some ceiling tiles coming down so it's possible that if something pulled the block out, it fell out of the ceiling.

I have no idea which cat got into it. As I said, my one cat is already on vitamin K, but my other cat is skittish and I have never been able to even pick her up, much less get her into a carrier to take her to a vet.

I have spoken with the manufacturer of this product, who told me that the product has a bittering agent that makes it unpalatable to nontarget animals and that since the concentration of actual anticoagulant poison (brodifacoum .005%) is so small, a 10-lb. animal would have to eat like 2 entire blocks to get a lethal dose.

Does anyone know enough about this stuff, or is good enough at math, to be able to tell me if a bit of gnawing on one of these is going to be a serious problem?
 
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Old 06-18-08, 12:28 AM
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I have spoken with the manufacturer of this product, who told me that the product has a bittering agent that makes it unpalatable to nontarget animals and that since the concentration of actual anticoagulant poison (brodifacoum .005%) is so small, a 10-lb. animal would have to eat like 2 entire blocks to get a lethal dose.
So they expect each rat to eat 2 blocks or more?? Doesn't make sense to me. I've seen many rats, but none that weighed more then 10 lbs. What is this product for - King Kong?

Here's info on brodifacoum, the primary chemical of Final Blox.
http://pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chem...Rec_Id=PC33744

You don't say how much the block weighs or the possible weight of the amount eaten, but 2KG did a pony in.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1876195

I'd suggest you call call poison control before you take the word of the manufacturer.

If you need to get the cat to the vet, put a fresh can of something nice and smelly (anything tuna is great) in a pet carrier at the back end. Cover all but the door with a dark towel and wait behind it. When the cat gets in the carrier to eat, lean over and close the door with your foot at the back end to keep the carrier from sliding backwards. You can also put some of the food in a trail into the carrier so the cat goes in slowly.

Newt
 
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Old 06-18-08, 11:01 AM
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The blocks are 1 oz., or approx. 28 grams. Concentration is 0.005%. The cat is around 9 lbs. or approx. 4.08 kg. The ABSOLUTE MOST eaten is about 1/4 block, but not even that because apparently there were crumbs of it strewn around the floor.

Thanks for the tip about the cat and the carrier...but this is a pretty smart cat...and it assumes that the cat enjoys enclosed, dark places. This cat used to be afraid of laundry baskets.

The other one (the one most likely to have gotten into it) is already on Vitamin K1 from getting into a bucket of them last week. This exterminator is very nice, but obviously careless.
 
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Old 06-18-08, 01:54 PM
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If you don't think you can lure the cat into the carrier with the towel on it, then don't cover the back and sides, just around the front so there's light into the carrier.

Another option, if you can manage to pick up the cat. Have the carrier on it's back end with the door open and the opening facing the ceiling. Pick up the cat by the scruf of the neck with one hand, and with the other hand gently grasp a back foot. Extend the foot up to the cat's chin. Now the cat can't move at all and it doesn't hurt. Put the cat into the carrier hind end first and quickly close the door. It's best to have someone help hold the carrier and close the door for you on this move.

I'd say to use a live trap that is like an open mesh, but once that trap door slams shut, you'll probably never be able to trap it again. It's kind of like: "Once bitten, twice shy". It's a rare cat that will let you live trap it more then once. If you do use a live trap, have a large towel ready, preferably a dark color, and cover the live trap. They get very frightened in these and the cover helps calm them down.

Newt
 
 

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